Do you know you’re dreaming?
Do You Know You Are Sleeping?
A journey behind the scenes of this world…
Seen directly through the eyes of the dreamer, the debut film by Martin Michael Stiltenn takes us behind the scenes of this world. This independent picture intentionally lacks a conventional narrative structure or a standard plot. Acting as an uncompromising smuggler of dreams, the auteur transcends the boundaries of realities to present the viewer with a raw, surreal, and bizarre allegory. The final piece feels as though the creator has edited together authentic records of his own subconscious mind. This fascinating sequence of first-person images opens a gateway to a realm where the rules of waking reality do not apply.
“As a young boy, I longed to invent a device that could capture and record human dreams. In adulthood, this childhood dream came true—the movie camera became that very device for recording dreams,” says the author, one of the last certified master craftsmen of mother-of-pearl carving. He created the film without any formal film education, without producers, and solely from his own finances. Although he intentionally omitted traditional music from the plot, Japanese composer Seisuke Dohi enhanced the hypnotic atmosphere of selected passages with his original compositions.
There is no producer, state fund, or manager behind the project. It was built entirely from scratch over a long 8 years. The author funded all production costs for sets, props, and post-production through the sale of his own paintings and artisan jewelry. Everyone who purchased the artist’s artwork thus became a patron of this film. All work on the film—from crafting props to locations, shooting, and complete post-production—is his own doing, with his wife Iveta being his greatest support and help.
According to the author’s personal philosophy, dreams are not just random nightly illusions, but another reality hidden just behind the scenes of our own. His creative duty and „holy obsession“ is therefore to smuggle them into our world. Thanks to a combination of traditional stop-motion animation and live-action sequences, a powerful visual artwork was born. Through its medium, the author aims to recall the profound importance and meaning of dreams while contributing to the preservation and expansion of our natural imagination.
This work stands as a triumph of pure auteur obsession and meticulous craftsmanship. As an uncompromising dream manifesto, it now leaves the editing room to present itself on the international scene through selected screenings.