A Promise - Short Film

I made this experimental short in October of 2016 using a Canon T3i and a 35mm lens. I'm influenced by a number of different films, some include: The Ninth Gate, Penny Dreadful, and the Fountain.

It explores a few different concepts, the biggest being that of the ouroboros and the concept of self creation. I am an artist. I create art, and in doing so, I am created. Repetition is a ritual that allows us to find ourselves. You see this throughout the film as it almost jarringly moves back and forth through time, speeding up or slowing down as it makes its way.

The two tarot cards shown here are the Tower card and the Devil card. The two combined refer to the need to start again. The Tower shows people jumping out of a burning building. Quite literally, this refers to the need to abandon old ways of thinking and to try something new. The Devil card shows the devil and his victims, though they aren't necessarily staying with him because of the chains they wear. They stay because they want to. Facing the unknown scares them more than sitting in hell for eternity, even though chains are easily broken and they could leave at any point. 

The etching the video focuses on is Knight, Death and the Devil by Albrecht Dürer. A recurring theme in Dürer's work was his self identity and the need to bridle ones vices to accomplish one's calling in life. He accomplished this by creating self portraits that highlighted important cultural influences from his time, and he also focused on representing large horses that one would 'bridle' like a vice in order to become its master. In this way, you are able to fend off the devil with the "armor of God". 

Looking back on it, I’m happy I explored these themes, challenging as they were.