Cruel Summer is a short film by American musician Kanye West that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and was shown out of competition. A custom pyramid-shaped screening pavilion was constructed for the film's debut, designed by conceptual firms DONDA, OMA and 2x4. The theater featured seven screens - three in the front, one on the floor, one on the ceiling and one on both the right and left side of the space. Cruel Summer was shot using a specialized camera rig, which allowed the directors to capture multiple angles simultaneously. This style of filming and screening a movie has since become known as the "Seven Screen Experience". The film is inspired by the album of the same name by West's record labelGOOD Music. It has been described as a "fusion of short film and art", with the LA Times raving Cruel Summer has a "thumping surround-sound quality that makes a 3-D Michael Bay effort feel like an iPad short."
Synopsis
Rafi, a high-end car thief, falls in love with a blind Arabian princess whose father will only allow them to wed if he can pass a series of three challenges. Loosely based on old Arabian folk tales, the story culminates in a final challenge where Rafi must cure the Princess of her blindness in order to gain her companionship.
Background
Emissaries of West's team, Executive Producer Alex Rosenberg and writer Elon Rutberg, traveled to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, Qatar in January 2012 to commence initial pre-production. They met with heads of state and prominent government officials, royalty, and private executives in each location to secure funding and shooting permits. It later emerged that Cruel Summer would be exclusively shot in Doha, the capital city of Qatar. The project was produced in association with the Doha Film Institute, a cultural and film financing organization chaired by Her Excellency Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, a member of Qatar's royal family and sister of the ruling Emir, His HighnessSheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Sarah A., a first time Qatari actress played the female lead in Cruel Summer. Never before has a Qatari woman starred in a movie in the country's history. Production of the film took place in mid-April, just one month before the movie's premiere during Cannes Film Festival. Post-production and editing subsequently occurred in New York City. West described the seven-screen project as an attempt to "change entertainment experiences. Like if McQueen or Tarsem was to meet the entertainment value of Cirque du Soleil or Walt Disney."
Reviews
Cruel Summer received positive reviews. The Hollywood Reporter called the film "groundbreaking" and exclaimed "It turns out Kanye West didn’t just want to make a short film -- he wants to completely change the way movies are watched." The Los Angeles Times wrote the film has "new music from West and a thumping surround-sound quality that makes a 3-D Michael Bay effort feel like an iPad short. "Cruel Summer" was shot with multiple cameras, with each screen offering a different perspective on the action." Rolling Stone commented the piece has "plenty of striking imagery" and praised West's "great visual sense".
