I see her walking

on a path through a pathless forest,

or a maze, a labyrinth.

As she walks she spins,

and the fine thread falls behind her

following her way,

telling

where she is going,

where she has gone.

Telling the story.

The line, the thread of voice,

the sentences saying the way.

– Ursula Le Guin

This short film directed by Michael Eshun-Mensah and Diana Patient and choreographed by Chihiro Kawasaki is about the internal becoming external. Tightly wound and long unexpressed feelings slowly become untangled until they burst out like a sped up blooming bud. 

The film’s score is composed by Aaron May and David Ridley who create bold, unique soundtracks with a contemporary-classical and electronic edge. Their track This Time It’s Always Real fills the tree hollow where Chihiro moves–her inner world. The repetition of ‘this time it’s always real’ like a germ of a thought worked over and over in her mind as her hands similarly repeat and build upon initial movements.

Costume design by Catharina Eden who created a simple white cotton jumpsuit that collected blood from scraped limbs, rips and dirt as the protagonist moved from one state to another. The slits in the legs and the back opened as the movement became larger and less introspective. 

A short film that celebrates the sharing of our internal worlds

STARRING CHIHIRO KAWASAKI - DIRECTED BY MICHAEL ESHUN-MENSBAR AND DIANA PATIENT - DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY AMAN SAHOTA - 1ST/2ND ACS STEPHANIE KENNEDY AND BEN JESSE - WARDROBE CATHARINA EDEN - SCORE DAVID RIDLEY AND AARON MAY -  STILLS DIANA PATIENT - RUNNER JUNIA BASHIRU