Sleaping Dreaming is a Brooklyn-based, three-member band that plays shoegazing rock that swings from borderline heavy to gauzily ethereal. Here's a beautiful, thought-provoking video in support of their song "Ring of Fireflies". I hope you find the film and music as fascinating as I did.
Ring of Fireflies (2020) Starring: Claire Davison and Beau Dobson
Director: Xing Xu
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
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Claire Davison, the featured actress and dancer in the "Ring of Fireflies" music video, has been with the American Ballet Theatre company as a dancer and choreographer since 2012. She has performed in several other music videos, worked as a choreographer for several ballet companies, and she's one of the many dancers who've been part of Dane Shitagi's Ballerina Project. Here are some of the photos she posted for.
Mushrooms (2022) Starring: Laura Dromerick Director: Xing Xu Rating: Six of Ten Stars
A woman wanders a lakeside orchard and... oh, just watch it. You tell ME what makes a good summary.
YouTube is a great place for filmmakers to share short films that otherwise might never be seen by random members of the public. Sadly, they mostly end up in obscure corners of the site, so while they may now be out there to be discovered and appreciated, they still go mostly unseen. But at least they're there for ME to find and feature in post here, upping the chance of these creative efforts to be seen.
Every so often, I come across one such film that makes me say, "I don't think I know what this film is about, but I like everything about it!" The latest of these is "Mushrooms" from New York City-based writer/director Xing Xu. She describes herself as an artist who makes "music videos and magick art".
I might classify "Mushrooms" as a music video--the spooky, sometimes chilling music by Nurse With Wound is a prime driver in this two-minute film--if not for the free-verse narration. It's a non-narrative bit of filmmaking that I THINK is about beginnings and ends and the life that exists between them, but it could also just be a bit of spookiness that I should have saved for the 31 Nights of Halloween extravaganza crossover with Terror Titans in October.
But why don't you take a couple minutes (literally) to check out this neat little bit of art. And, like I asked above, if you can give us a good "teaser summary"--share it!
(Also, keep an eye out for another work from Xing Xu on a future Musical Monday.)
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