battleROYAL co-produced the feature-length documentary film Symphony of Now, in collaboration with Audi Zeitgeist Projects, Dreinull and Endorphine Productions.

The film directed by Johannes Schaff pays tribute to the vibrant energy of Berlin. Based on Walter Ruttmann’s 1927 avantgarde film „Berlin – Die Sinfonie der Großstadt“, the contemporary re-imagining follows the rhythms of Berlin at night across urban panoramas to secret corners and intimate moments. Using filmmakers Lil‘ Internet and Alexandra Weltz‘s unique camera work in addition to his own cinematography, Schaff creates a kaleidoscope of images to capture the modern metropolis.

This journey through the city is accompanied by a soundtrack as captivating and dynamic as the city itself – a score curated and produced by Frank Wiedemann of Innervision. He collaborated with Berlin-based musicians such as Modeselektor, Samon Kawamura, Gudrun Gut, and Thomas Fehlmann, building improvisations around the original film material. The new film was then cut to match this score. The result is not only a rare cinematic document of modern Berlin, but a testament to the musical innovation born of Berlin’s creative environment.

The film premiered in February 2018 at the Delphi Theatre Berlin featuring live performances by the musicians.

Symphony of Now is an Audi Zeitgeist Project and battleROYAL’s second collaboration with the initiative following Zeitgeist Symbiosis in 2015.