The Duchess of Zion
From the Archives
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Short Films, 12-Sep-2022
Born into a life of opulence, Anna finds herself stuck in a plagued dream state. Horace Martins directs “The Duchess of Zion,” a striking experimental film capturing a life of beauty and decay, a mix of the haunted and the ethereal. Soon after her birth, Anna’s wealthy parents split, her dad ditching the family to become a hippie. In his absence, Anna’s mother turned to the bottle, unable to stomach the grief of the separation. Blurring together in subliminal spaces, Anna dreams of a slithering snake, a man standing ominously in front of a fire, a child running through grassy meadows; an assortment of memories and projections that ultimately lead to a decision about Anna’s future. The film is built as something of a prologue to which there is no first act, a rumination of the inklings of rebirth, or the end of stasis. -KA. Written, produced, directed, shot, edited by Horace Martins. Starring Anne de la Haye and Ysé Martins. Executive Producers: Hugo van der Straten & Emeric de Meester. Sound Composition and Design: Antoine Busson. Twin Shot Tracking: Julien Mercier.
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