Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)
Anton Corbijn / United Kingdom / 2022 / European Premiere / 97 min
In his first documentary, music video legend Anton Corbijn tells the wild story of the visionary album cover designers behind Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and many others. The rockumentary of the year!
What do a glowing cow, a flying pig and a flame-wrapped man in a suit have in common? They are all motifs in some of the most iconographic album covers in music history, and they are all created by the artist duo Hipgnosis. Anton Corbijn, who has directed feature films about Joy Division and music videos for bands like Nirvana, Nick Cave and Depeche Mode, tells the story of Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell with his trademark black-and-white style. Two curly brains who had never played a note of music, but whose surreal and humorous visions made them rock royalty in the 1960s and for many decades to come. Corbijn gets anecdotal assistance from a wide range of world stars – including Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, Noel Gallagher – and the result is wildly entertaining.