Scratch ‘n Sniff Cinema: The Company of Wolves (2010)

Dir. Neil Jordan / 1986 / UK / 95min.

Scratch ‘n Sniff ambassadors Bompas & Parr collaborated with producer Bren O’Callaghan to present a unique screening of the fairytale horror-fantasy The Company of Wolves. The screening took place in a room fit for a fairytale and the guests got stuck into wolf themed free refreshments as well as visiting the ‘wolf transformation station’.

Though perhaps the most fascinating element of the screening was that the audience could actually smell what was happening on screen. Aromas were created that captured the scents of key moments in the film. These were micro-encapsulated and printed onto special scratch ‘n’ sniff cards issued to the audience on arrival. The technique was pioneered by American director John Waters for his 1981 film Polyester. He termed it ‘Odorama’.

Directed by Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Mona Lisa) and dredged from the depths of 1984, The Company of Wolves is a reworking of Little Red Riding Hood and is based on author Angela Carter’s interpretation of the fairy tales of Charles Perrault. It stars Angela Lansbury, Stephen Rea and Sarah Patterson as the precocious lead Rosaleen, a young girl on the cusp of sexual awakening. The film contains disturbing and remarkable scenes of human-animal transmogrification.

Acclaimed choreographer Micha Bergese, who appears within the film in the role of The Huntsman, attended the screening. One of director Neil Jordan’s regular collaborators, Micha has also worked with and appeared alongside Tom Cruise (Interview With The Vampire), but is himself renowned as a director and choreographer for stage, screen and music, working with Mick Jagger, Leonard Cohen and Tina Turner, as an associate with the London Contemporary Dance Theatre, artistic director of Mantis Dance Company and more recently with his own company mbp.ltd.

Bompas & Parr is globally recognised as the leading expert in multi-sensory experience design.
The studio works with commercial brands, artistic institutions, private clients and governments to deliver emotionally compelling experiences to a wide variety of audiences. Sam Bompas and Harry Parr first came to prominence through their expertise in jelly-making, but the business rapidly grew into a fully fledged creative studio offering food and drink design, brand consultancy and immersive experiences across a diverse number of industries.