Shelly
2016 · 10m · USA
Directed by Lauren Rothery
Genres: drama, experimental
Tones: melancholic, surreal, whimsical
A peculiar young woman makes a film about a monogamous seahorse named Imogen while a documentary crew films her in turn. Travel-agent days, aquarium nights, dive certification in progress.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
A film inside a film about a monogamous seahorse — yes. The format mash of 35mm, Super 8 and S-VHS earns my benefit of the doubt before frame one.
35mm, Super 8, and S-VHS as character — texture work that earns its Miranda July adjacency rather than wearing it. Monogamous seahorse as documentary subject is its own kind of thesis.
Shot on a stew of 35mm, Super 8, and S-VHS for a story about a peculiar woman making a film about a monogamous seahorse — the format-as-character pitch is real and Rothery's tender register is specific. The doc-crew layer adds nice friction.
Reviews
Director Lauren Rothery offers an enchanting world of surreal visions... beautifully presented, carefully composed with striking images.