Theirs

A film and installation by Poets Cinematique & Maira Candela

“Their Beauty is Theirs”

Projection
120 mm film, 5 minutes

Premise and Makeup Notes:
A visual poem that magnifies the imposed standards of beauty and how people individually navigate this relationship. The film flickers between worlds until they ultimately converge, blurring the lines of what is real and what is internally understood.

The story visits three worlds --The Before, The Inbetween and The After.

• The Before: This world symbolizes our current view of beauty in society and the false expectations imposed on us by media and culture. It takes the viewer into the lens as a beauty campaign is unfolding. We see our muse posing in an avant garde, high fashion inspired makeup look. Realistic to what you could see on a runway, this makeup look symbolizes the mask we often use to cover our lack of self confidence and the shield we put on in order to face the world and be seen as “beautiful”. So often, we see beauty campaigns and representation of beauty as one-sided. The concept of beauty in our current society enforces a sense of urgency to mask what’s truly beneath and internal- and so this makeup represents that barrier. With parts of our muse’s true skin shining through, we start to forecast the internal conflict our film explores. The metallic finish can be interpreted as both a shield or as a mirror whose reflection does not allow the viewer to see behind it. All that is present is an illusion and a forced concept.

• The Inbetween: This is the space suspended in between reality and ones inner self. Shot in black and white, this world hyper-extends our muse’s inner demons and accentuates the internal conflict felt when battling society’s expectations with our own morals, ideals and self confidence. The makeup looks all target key focal points on our face. These facial features are the most common features used when describing an individual physically and are also areas of the face that are most often judged. The looks created are shot in uncomfortable angles shifting the viewers ease. The makeup looks will also continue to follow the metallic and chrome colour story, continuing with the theme of shielding and masking.
  As the cuts become more violent, we become introduced to society in the form of hands. Hands begin to enter the frame, covering the models face and suffocating the muse and their ideals. Eventually the hands will literally begin to cover the model with cut outs of mouths and eyes until they are completely covered. Cutouts are courtesy of artist, Dunielle Vujasin whose portraits are also featured in MADE/UP.

• The After: A delicate and vulnerable muse emerges from the dark standards and is seen in a state of acceptance and self-admiration. At this point in the film, the muse is isolated and at their most vulnerable and raw state. The conflict has somewhat sedated and we are left with the muse at their purest form. Contrary to the avant-garde makeup in previous worlds, this makeup is delicate, pure, unpolluted, clean and refreshing. It represents the inner beauty within us and unmasks the true beauty constrained by false hopes and expectations. A look that is dewy and fresh faced, the shine is meant to evoke a sense of rebirth and awakening as it glistens in the light.