In nuce: “Art does not betray character.” This quote by the famous sculptor Auguste Rodin precedes the book preview for the Amazon Prime feature film Birds of Paradise (German title: Tanz zum Ruhm), for which Goodbye Kansas Studios has now released a VFX breakdown. Let your eyes – in the style of Rodin – go through an honourable deception, enjoy visual effects such as set extensions of the Paris skyline, birds in the sky, scrolling posters in front of the Paris Opera – and much more eye candy.
In toto: The film is a dance drama based on the debut novel Bright Burning Stars by author-slash-ex-dancer A.K. Small. In the film based on the book, two women – one of whom is considered a dance prodigy – meet at an elite ballet school in Paris; both women apply for a contract at the renowned Paris Opera. The author’s second novel, Feather Girl, is currently in preparation. A.K. Small has won prizes for her short stories; she is an alumna of the state College of William & Mary and the private Vermont College of Fine Arts. The film adaptation was realised by director Sarah Adina Smith, who has previously made a name for herself with episodes for the HBO series Room 104, the Amazon Prime series Hanna and the mini-series One Like Alaska.
Sources: moviepilot.de, imdb.com, aksmallwords.com ( author’s homepage)
Birds of Paradise – VFX reel by Goodbye Kansas Studios
