twitch

Director's Statement

'twitch' is my first short film in New Zealand. It is based on a short story I wrote in 2016, inspired by a condition called 'Alien Hand Syndrome'. The potential to have a unique visual style for this story is what made me keep coming back to it. This short film explores the idea of accepting the ambiguity of duality within oneself. Historically, many cultures have deemed the left side evil or sinister (derived from the Latin term ‘Sinistra’, which means left). A left-handed or ambidextrous kid is forced to switch to the right hand, which might alter that person’s artistic development. This story fictionally shows what would happen if the artistic need of the left hand is ignored and if it starts creating autonomously through a subconscious instinct. I am excited about how this piece can be an allegory and may be interpreted by the audience in different ways. There are two distinctive styles of filming to portray the different characteristics of both hands. When we see Reece in control and working with his right-hand, the visuals would be symmetrical and cinematic. If the left hand is active and working, the shots will be in unconventional angles with motion blur. It's edited with the intention of moving the audience's eye trace to the left and right sides of the frame according to the story. I thank the artists, the film community and the film students of Hawke's Bay for giving their time and skills to bring this micro-budget project to life. We have started writing the feature film 'Twisted Palette' with the same concept and characters, and 'Twitch' will serve as its proof-of-concept.