Amazing animation Spheres screens at the New Jersey Film Festival on September 6th!

by Philip Thompson

originally published: 08/24/2026

Connecting the past with the future, Spheres forces you to exist in the now. Director Martin Gerigk is considered to be one of Germany’s greatest symphonists, with many of his compositions being performed and critically acclaimed all over the globe. Over the past decade, he has been exploring and creating through an audio-visual medium. Starting in 2016 with the film adaptation of Gerigk’s Structures of Nature ensemble piece, Gergik has released several more films including Haiku (2022) and Night Ride from LA (2023).

Spheres is a 6-minute experimental film that chronicles the journey of life over thousands of years. Imagining the literal roots of life and the origin of existence itself, the film follows the framework of life taking form. The growth, the memory, and the knowledge needed for humans to continue the everlasting cycle and endlessly rewritten journey of life and evolution. Imagining the building blocks of life becoming the steppingstones of exploration. The way growth affects change, the way movement creates new paths, the way experimentation becomes the standard. Spheres show the cyclical nature of life, in every way.

“Spheres is an homage to life, a poetic essay that drifts through a series of expanding spheres, each revealing a different layer of our shared reality, from the microscopic to the mythical. The film is an exploration of how the smallest vibrations of existence echo outward into the vast architecture of being and cosmos, a breathing meditation designed to remind us of the wonders of our incomprehensibly beautiful world. Spheres invites viewers to look closely, to listen deeply, and to remember that every sphere - no matter how small or vast - is part of one continuous unfolding. The film is an invitation to see life not as a ladder but as a constellation of spheres: interdependent, fragile, and astonishing.” (Gerigk)

Spheres screens as part of Shorts Program #1 at the New Jersey Film Festival on Sunday, September 6, 2026 – Online for 24 Hours on this date and In-Person at 5PM in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901! Get more info and buy tickets here.

The 45th Bi-annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place between September 4-October 4, 2026. The Festival will be a hybrid as we will be presenting it online as well as doing select in-person screenings at Rutgers University. All the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. VOD start times are at 12 Midnight Eastern USA. Each General Admission Ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person shows when both are offered. We will also be offering an Audio-Visual Concert featuring Hanging Coats and Lawns as well as two FREE Filmmaking Workshops! The in-person screenings, the filmmaking workshops and the AV Concert will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 1PM, 5PM or 7PM on their show date. General Admission Ticket=$15 Per Program; Festival All Access Pass=$100; In-Person Only Student Ticket=$10 Per Program. The Filmmaking Workshops are FREE and open to the public but have limited seating and require advance registration. To register email us at [email protected]