Tomato Sauce Takeaway is a four minute short film, shot in Johannesburg, South Africa. The film documents the final evening routines of a few urban life forms in Johannesburg city. It does so in a way that is observational, introspective and personal given our own relations to space, routines and urban loneliness. The mundanity of these acts highlights an absurdity in the city life routines we take for granted. The people and the city itself become characters in a narrative of the last things we do before retreating to residential respite.
The film was premiered at Recontres Des Internationales Paris/Berlin film festival in 2019.
Presented by Riley Pam-Grant, Abigail Meekel and Claire Meekel
The film was premiered at Recontres Des Internationales Paris/Berlin film festival in 2019.
Presented by Riley Pam-Grant, Abigail Meekel and Claire Meekel
B.E.D, 2019
B.E.D is a scene about a young woman sitting on her bed in the early hours of the morning. She is consumed my her anxieties and the internet. The scene was create from an obstruction to only use artifical light for my cinematography assignment. I used my computer light as the one source of artificial light to create the feeling that we were in the character’s head.
Sound: Abi Meekel
Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto
B.E.D is a scene about a young woman sitting on her bed in the early hours of the morning. She is consumed my her anxieties and the internet. The scene was create from an obstruction to only use artifical light for my cinematography assignment. I used my computer light as the one source of artificial light to create the feeling that we were in the character’s head.
Sound: Abi Meekel
Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto
PEZ, 2018
PEZ is a scene about a young woman sitting on her bed, whilst it rains. She stares into space waiting for nothing. We don’t know what she is thinking about. Her room is scattered with objects. Such as books, a tin box, white garden chairs, carpet, fish bowl, plants and canvases. There are various leaks in her room and all the water is collected in random containers.
There are 4 of them, 3 of which are collected by containers. Another leak makes a small puddle on the sheet of the bed. She lets it torture her until the one cup almost overflows with water. She takes the first glass of water and pours it into a fish bowl. She taps the fishbowl intently waiting for the fish to move. She moves back onto her bed spilling a cup filled with water. She ignores the annoying sound of the water dripping down her face from a leaky roof and continues to stare into space.
Sound: Abi Meekel, Cinematography: Abi Meekel and Claire Meekel, Lighting: Abi Meekel and Claire Meekel
PEZ is a scene about a young woman sitting on her bed, whilst it rains. She stares into space waiting for nothing. We don’t know what she is thinking about. Her room is scattered with objects. Such as books, a tin box, white garden chairs, carpet, fish bowl, plants and canvases. There are various leaks in her room and all the water is collected in random containers.
There are 4 of them, 3 of which are collected by containers. Another leak makes a small puddle on the sheet of the bed. She lets it torture her until the one cup almost overflows with water. She takes the first glass of water and pours it into a fish bowl. She taps the fishbowl intently waiting for the fish to move. She moves back onto her bed spilling a cup filled with water. She ignores the annoying sound of the water dripping down her face from a leaky roof and continues to stare into space.
Sound: Abi Meekel, Cinematography: Abi Meekel and Claire Meekel, Lighting: Abi Meekel and Claire Meekel
39 Cuts of Wasted Paper, 2019
39 Cuts of Wasted Paper is a 10-minute experimental short film. The psychological thriller examines the everyday violence South African women are oppressed by. The film focuses on the darker side of power, trauma, guilt, and social memory that interacts with the distaste of contemporary South African consciousness which generates mental health issues, depression, and fear amongst all women living in Johannesburg. The film simultaneously examines the dysfunctional state of security in this city wherein women aren’t feeling protected and safe both in their home or outside of it.
Presented by Abigail Meekel, Sameera Sorjee and Claire Meekel
39 Cuts of Wasted Paper is a 10-minute experimental short film. The psychological thriller examines the everyday violence South African women are oppressed by. The film focuses on the darker side of power, trauma, guilt, and social memory that interacts with the distaste of contemporary South African consciousness which generates mental health issues, depression, and fear amongst all women living in Johannesburg. The film simultaneously examines the dysfunctional state of security in this city wherein women aren’t feeling protected and safe both in their home or outside of it.
Presented by Abigail Meekel, Sameera Sorjee and Claire Meekel
after HOURS, 2019
after HOURS
is a vignette, FMV game, that allows players a glimpse into the life of Lilith Gray – a young woman who was molested as a child and suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder as a result. By spending a night alone with Lilith in her bedroom and subsequently, her head, players learn Lilith's story by adopting a double gaze: that of the player witnessing Lilith's story and piecing together why she behaves and responds as she does and to an extent, the gaze of Lilith herself. This is achieved by having access to the voices in her head and the thoughts that respond to those voices. Hand drawn animations over the film serve to provide a more tactile experience of the game.
after HOURS premiered at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, 2019. The game won an IGF award for best student game, had multiple nominations at BIG festival in Brazil and travelled to Berlin, Canada, New York and South Africa. The game will be available on STEAM at the end of 2021.
Presented by Bahiyya Kahn, Claire Meekel, Tim Flusk, Abi Meekel
Addidas x Faculty Press: Pride skits, 2019
In celebration of Pride Month, 2019, Faculty Press – in exclusive association with @ntwrkarea3 – has created a series of skits, with the word ‘First Encounters’ as a starting point. Starring 6 of the country’s most promising voices, they tell us how they came into their Queerdom, the continued journey it is and how they are using their platforms as a form of activism to advocate for the Queer Body, a body that is often ground zero for the violence around it.
Presented by Thebe Magugu, Lelo Lesani, Amy Zama, Claire Meekel and Abigail Meekel
In celebration of Pride Month, 2019, Faculty Press – in exclusive association with @ntwrkarea3 – has created a series of skits, with the word ‘First Encounters’ as a starting point. Starring 6 of the country’s most promising voices, they tell us how they came into their Queerdom, the continued journey it is and how they are using their platforms as a form of activism to advocate for the Queer Body, a body that is often ground zero for the violence around it.
Presented by Thebe Magugu, Lelo Lesani, Amy Zama, Claire Meekel and Abigail Meekel
The Very Thought Of You, 2020
A poetic experimental short film highlighting the themes of the water crisis specifically in our oceans. We attempted to experiment with sound and video. This was made at the Film University Babelsberg, summer school in 2019. I worked with two of my old teachers, Jurgen Meekel and Nobunye Levin represented by WITS University in Johannesburg.
A poetic experimental short film highlighting the themes of the water crisis specifically in our oceans. We attempted to experiment with sound and video. This was made at the Film University Babelsberg, summer school in 2019. I worked with two of my old teachers, Jurgen Meekel and Nobunye Levin represented by WITS University in Johannesburg.