“The Space Between Us” By Stuart Langfield

A film about us and our f*****g phones...

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.

‘The Space Between Us’ acts as a mirror to our changing relationship with technology, social media, and with each other. The film is a series of interconnected vignettes centred around social media ‘archetypes’; characters that represent us, our friends, those we follow, and those who follow us. Each character contributes to an endless stream of content, or simply gazes into the vortex, the only companion within each scene is the relentless illumination of a phone screen.

The story was born from my own shifting relationship with social media. It was pulling me away from the ‘present’, and distorting my perceptions of success. This lead me to examine the ritualistic moments where time melts away and we become lost in the vortex of our phone screen. Ultimately I questioned whether we were becoming more connected, or drifting further apart?

Stuart Langfield -Director

Credits

A film by Stuart Langfield

Producers: Marcy Paterson & Rosie Gallagher at MTP

Starring:
Tunde Martin
Rebecca Murphy
Jaylene Mbararia
Matt Cairns
He Wang
Caitlin Crawford
Sally Pritchett
Clarissa Woods

Director of Photography: Gavin White
Editor: Jennifer Mackie
Stylist: Lucy Proctor
1st AC: Michael Neal
2nd AC: Jordan Tibitt
Production Assistant: Alannah Nicholson
Colourist: Nadia Khairat
Composer: Giles Lamb

Special Thanks:
MTP, No Drama, You Are Here, Tartan Models, Saxby & Revell, I’ll Be Your Mirror, Flemington House

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