Our sixth week feature films by Paulo Fajardo, Vanessa Abdel, Rosie Hough, Victor Kasila, Guia Ravizza, Matt-Willis Jones, and Gloria Kurnic. Also featuring dog masks, snakes, and a global pandemic! They have one thing in common: everyone is going a bit stir-crazy in isolation and they find VERY different ways to deal with it.
"Creativity never stops: Motherhood" by Gloria Kurnik
From Gloria: "Mothers was filmed when a commissioning platform Genero asked its members how they're staying creative in lockdown. I had an overwhelming feeling that as a new mother - in lockdown or not - creativity will have to take a back seat for a really long time. But then I started thinking... being on my own and left to my own devices I had to be creative constantly, and I haven't even recognised it. I also remembered all the stories of mothers trying to find new ways to engage their kids at home. It was my first video project since my daughter was born and it was definitely a challenge to film with a 2 month old and edit when she was napping, but it was also so much fun!"
"The New Normal" by Matt Willis-Jones & Andrea Cartategui
Matt Willis-Jones is a British artist and filmmaker based in Mexico City. He specialises in using surrealism and absurdist humour to get his point across, mixing the conventional with the experimental to create worlds that are a step away from reality. He's presently completing his first feature film, Atopia.
From Matt: "Our upstairs neighbours were the inspiration for this film: too cool for skool and masks, they managed to bring the virus into the building, making our stairwell a Covid-19 hotspot, and being sure to infect the apartment below for good measure. Yay! Good job guys! Exactly how hard is it to wear a mask, one wonders... While contemplating how to instigate behavioural changes, I was reminded of crazy mind control experiments of the 60's and, of course, Pavlov's dog. Put that in the mix with 'Boris says put your hand on your head'... go to work, don't go to work, stand on one leg, eat your bicycle... and, well, you get the idea.
Fun Fact: The dog's name is Atma, named after Schopenhauer's many poodles. This has absolutely nothing to do with the plot, but it's difficult to direct a dog with no name and I wasn't going to call it Fifi.
Fun Fact 2: It's not actually a dog. It's just me wearing a mask."
"Travels Of Isolated Minds - A Message In A Bottle" by Guia Ravizza
A short film produced entirely in lockdown in Italy during the Coronavirus pandemic (2020). The story of nine young adults in isolation in their homes. Thoughts, fears, values, remorse, discoveries, experiences... all told by video call in a message in a bottle. A message of hope not to be forgotten for a better future.
Guia was born on May 24th 1999 in Pavia, Italy, where she grew up. She always showed creativity and passion for all kinds of art from a young age, from music to cinema. At the age of 15, she shot her first short film with five friends. She then went to live in Santa Barbara (CA) on her senior year in high school as an exchange student. After graduating at the scientific high school back in Italy, she took a gap year and worked as a first and second AD for a production company of documentaries and one commercial in Milan. In September 2019, she moved to London to start studying at MetFilm school, surrounded by peers with her same ambitions. She hopes to be able to go to Los Angeles to do a Master in directing or editing.
"ALMOST TWO YEARS" by Vanessa Abdel
"PANDEMIC" by Victor Kasila
Victor Kasila is a Kenyan High School student at Light Academy Boys Secondary School Nairobi who shoots his films mostly on the Nikon D3400 among other equipment. The short film 'Pandemic' is a brief show of life in quarantine with many wanting to leave it. It has been made so as to urge people to stay at home and curb the spread in a rather comical way.
"Silenced" by Rosie Hough
'Silenced' follows a phone call between the subject and an unknown on the other end of the phone. As the film continues, the abusive nature of the relationship between the subject and the caller is revealed. This film is an artefact of the physical and emotional trauma of pain and memory.
From Rosie: "I am currently completing a masters at UCL in documentary film. I love experimenting with the boundaries between art, performance and memory and hope to continue making films like these in the future."
Rosie is on Instagram @rosie_hough
"A SNAKE IN THE YARD" by Paulo Fajardo
Paulo César Fajardo was born in Figueira da Foz, in 1980, Portugal. Developed various documentary projects as an independent producer and made his directorial debut in 2000 with the short film “Outono/Fall”. Worked as a freelance camera operator, editor and director for several TV shows for national and international networks. Finished in 2011 his first feature film “Summer Dream” and in 2012 created the web tv BairradaTV. He now works as a freelance news camera operator and editor for the SIC and SIC Notícias tv news channels.
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