Pick Up Your Cross (and follow me)

Single / 29 August 2020

Pick Up Your Cross (and follow me) is a quiet acoustic love song. It was written and produced in the summer of 2020.

The Music Video for Pick Up Your Cross

The music video for Pick Up Your Cross (and follow me) was shot during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Michael J. Keplinger and Simona Ascher shot reference footage at home. The former then animated the entire video within about a week’s time.

The music video, animated frame by frame, won the »Levi« Award for Best Music Video at the Venetian Ca’ Foscari Short Film Festival in 2021. In 2022, it earned a gold medal and special recognition for its remarkable idea at the VÖFA regional championship; VÖFA would later also honor short films such as Allerseelen or IRIS. It went on to win a bronze medal at the VÖFA state championship.

Written & produced by Michael J. Keplinger
Released independently
Film prod. by Michael J. Keplinger

Watch & Listen

Single cover of Michael J. Keplinger’s single ‘Pick Up Your Cross (and follow me)’

4 Awards & Nominations

  • Winner: Bronze Medal
    Festival der Österreichischen Film-Autoren (Austria, 2022)
  • 2x Winner: Gold Medal & Special Award for Remarkable Idea
    VÖFA Regional Championship (Austria, 2022)
  • Winner: The ‘Levi’ Award for The Best Music Video
    Ca’ Foscari Short Film Festival (Italy, 2021)

12 Festivals & Screenings

  • Wisdom Tree International Film Festival (India, 2023)
  • Festival der österreichischen Filmautoren (Austria, 2022)
  • The Austrian Filmer Association’s Regional Championship (Upper Austria/Salzburg) (Austria, 2022)
  • Festival Internacional Audiovisual (Colombia, 2021)
  • Austrian Filmfestival (Austria, 2021)
  • Gold Coast International Film Festival (United States of America, 2021)
  • Culture Cinema (India, 2021)
  • Insomnia International Animation Film Festival (Russia, 2021)
  • Ca’ Foscari Short Film Festival (Italy, 2021)
  • GCIFF Youth Film Day (United States of America, 2021)
  • 3rd Meihodo International Youth visual Media Festival (Fukuoka City, 2020)
  • New Generation Film Festival (Serbia, 2020)
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