Robert Fenz worked as a cameraman with Chantal Akerman and was one of the most committed filmmakers reviving avant-garde traditions for a long time until he passed away in 2020 at the age of 52. His films, mostly made on black-and-white 16mm, possess a rare energy and restless beauty.

Fenz’s attitude towards filmmaking is strongly influenced by jazz improvisation, primarily by the work of trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, with whom he studied. Vertical Air exemplifies the close relationship between music and cinema: iconographic American imagery combined with Smith’s great evocative power of ad-libbing. The music is an exclusive composition and the only commentary on Fenz’s camera work.