Synopsis

Self-Portrait in Hell is a hybrid film that combines analog and digital film manipulation techniques. Multiple layers of 8mm films and disparate fragments are amalgamated to create a self-portrait of the director. A singular self-portrait, since ironically the subject of the film is not the director but the image found in abandoned film archives, the image of another, unknown woman.

The first layer is from a 1970s 8mm home movie titled Woman Dancing with Dog and was found in an antique shop.

The second layer is an 8mm film belonging to an unknown archive, which the artist buried for a few weeks, subjecting it to the natural decomposition of any organic body. In this claustrophobic state, the emulsion of the film begins to be affected and altered by bacteria present in the soil, a process that is accelerated by bacteria produced with yeast and sugar, added by the artist.

The third layer is an 8mm film, which after being decomposed underground, was hand-painted by the director with film inks.

The three layers are finally assembled via digital superimposition.

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