Czar Amsterdam Dreams Up a Hypnagogic Trip for Patta and Dekmantel

Today marks the launch of a new film born out of a collaboration between Czar Amsterdam’s Bear Damen, Dutch streetwear brand Patta and pioneering music festival and record label Dekmantel. The trio joined forces to produce a film that celebrates their continuing collaboration by telling a visual story about contrasting worlds coming together in a dream-like atmosphere, accompanied by a music piece that releases on Dekmantel Records. 

Czar, Patta and Dekmantel have previously worked together on 'What a World' – a collaboration made last year for the same occasion where fashion and music came together by Patta & Dekmantel. The release of this collection is illustrated through a unique film and this is where Czar comes into play.   

In this project, Bear used various film stocks, lenses, and aspect ratios to emphasise the differences between two characters and their worlds. Bear experimented with these tools and diverse techniques to look for different accents and texture that might highlight the diverse perspectives of life through film. To achieve the feeling of harmony between two separate films and worlds, Bear worked together with good friend Paul Ozgur, an award-winning cinematographer from Los Angeles.  

Bear commented: “I’m always excited to work with these guys. I love Patta, their ideas, style and charming Amsterdam mentality and I identify with Dekmantel because I love their musical sensitivity: deep music that can totally hypnotise you and speaks to the spirit.” 

Czar Producer, Levi Rijper said: “It’s amazing and of course challenging to translate an abstract idea from Bear’s head into an actual film. Each element of this film plays an important role and the chemistry that we had on set was surreal. The crew was extremely precise and talented. We were lucky that people had a lot of faith in this project, Patta and Dekmantel allowed Bear to really explore his creativity without being restrained to a strict brief. Many talented people worked on this project, including our main actress, Olivia Lonsdale who did a wonderful job and Majd Mardo, a brilliant rising star who already won a Gouden Kalf (the Dutch Oscar).”