FILTERFACE Is an Unnerving Visual Commentary on ‘Snapchat Dysmorphia’
FILTERFACE is a satirical piece that looks at the unhealthy importance young people place on social media validation and the disturbing trend to go under the knife to look like their flawless filtered selfies. Doctors have labelled this new mental health illness 'Snapchat Dysmorphia' - a modern-day sickness that is causing young people to lose touch with reality as they seek out a manufactured, false and synthetic ideology.
Shot in an ex-mental health institute in north London by directors Will & Carly, the film uses performance to explore themes of worship, self-obsession and addiction to the perfect projected appearance. The choreography was crafted by Isabella Mahmoud with the help of the talented Ellie Gordon who really interrogated the brief and took the feeling of discomfort to another level.
“We really wanted to ring an alarm bell with this film and draw attention to the bizarre cultural obsession with AR filters that is hurting our women and girls in more ways than one,” say the directors.
Interestingly, only this month Instagram have begun to police this issue by banning filters that mimic the effects of extreme cosmetic surgery. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50152053
Will and Carly are London based directors whose work focuses on a heightened visual representation of life and emotion.
Their work uses a mixture of stylised cinematography and visual symmetry, with influences ranging from the performance art of Marina Abramovic to 90’s hip-pop and New Vampire Cinema.
Will studied Graphic Design at Camberwell School of Art before moving into advertising where he is an award-winning creative, having picked up everything from D&AD pencils to Cannes Lions. Carly studied Fine Art and Photography at Central Saint Martins, had a brief dalliance in an all-girl punk band, later becoming a Photographic Commissioner.
More recently they have explored projects that deal with human and social issues to raise awareness and inspire change.
