Short Films Competition

PHOENIX: A Radical Manifesto of Subjectivity

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Born from the absolute zero of human experience, PHOENIX is a visceral shamanic act within the digital sphere. Made by a Ukrainian refugee and philosopher with no musical background, the video recodes the experience of trauma and physical decay into a noise-rock manifesto. Using the lo-fi gaze and the opposition between sonic chaos and stoic calm, the artist prefers the "ugliness" of truth to the smoothed-out lie of the modern media. This is an act of birth, an ode to the "cringe", and the occupation of space within the collapsing world.

Oleksandra Khmel

biography

Oleksandra Khmel is a Ukrainian philosopher exploring shamanism, trauma, and radical subjectivity. Drawing from displacement and war, she uses lo-fi media and non-musical soundscapes to challenge conventional standards of beauty and correctness.

Credits
  • Directing : Oleksandra Khmel
  • Script : Oleksandra Khmel
  • Sound : Oleksandra Khmel
  • Music : Oleksandra Khmel
  • Production : Oleksandra Khmel
  • Sound mixing : Oleksandra Khmel

As a philosopher and refugee, I found ordinary language insufficient for a collapsing world. PHOENIX is my "absolute zero", recorded during recovery from re-feeding syndrome and war-induced PTSD. This shamanic noise-rock intentionally rejects "professionalism" to reclaim authenticity over perfection. Shot on a phone, the video is an affront to the "polished lie". Stillness amid splashes of color represents the soul reclaiming its territory. It is a philosophy of survival — the sound of an old world dying so that a new one can be reborn.

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