Herve Marcotte is back on the podcast chatting about his next experimental feature documentary. Without getting TOO flaky, Herve and Matthew take a deep dive into the meaning of life and the human psyche.

Along the Threat of the Other synopsis:

After my first long documentary, “Encounter with remarkable souls”, with focus on the meaning of life, I am exploring the concept of self-realization with two 25 years old young adults. The film is a quest for an unknown treasure that cannot be found alone. Like the red thread of a fulfilled life !

A tightrope walker, a physiotherapist, a sculptress, a researcher and several adults take turns talking about the inner life... and their relationship with others. Throughout the film, fictional scenes resonate with their words. The film is constructed in the manner of an adventure.

Director Statement

In my films, there's a symbiosis between the "actors" (not in the traditional sense) and the director, creating an authentic truth that would otherwise remain undiscovered by them.

I enjoy incorporating elements such as animation, improvisation, experiments, games, self-thoughts. For examples, in "Encounter with Remarkable Souls," I incorporate scenes inspired by the emperor Marcus Aurelius, in "Fraternity is Contagious !" improvisational segments, in “Along the Thread of the OTHER" fictional scenes shot in black & white. Philosophical says constellate my films. I am meticulous in ensuring these elements resonate harmoniously with the documentary's themes, which originate from my thoughts but are never told during filming.

My films, directly or indirectly, revolve around universal love, portrayed by young characters (either in age or spirit), who offer viewers another perspective. I plan to give even more space to the Divine in my future works.

I film alone.

All my documentaries, under small budgets, are of cinematic quality, edited with the assistance of a professional team, including professional editing, music composition, sound design, and mixing.
Last but not least, all my films are films of faith.

——-

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Change - Kramon - Music Video.

The unconscious self and conscious self meet.

• Website

• Instagram

• Interview with star/director Meredith Adelaide on the making of the video.

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The Way Back Home is a two-minute poetic film that unfolds underwater, where a woman’s expressive movements accompany a powerful monologue on identity, womanhood, and self-ownership — written, directed, and narrated by the filmmaker herself. As the performer drifts through silence and resistance, the voice rises against the weight of judgment and expectation — reclaiming scars, softness, and the right to become. A cinematic meditation on finding one’s way back to the self.

https://www.instagram.com/angyaklyjammal/

Director Statement

The Way Back Home is a film I created from a place of deep honesty — not just as a director, but as a mother, a woman, and a human being who has lived through motherhood, silence, pressure, and transformation.
After completing the film, I sat with my daughters and told them: “I want you to watch this film when you are 20, again when you are 30, and again when you are 40.” Because this is not just a short film — it’s a piece of my story that I want to leave behind for them. A reminder that pain, scars, and growth are part of becoming. That they are allowed to own their voice, their truth, their transformation — no matter what the world tries to impose.

With a single performer, a voiceover, and the silence of water as its backdrop, this film holds everything I wanted to say to them — and to the women who might need to hear it too.

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What's Locked Behind That Door?, 4min., USA

Directed by John Gardner

In the visually arresting music video for Lunavox’s “What’s Locked Behind That Door?”, a series of metaphorical doors open onto the full spectrum of human emotion, drawing viewers into a surreal journey through fear, desire, and obsession. These portals also frame the chilling descent of a scientist whose relentless experiments lead him into darkness. Guided by the song’s pulsing rhythm, the two narratives intertwine as human vulnerability and scientific ambition collapse into a single vision of corruption and revelation.

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An ancient realm awakens. Somewhere between the living and the dead, a long forgotten forest begins to blossom. An exploration of loss, rebirth, and what awaits after death. A music driven short film that relies on imagery and sensation to convey meaning and suggest narrative. Even After (Prelude) was produced through digital paintings methodically rendered into photographic images with AI, custom small AI model creation for additional visuals, and original musical composition.

