Short of the Month: Annie Saunders’ "REST"
The pandemic has forever changed the way we experience life. For all of us, it manifests differently: fear, anxiety, loneliness, yet for some, even reprieve and comfort in solitude. It's something immersive filmmaker Annie Saunders has been thinking about over the past year.
With our world opening up, how do we come back together? Slowly, gently. With her newest experimental film Rest, Saunders eases viewers back into their bodies, in a kind of preparation for re-entering a whole new real life. The project itself is just the beginning of something more tangible. Perhaps an app, perhaps a video game. It's a prototype she'll be developing with a class she'll be teaching in the fall. Whatever it turns out to be, it's meant to bring back the feeling of presence and togetherness.
Watch the meditative short below (preferably in the comfort of your own home and in a quiet space), then read onto learn about the thoughtful interconnectedness of all of Annie's work.
Main Image: Proof-of-concept production still from Rest (2020). Courtesy the artists.
REST Concept Film