Bent Light

Arezu khanicheh

Allemagne / 2025 / Documentaire / 12’55”I2603246

Bent Light
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SYNOPSIS

[EN] Bent Light is a poetic and slow-paced documentary that delves into the internal landscape of severe depression, as experienced by an immigrant. Drawing on the physics of light refraction as a central metaphor, the film explores how depression distorts perception—emotionally and visually. Told from the filmmaker’s perspective, it becomes an act of quiet self-rebellion: a subtle exposure of long-hidden pain behind social masks. Shot entirely within a Berlin apartment, the film avoids direct self-portrayal. The filmmaker appears only as a shadow, reflection, or voice—echoing the dissociative absence often felt in depression. Long, observational takes convey the altered experience of time. Ambient sounds and silence shape the film’s atmosphere, allowing the emotional weight of each moment to emerge without distraction. Through intimate footage—such as the final moments of a pet and glimpses of antidepressants—the film touches on both personal and systemic layers of mental health, shaped by the immigrant condition. Bent Light does not seek resolution; it bears witness to what often goes unseen, turning quiet moments into a cinematic language of survival. It is a film not meant to be explained, but felt.

GÉNÉRIQUE