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
-
The Courtesy
An encounter between a police officer and civilian turns deadly. Directed by Jeanpaul Isaacs.
-
Meet the Director: Molly Longwell ("B...
Molly is a writer/director and production designer residing in Brooklyn, NY. Born and raised in a small rural town in Vermont, she is inspired by the theatrics & intricacies of smaller worlds. through film, she seeks to illuminate the nuance and inevitable contradiction in people & the everyday.
-
Pedestrian
A young man, on-edge, tries cycling as a way to make friends. Noah Kentis directs “Pedestrian,” an expressionistic character study of a highly volatile call center employee. Working at United Auto Loan Trust, Kehlani gets aggressive on phone calls with people short on cash. A coworker tells Kehla...
