Artist
Maarten Isaäk de Heer
Maarten Isaäk de Heer is a Dutch animation artist and filmmaker based in Berlin. He is the founder of Menetekel Film, a production company that focuses on experimental and thought-provoking animations. De Heer’s work spans various forms, often exploring themes of nature, death, and environmental change. His notable projects include "Dancing with Dead Animals," which reanimates deceased animals through 3D photograms, and "Swarm," a 360° animation depicting small birds migrating over climate-impacted European landscapes. These works have garnered international recognition, earning awards and screenings at festivals such as IDFA DOCLAB, SATFEST in Montreal and Fulldome UK
Artwork
Dancing with Dead Animals

Over the course of 6 months, Maarten Isaäk de Heer collected
all animal deaths in his direct environment.
The animals were 3D scanned and brought back to life -together with a contemporary Adam
and Eve- in a paradisiacal landscape of dead organic material.
The film draws the viewer into a celebration of life after death.
Along the way, this living tableau of cadavers becomes increasingly surreal,
like a scene by Hieronymus Bosch. It’s a danse macabre, but without any malevolent intentions.
It goes beyond good and evil, simply illustrating the same biology that governs us all.
Running Time: 11 Min
Credits:
Direction/ Animation:
Tote Tiere Maarten
Production:
Evelyn Brancard, Menetekel Film
Richard Valk, Valk Productions
Sound Design:
Michał Krajczok
Distribution:
Diversion Cinema
〷◠‿◠〷 This project is part of our festival track "MUNICH Beyond" supported by Film Fernseh Fonds Bayern (FFF).
In collaboration with