The process used to create this film can be viewed here:
https://youtu.be/y5VfbGxK1Iw

Project Links

• Website

• X

• Instagram

Director Statement

I create music-driven short films that blend sculpture, painting, and AI to explore the inner landscape of self and the nature of a greater reality.

My process begins with hand-sculpted digital characters and environments rooted in classical and Renaissance traditions. These are transformed into richly detailed, photorealistic visuals using AI tools — not to replace the artist’s process, but to enrich it. I’m committed to exploring how AI can be used ethically in artmaking: not as a shortcut that erases creative work, but as a tool that preserves and amplifies the voice of the artist within a deeply intentional process.

Original musical composition is the driving force of each piece. Rather than relying on dialogue or sound effects, I craft immersive scores that act as both the emotional anchor and the sonic identity of the world — shaping tone, pacing, and meaning. The music is not background; it is the pulse and spirit of the story.

My films explore themes of death, transformation, memory, and the otherwordly. They often unfold in liminal and mythic spaces — haunted forests, vanished towns, thresholds of the afterlife — carried entirely by music, imagery, and movement.

Blending conventional techniques with influences from silent film, experimental cinema, and works like Fantasia, my work exists between narrative and abstraction. It invites audiences to feel before they understand — to experience story as sensation — while redefining what cinematic language can be.

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SPLIT FOCUS, 6min., Dance/Experimental

Directed by Cherie Carson. DP/Editor: Micha Dunston

"Split Focus" is a captivating dance film that delves into the intricate relationship between self-perception and external projection. Through mesmerizing shadow play, the film explores images of spirit and internal feelings versus outward appearances, prompting viewers to question which aspect demands more attention— the dancer herself or her shadow. Visually poetic, it offers a compelling examination of how we project ourselves into the world and the duality of inner and outer identities.

http://www.upswingaerialdance.org/

https://www.instagram.com/upswingaeriaDirector Statement

I explore the layers of human identity and emotion through movement and visual storytelling.

My choreography and filmmaking are driven by a desire to illuminate the unseen forces that shape our understanding of ourselves and others. "Split Focus" is a dialogue between the physical body and its shadow, using dance and shadow play as a metaphor for the internal and external worlds we inhabit.

I look to challenge perceptions, create imagery that encourages viewers to reflect on the projections, masks, and truths that define us. With a background rooted in both choreography and award-winning filmmaking, I strive to craft immersive, visually compelling narratives that resonate on a visceral level—highlighting the beauty, complexity, and often unseen depths of the human spirit.

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HOLIDAY SPECIAL, 91min., USA

Directed by Harry Roseman

Community, Celebration, Conversation, Chores; these are the key themes of this experimental documentary. Four days of shopping for Thanksgiving dinner as well as the meal itself are

the ostensible subject of this film. Community is reflected in the interaction with people while shopping as well as the camaraderie of the dinner quests. The quotidian nature of these tasks is subverted by the abstract camerawork and narrative structure, offering the viewer a new perspective on both. The vertical orientation of the film reaffirms looking ahead as we follow the trajectory and shape of the shopping cart moving down the narrow aisles, as well as following the gaze of the filmmaker as he walks forward.

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Home, 11min., Belgium
Directed by Hanne Schillemans, Ralph Timmermans
Home is a short film about the fragility of life and the virtue of solitude. A faceless figure attempting not to resist the endless waves of pointlessness.

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?

Home grew out of a shared fascination with the fragile, often uncomfortable terrain of solitude. We were both navigating a kind of existential tension: the absurdity of life, and the strange peace that can arise when one stops resisting it. The idea that everything is ultimately out of one’s control and perhaps even pointless and the realization that this, paradoxically, can be liberating. That thought, oddly enough, gave us comfort. The film became a way to give form to that feeling.

