Co-directors/producers: Alysn Midgelow-Marsden and Steve Balaam
Dancers: Vida Midgelow and Naomi Midgelow
Joint Director Statements for ‘Becoming’.
‘Becoming’ presents change, a movement through states of mind or states of matter. We are birthed through water, tempered in fire and released into the air. This short film is a synergistic blending of perspectives and skills. Wearable art, human form, sound and light, lightly brushed with philosophy lead us gently through a transformation.

Artist Statement (Alysn Midgelow-Marsden)
I touch hearts by sharing an artistic invitation to enjoy the world through viscerally emotive interactions which distil the living awareness of humanity and our shared embodied experience.
www.alysnmidgelowmarsden.com

Directors Statement (Steve Balaam):
As we become further divorced from our natural habitat, and seemingly at war with the very ingredients that enabled our creation, it seemed inevitable that ‘Becoming’ would break down our composition into our core elements and explore them through the textiles inspired by them, and the human form bound within both.
The colour shift through the film underscores this flowing through black and white, blue, red and earth tones. We also wanted there to be less of a boundary between the fabric and natural elements, more cohesion, emphasizing the intricate links with our identity and the earth.
It was decided not to have any dialogue. The soundtrack evolves from pure natural sounds, to a questioning repetitive musical phase, then to a brief section of serenity, back to questions or uncertainty, and finally back to natural sounds. The aim is to allow the audience to superimpose their own narrative based on these cues.

‘Becoming’ starts with a title which disappears into the ether. It takes the audience briefly through the layers of landscape and natural elements that inspired the latest textile creations by Alysn.

The film then evolves through a birth - the embryonic black and white form contained within a cave (perhaps a womb?) to then birth into water. Here the layers of blue wrap around, and light is more pronounced. In parts the water replaces the human form and seemingly flows through her limbs. As she forces the tide out, she has evolved from bewilderment and containment, to power and direction.

As she enters the fire chapter of the film she is surrounded by the embodiment of both the carbon that created her, and the flames we create that are destroying our habitat. Whilst she is alive amongst the flames, she writhes against them and is contained once again within a crypt-like space.

Once free of the flames, yet still contained, you begin to see the interplay between light and dark as it falls on the textiles. Glimpses of the human form seen wrapping itself in the textile are more obvious. The beauty of the human-created fabric, replacing the elements, is finally revealed.

In the final chapter she is now immersed and embedded within the landscape, and celebrates her strength and freedom, and unity with the world. The wind dances with her and through the textiles, and after this brief moment of exhilaration and freedom she is gone - back into the atmosphere.

Directors Resume:

Stephen Balaam
[email protected]

Steve is a creative film director with extensive experience of industrial, documentary, artistic and animation projects, editing and composing visual effects scenes for movies. He is the owner of ‘Big Ant Video’. Steve has worked with a wide variety of clients including artists, TeamGB, large multinational corporations such as M&S, Howdens, Siemens, BT, ATOS, Honda and a host of others. Steve is also intensely interested in creative challenges by working with artists on unique projects.
Alysn and Steve have co-created 2 short films and enjoy the process of challenge and iterative development which artistic filming allows.