loneliness
[ˈləʊnlɪnɪs]
noun
Loneliness is the state of feeling alone; it is often correlated with feelings of anxiety, withdrawal and low self-esteem that in turn, are accompanied by a lack of social integration, restlessness, hostility and distrust. Loneliness is usually located in the torso, at the height of the heart.
Our battle with reality and what we discard as non essential to our well being is important. Loneliness and depression, are linked and unfortunately they play an important role in the societies we form today. How much does our way of living contribute to these feelings? To what degree does loneliness transform into a self-imposed situation, due to our detachment from nature and a lack of connection with ourselves and those around us? ‘Nail Clippings: World Without Sun’ explores these three relationships, using humour and surrealist imagery.
All the scenes were shot and produced in Cyprus during COVID with just Konstantina Skalionta (main character) and myself taking part in the filming process. Konstantina was not harmed in the making of this film. But she endured a lot. The shoots included a lot of trekking and carrying furniture in locations that were close to the middle of no-where. I had planned the sound to come in as voice-overs so I was able to guide her whilst filming, making sure she was not falling off cliffs as she had a plastic bag over head for all the scenes. I don’t like taking on too many roles when I am making a film. I love working as a team, but apart from budget restrictions it was lock-down and the documents we had only legally covered shenanigans for 2 persons.
The aim of this short was to create a humoristic approach on a heavy topic and to visualise an emotional situation which, I believe, can be altered if we all face our own realities (easier said than done). The script is based on notes I was writing whilst battling with depression in my 20s and even the clothes and shoes of the main character belonged to me. I felt this was necessary artistic choice as the film reflects my own personal experience with loneliness. However, the whole production process and final outcome of the film, was influenced by the circumstances we all had to live through during lockdown. COVID restrictions are what actually pushed me to put together the film. (As well as the amount of free time we had…)
I usually visualise a scene before it’s written. I can hear the soundscape and sense the feelings I need to convey. Enter surrealism. I do love the absurd, in the everyday especially. It is a form of expression I use in a lot of my work, to describe emotional states and how I conceive human constructs of reality. Both my backgrounds in theatre and animation enhance my ways of working so props and locations are always carefully selected. I love exploring the outdoors (and being away from humans) so I already knew most of the locations the scenes would be shot at which made everything easier.
Drawings from the storyboard.
It was clear to me from the start that I wanted the film to be slow, for the audience to dwell on the emotions being described by the images and sound in each scene. I wanted to keep things simple. Long shots and a minimal soundscape; boundaries which helped me convey the message in a specific way. And hopefully give space for the audience to feel the awkwardness and absurdity of the scenes. The voices and natural sounds of each scene were integral parts of the film a they morphed each landscape into a character of its own. The voice actors had to come in one by one, on separate occasions, to my flat to record their takes. It was a lot of fun, especially because we got to connect over something other than the frustration and anxieties of the era. I had given them a background story of each character and they embodied them with seriousness. The sound was mainly recorded by myself on site and I experimented at home recording the foley sounds. A special thanks goes to Dimitris Savva and Emiddio Vasquez with their advice and help on the sound.
Watch the full movie here: https://www.artevlo.com/nailclippingsworldwithoutsun
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