Selected Experimental Short Films
My biggest filmmaking inspiration is Agnès Varda, because, for me, her films are deeply emotionally evocative. It is not just her work and the women’s issues it presents, but the way she persisted in a male dominated industry.
Walking, Repeatedly (2023)
Roland Barthes once suggested that after going to the movies, he often felt recharged upon re-entering the streets. This emphasizes the bodily lexicon he associated with the experience of moviegoing—an oscillation between dormancy, likened to being “limp as a sleepy cat,” and the energy of exiting the movie theater afterward, a state he captures in the French phrase en sortant.
The ritual of going to the movies, especially in its early 20th-century origins, is deeply tied to urban rhythms. It usually involves walking through the city, checking showtimes, purchasing a ticket, and entering the cinema house to sit in a fixed arrangement of screens and red velvet seats. The audience’s attention becomes singularly focused on the large screen until the projector light fades, signaling the end. Afterward, people leave the theater, the experience complete.
In my own research, I set out to look for scenes of sleep or sleepiness in the works of Tsai Ming-liang, but I was instead struck by the abundance of walking scenes—perhaps a gesture toward this cinematic ritual of moving from one state to another, much like Barthes’ reflections.
May (2007)
16 mm color film, with sound, 7 min.
The first half of the film depicts a carefree, playful young child; the second half paints an over-the-top, bubblegum-pink afterworld in a split frame. As seen in the background, the black and white head shot poster on the wall is an original Death by Gun poster created by the famed artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Listed on the sheet are individuals killed by gun violence with a brief explanation of their deaths. This poster, used as a mise-en-scene, implies the death of the child in the film.
Dots (2008)
16 mm color film, with sound, 3 min.
Shot with a Bolex camera, frame by frame, this film is inspired by the stop-motion technique and sampling found objects from the home such as postcards, magazines, photographs, and colorful window gel decals.
Place Portrait (2007)
16 mm black and white film, 1 min.
This black and white film portrait documents the aftermath of an apartment space damaged by a fire downstairs.
Car Wash (2007)
MiniDV, 3 min.