“Flare” Directed by Borbala Szelei
The ethereal short film, Flare, invites you into a world in which female bodies have a voice. By letting the body speak, we embrace its beauty, vulnerability, diversity and powerful sensuality. Produced by an all women-identifying team with the mission of supporting women in falling in love with their physical selves, we want women to embrace the beautiful imperfections and enchantments of their own ‘normal’ bodies. The visuals are accompanied by the voice of the female body speaking in the first person, a voice representing the thoughts and emotions of fifty women from around the world and of various races, ages and body types interviewed by our team. We asked our interviewees the simple question; “if your body could talk, what would it say?” The voice of the female body was born from their answers. We wove together their thoughts, struggles and stories to curate a captivating yet authentic voice. This powerful, collaborative project comprises the expertise and insights of a passionate team devoted to celebrating the female body’s range of experiences. More than thirty women-identifying people representing twenty-two nationalities worked on the film to make it come true. All participants were driven by passion and love for the project. It was incredible to experience such strong and supportive connections and a sense of unity invoked by a topic resonating deeply with all of us.
Borbala is a director who started by exploring human narratives through her documentary work, but has now broken into the fiction space. As she moves deeper into her exploration of fictional stories, she remains curious about real human-focused storylines that center on characters who explore the beauty in what society has discarded. Her films illustrate a natural rhythm between the characters within the frame which she often contrasts with raw locations, and are an exploration into what drives people, showing her grasp of human psychology as she explores deep layered narratives through thought-provoking metaphors.
Our goal is to break the taboos that constrict the exposure of art created around female bodies at its core. We fervently believe such taboos limit our attempts at self-expression and self-celebration. In our short film, we show the body in its entirety as an act of resistance against this societal, collective shame we regularly face. Owing to our no-holds-barred approach in doing so, we have come up against social media censorship. Such censorship represents the modern face of the very taboo we wish to break and curtails the power of our message.
Q: Can you share something you’ve learned from creating this film that would resonate with our community?
B: It was incredible to experience such strong, supportive connections and a sense of unity invoked by a topic resonating deeply within the team. More than thirty women-identifying people – representing twenty-two nationalities – worked on the film, with another fifty sending in interviews. All participants were driven by passion and love for the project. I enjoyed looking for women who are willing to undress their body and soul, to be themselves on screen, which is not easy under the pressure of society. It was beautiful to feel how strongly people desire to be authentic, but sometimes the demons creep back. This showed me that what we are doing is worthwhile. Many scenes of the film were equally challenging for the cast and crew, but we overcame the obstacles by supporting each other as a team. The whole experience was very spiritual and healing.
Q: What types of expectations for women and/or women artists are most frustrating and challenging to you?
B: You need to be very good very fast to prove yourself worthy – a repeating theme and experience shared by the team. It’s frustrating to be held to a higher standard, so I’m trying to keep these expectations out of my focus and be myself. Make work that is important to me and create spaces where people have a chance to grow and experiment.
Q: Tell us about your work process! What was the motivation behind creating the film?
B: One of the most beautiful parts of the creation of the film was exactly the process. I remember when I was sitting on my couch at home alone. It felt impossible, but I took the first step and people started to gather around the idea. It was magical, one of the best experiences of my life. When we received interviews from all around the world, it was hard and beautiful to take a dip into the honest thoughts of these women. We were reading for days. One of the biggest motivations was to break the taboos that constrict the exposure of art created around female bodies at its core. We fervently believe such taboos limit our attempts at self-expression and self-celebration. In Flare, we showed the body in its entirety as an act of resistance against this societal, collective shame we regularly face. We have come up against social media censorship. Such censorship represents the modern face of the very taboo we wish to break and curtails the power of our message. Our motivation is freedom, wildness and raw beauty. We wanted to celebrate the female body in its entirety. Part of this was to show and celebrate period blood – a fluid that is so rarely encountered by men. The shame around our periods is still so strong that even women are made to feel uncomfortable and secretive about such a natural phenomenon. Through the depiction of the substance in this film, our team wanted to combat the shame that drives this secrecy, and instead celebrate our periods in all their power and beauty. We want to bring people closer to it and inspire a sense of unity in fighting social and patriarchal pressures. On set, we had some pretty tough moments, but I felt everything was possible with this team. It moved and changed me. We were strongly connected. So much learning, so much love. At the end of the shoot, we did a real ritual, this is how the dance scene was born.
Q: What is your advice to young and aspiring filmmakers?
B: Take the first step, doesn’t matter how scary it is. Walk into the unknown and never let anyone block you, especially yourself. Ask for help and find people who share in your passion. Discover skills in people that they don’t see yet and bring them onboard. If you are brave and believe in your idea, life will support your steps.
Q: What does being a feminist mean to you?
B: Standing up for and creating equal opportunities.
Q: Do you have any upcoming events, exhibitions, or screenings you’d like to share?
B: We are going to organize screenings in the next six months. You can follow the updates on @vermillioncollective and @flare_series.
Credits
Directed by Borbala Szelei - @borbalaszelei
Words by Female Bodies
Collective: Vermillion - @vermillioncollective
Producer: Liga Megne - @ueberliga
Assistant director: Alakina Mann - @alakinamann
Production assistant: Katharina Grob - @rina_grob
Cinematographer: Alina Albrecht - @ali__albrecht
1st AC: Elisabeth Börnicke - @elibornicke & Kristiana Abrasheva - @ekilibris
2nd AC: Sonja Madani - @sonjamadani
Set design: Orsi Orban - @orsiorbandesign
Art director: Monika Kozub - @berlinboudoir
Floral design: Wishbone Studio - @wishbone_berlin
Sound recordist: Franziska Neumeister - @bilderbastlerin
HMU: Janette Peters - @janetteptrsmua
Editor: Vigdís Erla - @vigerla
Colourist: Andrea Gomez - @annie_colorist
Editor & Colourist Rep: SEC Studio - @sec.studio
Music composer: Inga Magnes Weisshappel - @ingamgns
Cellist: Bison Rouge - @bisonrouge
Violist: Fatmanur Sahin - @madmoiselle_fa
Drummer on set: Nesrin Salepci
Voice over: Alakina Mann - @alakinamann
Sound engineer: Louis Mcguire - @louislouisberlin
Sound Studio: Schwarm Studio - @schwarm.audionetzwerk
Sound Design, Audio Reproduction & Mixing: Sarah Kiwi - @sarah_kivi
Audio Mixing and Mastering Engineer: Rosaline Yuen - @rozyuen
Location: Valeria Benner - @leralive2
GFX: Solenn Robic - @solenn_rbc
Illustration: Stefanie Berkmann - @yasguurl
Equipment: RGB Rental - @rgbrental
Installation: Orsi Orban - @orsiorbandesign
Wardrobe: Moons&Junes - @moonsandjunesofficial
Casting: Realppl - @realppl.me
Starring
Stacy Thunes - @stacythunes
Isabel Cogumbreiro - @isabelcogumbreiroo
Jade Raffa - @jade_shesx
Cintia Rangel - @cintiarangelinmovimento
Linh Phan - @theladybona
Malaika Basf - @malaika_basf