From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

It’s hard to say exactly when the idea began. We think Home found us during a hike through desolate nature, when we unexpectedly came upon an empty house. It felt like stumbling into the middle of a concept. We didn’t plan it, we just recognized it. From that moment to the final cut, the process took about 18 months. Much of that time was spent letting the idea unfold, allowing it to simmer before taking shape.

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GROCERY SHOPPING, 38min., USA
Directed by Harry Roseman
I am at the grocery store three to five times a week. It has become a ritual, picking out the items, going over the shopping list, interacting with the same people year after year. It seems to me, an important aspect of my and many other people’s lives. Something utterly familiar. Though filmed it becomes somewhat mysterious, seen anew, to be rethought about.

Harry Roseman is a sculptor, photographer, draftsman, practitioner of web based works, and professor of art at Vassar College where he currently chairs the Department of Art. In addition to having had many solo exhibitions, Roseman has produced a number of major commissioned public sculptures.

For more info, go to his Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Roseman

https://www.instagram.com/harryroseman/

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?

My work takes many forms. An aspect of some of my work in photography, installation, and film centers on my interactions with people in my community as I go about doing errands. I had done some shorter film focused on checking out at the register with my purchases. These interactions are important to me because of the frequent interactions I have with the same people over months and years. They are specific kinds of relationships, These exchanges have an aspect of friendship, though bracketed by the relatively brief interchanges but enlarged by time and repetition. This film stems from those interactions, but also a way of showing a frequent and mundane activity as being worthy and possibly interesting as art. Possibly giving the viewer a new take on their own regular day to day activities, In addition I found aspects of the visual possibilities rather beautiful, as still lives, such as piles of fruits and vegetables. The added addition of bits of conversation that either I had with people or overheard was also interesting to me.

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DARK CIRCLES, 4min., USA
Directed by Suswana Chowdhury
“Dark Circles” is a surrealist short poetry film directed and produced by Suswana Chowdhury, and written by Jean-Sebastien Surena.

Get to know the writer Jean-Sebastien Surena & director Suswana Chowdhury:

What motivated you to make this film?

Jean: Sometimes I write poems that I feel beg to be consumed in a different medium. This is a piece I’ve very seldom read out loud, and have never published anywhere. The moment it was written, I knew I wanted to visualize it in some way. I sat on it for a long time, as I don’t like to rush into projects that extend to mediums I’m not as well versed in. But once I started collaborating with Suswana on other projects, and saw the care with which she handles my work, I knew it was only a matter of time until I’d finally be able to bring this work onto the screen.

Suswana: After Jean and I made our first poetry film together, “Unbroken,” we were ready to make more. I’ve always been interested in creating interdisciplinary art as I grew up creating in all these separate mediums – theater, film, poetry, dance, photography – and I wanted to explore where and how these forms can intersect. “Dark Circles” was an opportunity to translate Jean’s beautiful poetic language into cinematic language and push the visual and sonic artistry further than we did with our first project.

What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

Jean: My first thought upon hearing the feedback was “they get it.” Which was so important to me, because I know my words will always make more sense in my head than on paper. One of the challenges of a poet is conveying at least some of what you’re thinking to a reader/listener. And I’m grateful to have had an audience that gets it, and was moved by not just the words, but the entirety of our presentation.

Suswana: To be completely honest, I started tearing up after hearing the first person speak about the film. To know that the intentions of the project really came through and resonated with the audience made me feel like okay, I’m not crazy. Well, I am crazy, but it’s good crazy.

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STRING HEAD, 7min., USA
Directed by Matthew Vargas
A man in bed, after failing to fall asleep, is forcefully kept awake by String Head – an entity made of string that psychologically tortures him by wrapping him in a cocoon made from the deepest, darkest thoughts of his mind.

Conversation with director Matthew Vargas & Cinematographer Ryan Wilson Subscribe to the podcast:

Get to know Matthew Vargas

What motivated you to make this film?
One night at 3:00 AM I had a vision of String Head walking into my room. A thread of red string was on top of me. Thinking of String Head at the end of my bed was a creepy fascinating image – I had to make it and explore it. I also wanted to push the boundaries with Production Design as I never have before and use it to really convey symbolism and tell a story.

