/
1
·
Mother of the Blueness
Medium: Experimental short film
Materials: cut paper animation, found footage, performance for video, sound, acrylic on wood (evil eyes)
Duration: 14 minutes
Synopsis:
Mother of the Blueness interweaves performance art, film, and cut-paper animation. The film progresses through a slow series of moving images that travel between moments of memory and contemplation, and then abruptly shift to scenes of neurosis and absurdism. Beti, the protagonist, employs magic, fabricated ritual, and the symbolism of the Nazar to anoint those inflicted by trauma and to mark the perpetrators. Mother of the Blueness conjures fictional time travel and stifles looped thoughts and Middle Eastern folklore while juxtaposing fiction and personal narrative. The sequences are layered with symbolism and sound, all beneath the color blue to invoke confusion, disorientation, and disruption. Beti exists in the echo of her religious Islamic upbringing, searching for peace through surrender only to be challenged by superstition, obsessive behavior, and the residue of her own traumas.
Film Credits:
Produced, Directed, & Edited: Shadia Nilforoush
Color Grade: Luke Seward
Cast:
Shadia Nilforoush – Beti
Rachel Dickson – Solo ritual
Ashante Kindle – Group ritual
Andrea Perez – Group ritual
Ally Maccio – Group ritual
Xinyi He – Group ritual
Zohaib Farooqui – Little brother in family footage
Monologue text: Written by Shadia Nilforoush
Filming Location: Connecticut
Sound:
Crystal Bowls, Harmonium, Beti Dancing scene, Shadia Nilforoush
Whispers, Audio Design, Nick Shifrin
Ritual #2 song “Ninos de las estrellas,” Xander Sun
Film Supported by:
MFA Studio Art Program, University of Connecticut
Crandall-Cordero Fellowship, University of Connecticut
Special thanks to:
Luke Seward, Alex Cunningham, the cast, Alison Paul, Kathryn Myers, Ray DiCapua, Barry Rosenberg, Elizabeth Requena, and Kate Daher.