how can i be present when photographs exist
From the Archives
•
Short Films, 03-Jan-2023
While pondering the need to endlessly capture her life in photos and videos, a filmmaker attempts to be present in the moment. Shereen Lani Younes directs “how can i be present when photographs exist,” a self-reflective video essay narrated with stream-of-consciousness musings over a smorgasborg of phone-captured moments. Younes films endlessly: pets, plants, balloons, car washes, meals, selfies. And yet she’s not sure why she does it — what’s the impulse to capture her daily life in such detail? What could these photos and videos be used for? What happens to the documentation after she’s gone? Unanswered questions for our age and yet the film makes a strong case for its significance as a multimedia poem with artful construction and self-deprecating humor. In 2018, we featured Younes’ narrative short, “Fall,” a psychological drama where reality appears to be crumbling for a young woman in L.A. The new one has an entirely different format and style but continues to mine similar emotional territory for poetic questions on identity and perception. -KA. Director, Writer, Editor: Shereen Lani Younes.
Fall: https://www.nobudge.com/videos/fall
Up Next in From the Archives
-
Sisters!
A platonic meet-cute at a bus stop whimsically spirals into a surprising connection between a makeup artist and a nun. In “Sisters,” written by Beth Hoyt & directed by Nicole Emanuele, nothing is quite what it seems and getting exactly what you wished for is not necessarily a good thing. Wait...
-
Savasana
A soft-spoken father takes refuge in yoga classes to escape parenting responsibilities and leer at women in tight yoga gear. Anchored by a hilariously low-key Paul Gordon (a veteran on the no-budget scene), the short wears its juvenile heart on its sleeve, and for a comedy, delivers surprisingly ...
-
“(ಥ﹏ಥ) ✧_My parents are cia PSY0PS_!!...
From the desktop screen of a 2004 computer, a child dissociates into conspiracy sites, malware, porn, and anon forums. ““(ಥ﹏ಥ) ✧_My parents are cia PSY0PS_!!!* ಠ_ಠ”,” directed by Haydon Mayer, takes us through deep corners of the world wide web and slowly away from reality. Greeting us in what se...
