Other States of Matter
The 14-year-old teenager Mya ghostwrites a love poem for her close friend Pat as an act of playful revenge. As the then-playful love poem snowballs into something sinister and violent, Mya attempts to flee but unwittingly embarks on a journey that is filled with uncanniness and ambivalence.
Interview with Writer/Director/Editor Abigail He
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
What we just saw is the sizzle reel of the actual film. The sizzle reel is a scene taken from the opening of the film. And the film is based on a dream I had two years ago and I developed it into an experimental script. So it was the dream that came to me and urged me to capture its essence with image and sound. It was like a spiritual calling from inside, I knew I have to make this film.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I think what makes this film so unique is the viewing experience. The viewers follow the protagonist to go down to this rabbit hole and experience the anxiety, fear, nerve, all those raw emotions that are largely restrained in their conscious selves. So the experience of watching this film is like having a strange but beautiful dream. It's this emotional driven visual and aural experience that makes this film unique. To feel it, not to understand it.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
As I mentioned earlier, the film is based on a dream I had, it's from the unconscious side of me that I'm not as familiar as my conscious self. The dream was the reflection of my psyche, on how did my puberty affect me till these days.
And the film is an elaboration of that dream. It sheds light on the unfamiliar side of ourselves, which is our unconscious mind. They are our hidden selves that we should be aware of. So the film is to reveal the female psyche, especially on young women. It's about how puberty, sexual awakening and adulthood influence female psychology.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The structure of the script was already in the dream. So my main job was to put those pieces back together. But most details are fictional.
I always work very slow in scriptwriting, this script in particular. At first, I was really having a hard time to let my intuition kick in, to let the feelings flow. But eventually, I managed to channel it so things finally came together. Surrealist and abstract paintings were the major influence during the script's development. I did lots of research on painting and sculpture so these two mediums really helped me to reshape the script. Also, I went through my notes when I studied psychology and did more research on that. So the scriptwriting process was a mixture of researching and getting inspired by the great minds and artwork.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Abstractly beautiful might be the most common feedback I heard from the viewers. For those who don't know much about the story background, they were amazed by the visual part of the film. They think the piece is visually stunning and unconventional.
And for those who read the script, I received positive reactions from them. Although some viewers found the subject matter too intellectual and too ambiguous, most of them agreed the content is very solid and straightforward. I think it's the ambiguity that makes the film interesting. How do you define the dream you had? There is no definition. So it opens to any interpretation.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Not really. I think the film is an abstract piece that unlike other straightforward narrative fictions, it doesn't offer an answer or a definition. It's more of a poem or an abstract painting. It's up to the viewers to decide what they see and how they see it. So the film is open to any reaction and feedback. It's the moment when the viewers interact with the piece matters the most.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
The film is in pre-production and is now seeking funds for the production. We are very excited to build our potential audiences on www.wearemovingstories.com for our production in later fall this year. Ultimately, the film is to push the boundaries of cinema and to explore the possibilities of image and sound. We can't wait to see how the members in this community respond to this film!
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We would love to get investors, film festival programmers, directors, journalists, buyers and distributions on board for this project! This is a unique project about the female psyche and it pushes the boundaries of aesthetic in cinema. It shows another possibility of image and sound and with the help of investors, film festival programmers, directors, journalists, buyers and distributions, it will raise the public awareness of female psychology and variegate cinema as an expressive aesthetic form of art.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
The film aims to raise public awareness of the female psyche and the human unconscious mind.
In addition, as the film will be shot in 16mm and will be completed with the analog handmade cinematic techniques, the project hopes to explore and preserve the analog handmade cinematic arts, its tools and technologies in the digital age.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How do we see our unconscious selves?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I'm also working on some experimental avant-garde video pieces. They all share similarities with Other States of Matter but more abstract and experimental. One of them is called Garden of Faces, it's a six minutes long video collage piece.
Interview: April 2020
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Other States of Matter
The 14-year-old teenager Mya ghostwrites a love poem for her close friend Pat as an act of playful revenge. As the then-playful love poem snowballs into something sinister and violent, Mya attempts to flee but unwittingly embarks on a journey that is filled with uncanniness and ambivalence.
Length: 2:40
Director: Abigail He
Producer: Jen Kim
Writer: Abigail He
About the writer, director and producer:
ABIGAIL HE is an NYC based independent visual artist and filmmaker. She has been writing and directing short films for the past six years. Before Christmas, written and directed by Abigail, was selected in over 20 film festivals around the world and has won several awards, including the Golden Cine Award at Headline International Film Festival. Her experimental short film Flow has been broadcasted on PBS Channel 13. Abigail is now in pre-production of her latest short film Other States of Matter, an experimental film that serves up a dreamlike, nonlinear journey about female puberty, growth, and adulthood through the eyes of a 14-year-old girl.
JEN KIM is a film, event and festival Producer, Director and Writer in Hoboken, New Jersey. As a Producer, Line Producer and Unit Production Manager, her work spans the production of short and feature-length films, documentaries and branded content.
Key cast: Jane Murdoch (Mya), Lucas Quintana (Pat)
Looking for: journalists, film festival directors
Hashtags used: #experimentalshort #analogshort
Website: abigailhe.wixsite.com/otherstatesofmatter
Other: IMDb