What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
I love the reactions and I feel so giddy about the different analyses. The positive reaction to the final song made my sound designer, Rochelle, very happy as they wrote + sang the song themselves under their artist name La Roche. The comparison of the film to night terrors that occur in real life was so on point that I felt a great sigh of relief. Many ideas had to be conveyed in this film and I feel as though they all landed. I was worried because there is no dialogue, but that is intentionally so in the film because these terribly anxious moments usually occur wordless and in the brain.

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MIHI: At the center of our gaze, 15min., France
Directed by Cyril Durand-Gasselin
Introspection is a mental activity which can be described metaphorically as the act of “looking inside” oneself, through a form of attention paid to one’s own sensations, states or thoughts. In psychology, this is the inner knowledge we have of our perceptions, actions, emotions and knowledge, which is different from that which an outside observer might have.

https://facebook.com/Compagnienos
https://instagram.com/compagnie_nos

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?

I wanted to show how important introspection has been for me in my life, and still is. It helped me grow so much. By giving this work to the world, I hope it will reminds everyone how important it is to take time to listen to yourself and to learn as much as you can from everything you can find inside.

What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

Honestly, I’ve got really touched and smiled all the way through the video. The comments were so nice and good but mostly really interesting. And it is really satisfying to hear comments from people that you don’t know that are coming from another country.

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LOST DREAMS, 10min., USA
Directed by Andrew Wakeman Proctor
Lost Dreams is about dreams. Scientists have not fully figured out dreams. The ancients believed you could predict the future through your dreams, Native Americans created dream-capturing devices. Some people keep dream diaries. Freud believed that we could fix people’s psychological problems by analyzing their dreams.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32021226/?ref_=ttawd_rvi_tt_i_4

Get to know the filmmaker:

I took an experimental film class at Connecticut College. We studied the works of Maya Dern and Stan Brackage. I was inspired by Anticipation of the Night by Stan Brackage. In the fall of 2009 I received an email inviting me to submit a film to an Experimental film festival in Switzerland. My friend John Prevedini sent me his music “Lost Days” and it inspired “Lost Dreams”.

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PROJECT 405: LOST AT SEA, 12min,. USA
Directed by Josie Hull
Aspiring artist Alexia, grieves the loss of a loved one and struggles to finish her painting. The-o, her personal AI assistant, who has little understanding of human emotions, tries everything in his power to feed her longing soul.

https://www.fenderbenderfilms.com/
https://www.instagram.com/fenderbenderfilms/

Get to know actors & creators Marco Labate and Gica Pucca

M: Coming from pretty intense personal journeys, we wanted to work with the idea of fantasy vs. reality, and we chose to use grief as a vehicle. At the end of the day, you can always make the choice to either acknowledge or ignore what you feel, but the latter can lead to confusion, and reality always catches up to you.

G: We liked exploring the concept of artificial intelligence and the modern world, conflicting with art and human emotion.

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Conversation with writer/producer Ken Barrett about the Opera Film “BRAINLAND”

In 1935 Egas Moniz, renowned Portuguese neurologist, visit psychiatrist Sobral Cid in order to persuade him allow his patients to be act as subjects for Moniz's experiemntal treatment - frontal leucotomy. After some resistance Cid agrees. The first such operation is staged, but Moniz's exhaltation is cut short by an attempt on his life. This self-contained chamber opera is actually scene 7 from a longer opera of the same name that tells three stories from the history of 20th century brain science (rather than a screenplay we worked with a libretto). it was filmed very quickly with little resources and involved professional and non-professional cast & crew. The music is by Stephen Brown. Directed by Chiara D’Anna

https://www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk/

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I AM MORE, 3min., USA

Directed by David Calderon

I am more is an initiative by Animagic Studios to create a conversation around self-esteem and body confidence among young women, their families and social circles.

