Les Pluies D'été
Submission by Matei Octav Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski
In the short series, we have published Matei described his style as build upon inspiration that enables to create stories, “Most of the time my work is quite intuitive, a kind of stream of consciousness”. Matei imagines a world and constructs characters according to the logic of the new reality, developing their psychological background, and identity.
Catch the rhythm of the song by Slowdance, get into the scene by listening closely to the lyrics in French. This playful moment reminiscent of the stylistics of the chic of the 80s is about enjoying. The character dances alone but he’s not lonely in the time and space. She has a direct eye contact with a person behind the camera, calling that person to join her at this moment. And dance!
Directed by Matei Octav Style Cristina Calciati MUA Letizia Rota Clothes by Nika Pashalishvili Music Sous le Ciel by Slowdance Talent Ivana sljivar at Pop Models Milano
The Story
Les Pluies d'été (Summer storms) is a short fashion film that enters the mind of a girl living the moment on her own like she's never done before. She is dancing and having fun, but we will never know where she is, if that's a dream and we are taking part in it, or if it's just an illusion. It is such an idyllic moment that's going to be shorter than expected, as a sudden summer storm is.
The title is a metaphor for a raindrop falling down on the arid ground and drying after a few instants. A brief moment is set to change everything around, breaking the monotony and pushing negative thoughts away. But when that drop dries up, everything vanishes and all you can do is wait for a new drop to fall from nowhere so you can feel that energy again. Have you ever enjoyed your own summer rain like this?
During the shooting, the model had to dance without music because we were still looking for the perfect song at the time. Also, we had to shoot in a tiny room, and she found herself dancing in a limited space. But in spite of everything, her movements were so fluid and elastic! We used only natural light for this film.
