“E Y A N” By Peter Widdrington

After he discovers his own dead body on a beach, Eyan sets out on a new chapter in life. However, he soon realizes that his past may not be as removed as he thought.

The more he tries to move forward, the closer it seems to catch up to him. EYAN is about figuring out when to leave your past behind you so that you may continue to grow as an artist, even when your past has made you the person you are today.

The short film IN MEDIAS RUSH is an experimental cinematic journey into the depths of a manic mind. A poetic retro-sci-fi narrative unfolded in a string of unsettling tableaus that encapsulates the male protagonist’s ambiguous feelings about his birthday. While balancing between realities in his silent struggle with severe mental illness, we plunge into the film at a neatly orchestrated birthday party. The protagonist is accompanied by his girlfriend, and they are drinking cocoa on the couch in their mutual home. The setting breathes pure perfection, but through the voice over we sense that another reality is soon to be revealed. With one foot on the accelerator, he is heading towards the edge. The thematic focal point of IN MEDIAS RUSH is mental health problems among young adults, and the social/personal consequences related to the existing taboo on the subject. The film wishes to formulate an honest cinematic space in which words, sound, and image artistically interprets and articulates some of the perspectives related to especially bipolar, anxiety, and psychotic disorders. IN MEDIAS RUSH was nominated in the category 'Best Danish Short Film' at Copenhagen Short Film Festival in 2020. Original title: IN MEDIAS RÆS Directed by: Esben Persson -------------------- DK: IN MEDIAS RÆS IN MEDIAS RÆS er en filmisk rejse ind i dybderne af et manisk sind. En ung mand fejrer sin fødselsdag, mens hans tanker tordner afsted. Med en uvillig fod på speederen har han kurs mod kanten. FR: IN MEDIA RES IN MEDIA RES est un voyage dans les profondeurs d’un esprit maniaque. Un jeune homme fête son anniversaire tandis que ses pensées se multiplient. Malgré lui, il se dirige vers un point de non-retour. -------------------- Cast: Peter Alexander Bach & Amanda Overby Drew Director // Script writer // Set designer // Costume designer // Editor // Speaker: Esben Persson Photographer // Editor: Lasse Mølsted Producer: Latifa Lykke Ben Mabrouk Assistant producer: Cecilie Creutsberg Music composer: Martin Bejder Sound designer: Mads Hye Chief Lighting Technician: Rasmus Bruun Liboriussen VFX: Jonas Fonnesbæk Lodahl Colorist: Kristopher Paterson Graphic designer: Jakob Toft Kristensen -------------------- Shot on RED Monstro 8K with Lomo Squarefront Anamorphics.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

From the director

I have known Eyan and our DP Liam Higgins since my first year of film school. We quickly became friends, and worked together on projects with one another as we figured out what we wanted to do.

Back in university, life felt like it had a plan, but after a year of being outside of school, life felt aimless. Eyan had left to BC for a year to work on getting his Canadian Visa, while Liam and I worked seperately on commercials. After Eyan came back to Toronto, we began to talk about our lives, and the lack of direction we were both facing with our work. After many conversations, it became clear that there was a universal story in each of us.

At a certain point, every artist needs to look at their past and decide how much of it is going to dictate their life moving forward. Even when we feel like we moved on, it sometimes seeps through the work we make, and can prevent us from fully progressing into our new selves. After hearing Eyan talk about his own past, and how it incorporated itself into his work, I knew there was a chance to create a film and tell a story that could resonate with an audience.

Credits

Director: Peter Widdrington
Producer: Sara Jade Alfaro

Writers: Eyan Weiss and Peter Widdrington
Cinematographer: Liam Higgins
AC: Adam Cummerford
Gaffer: Douglas Cunningham

Editor: Oliver Whitfield-Smith
Sound Recordist: Michael Curtis
Art Director: Nikayla Van Asperen
Makeup: Samantha Ryan

Composer: Alex Gluch

Colour House: Art Jail
Colourist: Kevin Wu
Colour Assistant: Shay Koshy
Stills Photography: Eyan Weiss
Production Assistants: Ibrahim Issa and Yasmin Evering-Kerr