http://animagic.io/

https://www.instagram.com/iammoreproject/

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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TOTEM, 3min., France
Directed by Emeline Castaneda
The day had started badly for Alice. But that was without taking into account the old saying “in the jungle you must wait, 13 helps yourself liberate”

Get to know the filmmaker:
It was originally for a contest. We had tell a story around the theme “number 13”. I have always expressed my self best with choreography and I already had this idea of a choreography about animal transformation. It was the perfect opportunity.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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WATER ALWAYS GOES WHERE IT WANTS TO GO, 5min., Romania
New Media Artist by Yiou Wang
“Water Always Goes Where It Wants to Go” is an ecoperformance CG art video of the body in synergy with the storied landscape of water. How can we go back to something we already have? We are born out of water, and water constitutes our body, our territories, and our myths. Mapping water through the body, in between transitory space for waters, the short film investigates the relationship between the self, its embodied and somatic dialogues, and these physical and symbolic waters, questioning how we can return to our first water, the common body.

http://yiouwang.org/
https://twitter.com/YiouWang1
https://www.instagram.com/yiou_wang_/

Get to know the filmmaker:
This short film is the natural product of a very rich and interesting conversation Alina and I have. Many of our ideas clicked and crosspollinated. Alina is an actress and performance artist, who expresses through her body; I am a visual artist who expresses through image and form. We are both empaths who share an intuitive, embodied connection to a larger, more-than-human world. Alina has been introducing to the world the method of ecoperformance for many years, where she embodies a forest, a river, a crow, or an ancient mythic being and shapeshifts in synergy with the consciousness of the embodied. We began to focus on water, as water is our first body – the amniotic fluid is where we come from, and our common body. In many precolonial cultures and epistemologies, the land is often also corporeal. In Tuva, the mountain peak is the heart of mountain ranges, where rivers are the aortas, the soil’s blood vessels.

Alina and I wanted to create a branch of artworks embodying water combining her ecoperformance and my virtual filmmaking. She performs embodying water from our animistic perspective, and I do the motion capture, transferring her movement to the avatars of water. The scenography is designed with a root in theatre arts, where I put my 3D scanned natural environment pieces in the scene reminiscent of stage.

From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
It is hard to pinpoint the start of this project, since Alina and I have been communicating for a year and our minds grew into this rich constellation. Since the beginning, we agreed to draft some proposals to apply for certain live performance art grants. After that, we thought why not make a film to further illustrate our proposal? And the actual production and editing of this film was about three weeks. But it’s hard to say it’s only three weeks, because a lot of the models I put into the environment were from my longtime habit of 3D scanning in my forest hikes.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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SETTING BOUNDARIES, 5min., Poland
Directed by Iza Pajak
A woman tries to set boundaries while struggling to fight for her needs.

Get to know writer/producer/star Diana Matlak:

I have been struggling with setting boundaries my entire life.
I was a people pleaser and still to this day I find it not easy to set boundaries.
The subject of this film is very personal to me. I also think that the ability to set boundaries is an issue for a lot of people nowadays. A lot of us wanna meet other people’s expectations and seek approval of other people, often forgetting about ourselves and our needs. That’s why I really wanted to make this film, to talk about setting boundaries and show that we all have a voice.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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CIRCULAR, 10min., Netherlands
Directed by Inge Theunissen
In the history of the future lab technicians clone themselves. Overheating strikes when a clone emerges that deviates.

http://itmoves.tv/

Get to know the filmmaker:

When I saw the choreography Circular from Adriaan, it reminded me of those SF series from the sixties/seventies, also partly through the music and costumes. As a child I watched series like Star Trek, Doctor Who and I still really love the old science fiction imagery. That is where it started, I wanted to make a short sci-fi film, based on the choreography but with my own script so I started writing.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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