“Write Your Story” By Willy Hajli & William Kim
Synopsis
Teracorp's corporate presentation is cut short when employee 5055 deactivates the command center and takes flight to freedom.
Credits
Directed by - Willy Hajli & William Kim
Written by - Ariel Hidal
Executive Producer - Henrique Carvalhaes
Executive Sales - Julia Ruiz
Starring:
Isabelle Drummond - Elle
Angela Ohlfest - Voice
Director of Photography - Lucas René
Production Designer - Eduardo Kissajikian
Editor - Mari T. Becker, AMC
Music - Filipe Derado
Costume Design - Giulia Vincenzi
Colorist - Osmar Jr.
Sound Design - Cristiano Scherer
Post-Production - Ricardo Souza
Design Concept - Will Cega
1st AD - André Srur
Production Manager - Caio Barion
Production - Moonheist
Beyond the Short
From its inception, the film was designed to explore the concept of freedom. We sought references like Tati’s “Playtime" and Welles’ “The Trial” which are set in cold and inhuman corporations and deal in the individual’s attempts to emancipate themselves from their surroundings.
Therefore, our ideal setting would be an impenetrable space arranged around geometric forms; static compositions and diegetic lighting would aid in creating the desired sense of orderliness. Our protagonist would mechanically execute a repetitive task, blurring the lines of her personhood and thus reducing her to a number: Employee 5055. The oppression would be reinforced by voice commands, responsible for guiding Elle’s actions and segregating her from her own free will.
Eventually, Elle secures access to the restricted command center at the corporation’s heart. Her proximity to freedom is visually inscribed by the setting: a hollowed out computer room devoid of the factory floor’s totalizing presence. Once she takes her destiny into her own hands the setting collapses entirely leaving in its wake a transient emptiness: a blue void.
The use of color in symbolic form was a strong aspect of our artistic direction. We recognized the inherent preciousness of the color blue by dint of being the one that occurs least frequently in the natural world. We imagined it as a radical moment for Elle, a pure phenomenological experience without reference in her world. In this sense, the color blue served as an extended metaphor for our narrative arc. From the purity of blue comes the possibility of new beginnings, signified by the liberating dash that closes the film.
“Write Your Story” was submitted to us by Willy Hajli. Have a film of your own you’d like us to check out? Click here!