This dark short film called Learn: First World Problems by Jonathan Desbiens looks at “aging millennials” and their problems. Via Short of the Week:
Shot by fellow S/W alum Kristof Brandl, the 4:3 film is, naturally, terrific to look at, but the pleasure of the short film comes from the psychology of its characters. It’s a tonally interesting piece, described by its creator as a dark satire. It’s both a universalist look at the pressures of the artistic process, but also a incisive examination of female relationships, and the changing hierarchies in the creative industry driven by Millennial attitudes and entitlement. Desbiens, in summarizing his inspiration, wrote us stating “I often find myself very obsessed with certain problems (like many artists I suppose) then often step back and find it so absurd compared to what the real problems of this world are. I was looking to put in light some scenes and characters that would reflect this and I believed it would show how pathetic, but profoundly human the quest for recognition and respect can sometimes become.”
For our Fashion Director this quest for recognition evokes obsession and narcissism in equal measure. The showpiece of the film is its unveiling of the dress, a living artwork that evokes Marina Abramovic and the concept of “performing art”. Based off a similar piece Desbiens created in art school, the director worked with production designer Sylvain Lemaitre and dress designer Eliza Faulkner to produce a rather stunning installation for the film’s emotional climax. Desbiens to us describes the “strange contradiction” of the piece where “the strings are pulling you in all direction, trying to break you apart, but yet the lines are all pointing toward you, as if you were the centre of the world”.