“Best Experimental”

★★★★★

“It’s powerful, creative and meaningful, made by a group of truly talented filmmakers.”

As Liv gets ready for a night out her thoughts jump from reality to a fight club in her mind. We follow Liv on an explosive journey, through an outpouring of physical expression and embodied vivid movement, as she imagines a world where she can walk down the street freely without fear.

Director Phoebe Stapleton has created an immensely powerful and artistic approach to physical expression as a response to street harassment of women and girls. Stapleton takes on each scene with complete awareness and understanding of visual storytelling through body movement alone. It’s an incredibly compelling film which you can’t help but engage with, even if some viewers may not fully understand the complexities of the message. It holds up in many ways and is a perfect visual expression of a powerful movement.

Bryony Bevan is totally captivating in her performance and takes you by the collar without letting go. It’s inspiring to see such a talented performer who is able to use only movement to capture the heart of the story. No dialogue is needed here as Bevan immerses herself completely in the role and is able to keep your attention throughout. The choreography is visceral and animalistic, creating scenes of deep meaning and drama, yet at the same time giving us moments of innocence and beauty.

The choreography was also directed by Stapleton which comes as no surprise. The movements are full of power, something that really hits home the message of physical violence. Some audiences may not resonate with experimental films as much as other genres, but the powerful choreography makes this film unique and a must-watch.

The editing in the film is superb and Holly Winship has done a great job at cutting between the different scenes and angles. This is a challenging style of film to put together and could fall apart if done incorrectly, but Winsip manages to craft a compelling film together that will have all audiences lean in for a closer look.

The score from Innes Yellowlees is chilling and the perfect counterpart to the film. It really takes hold of the viewer and puts them into a type of trance as we move through the film. To be able to compose for this film with such a great performance is a challenging task, but Yellowlees delivers.

The cinematography by Jon Stapleton is stunning, making full use of the locations and creating a unique look to the film that helps to make it stand out. Even with the superb performance from Bevan, it’s up to the cinematography to capture it and Stapleton has managed to do it. The film explores a lot of creativity in how to visually express the message and it’s allowed for some breathtakingly artistic shots.

If director Phoebe Stapleton is trying to push a serious message, then this is the perfect film to do so. It’s powerful, creative and meaningful, made by a group of truly talented filmmakers. Everyone involved in the creation of this film should be immensely proud…

— APEX Film Awards