Serafima Serafimova

What do wind, a good corner, minor violence and a piñata have in common? They are all vital fragments of what shapes a “flâneur” according to Patrick Buhr’s wonderfully weird, introspective animation. What I Forgot to Say is not your typical story. Expect to be repeatedly hit in the face with severe and undiluted randomness.  

Buhr takes us on a wonderful journey of bizarre association, ambivalent concepts and fragmented imagination, narrated by a mysterious voice.

‘There are a lot of cats meowing forcing the particles of the meow to contract and expand into sound waves, in this case the meow waves cancel each other out and nothing remains except pure silence.”

A flâneur is a man who intricately, usually absurdly, observes society — precisely what Buhr is doing in this animation. He created What I Forgot to Say, whilst traveling on long train journeys, giving an animated form to his idle thoughts and contemplation.

‘I wanted to convey an elusive feeling about a gentle, wandering, indecisive mind that couldn’t be communicated in any form of linear storytelling’, Patrick explains.

There is, however a method in the madness. The story line, although somewhat disjointed and chaotic, follows a certain logic. It’s split into interlinked chapter headlines, which help break down the flâneur’s elusive thought process. The occasional ’intermission’ messages add another element to the bizarre narrative structure. The relentless randomness and the distinct humour is an acquired taste, but it’s what makes the animation appealing for some, though it will undeniably annoy others. We are happy to say that it ticked all the right boxes for us.

Patrick Buhr is currently working on his debut film project and we are very excited to see it so watch this space!