Yello World is the first episode of an experimental film series for an episodic rock opera. This first episode is designed to serve as a media portal for POW! [Power Our World], a program of Art Raising Questions (ARQ) and to promote media impact on the environment, culture and social justice.

Overview

More than ever before, to value our environmental and cultural heritage, and to demand social justice, we must speak in our own voices, raise questions, discover our unique talents, tell our stories, and find ways to “make media actionable.”

Logline

In YELLO WORLD, Theseus believes his mission is to slay a Monster. The Minotaur turns out not to be the monster we so feared. In the end, he realizes that the Minotaur is our guardian angel — a wake-up call to save our Earth and Ocean heritage.
Listed on IMDb here.

Synopsis

Eight mythic archetypes, including Theseus, Ariadne, and the Minotaur, meet in Silicon Valley to face the end of the world.

We’ve called the Minotaur a monster because we are afraid of her warning, which forces us to look at ourselves. Our mindsets trap us in a labyrinth of perverse consumption (sex & money) and the military-industrial complex (engineers & puppeteers). Only by “changing our minds” can we escape.

YELLO WORLD is a Rorschach ink blot. We all see it differently.

YELLO WORLD is the first episode of a serialized rock opera that was originally titled THE END OF THE WORLD. That seemed too depressing; the title became HELLO WORLD, optimistically calling on technology and innovation to rush to the rescue. After the great fires of 2020, the title became YELLO WORLD because this rock opera is not about THE END – hopeless – nor the learner’s new optimistic message – HELLO. A great yellow warning signal calls us to wake up to the reality of our YELLO WORLD and to “make media actionable.”

Draft Song above – THE MAZE WE BUILT

Singer – Magnus Kjeldal
Composers – Joe DeCicco (Composer, aka Operator Error); Wendy Bichel (Song); Ken Bichel (Orchestration).
Lyrics – Zann Gill for YELLO WORLD rock opera

HELLO WORLD Assistant Director Alex Gomez with the Minotaur, Sha Sha Higby

HELLO WORLD Cinematographer Aleks Korolko with the Minotaur, Sha Sha Higby

GOYA’S FOREST AT DAWN

by animated set designer for YELLO WORLD, artist Seana Oliver

GOYA’S FOREST BURNING

by animated set designer for YELLO WORLD, artist Seana OliverSha Sha Higby, Performance Artist, Sculptor, Animator, and Costume Designer for the Minotaur
Sha Sha Higby in “Emeralds on Ice” from Sha Sha Higby on Vimeo.

Bio of the Director/ Screenwriter

Zann Gill believes that “making media actionable” can make a difference in our world. As a Research Scientist and Program Developer at RIACS (Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science), contracted to NASA (US National Aeronautics and Space Administration), she entrepreneured the vision of a global sustainability collaboratory. But this work needed a platform outside government. So she started earthDECKS, which draws analogy to card games. In this “deck of cards” each card is a media story in a distributed network of stories — high impact media making a difference. She holds several patents from the A.I. division of the USPTO and has also won awards for her screenplays. More >  zanngill.com