‘FLOATING POINTS’ A SHORT FILM ABOUT WHAT IS FELT AND NOT SAID

words by VERONICA TLAPANCO SZABÓ

A womb is opaque to the world, transparent only to its bearer and that kind of knowing can be deeply isolating. Thoughts push and pull, the body speaks before language does, and everything happens at once. In Floating Solo, that inner turbulence is given an outlet, shot by Sua El Gagui and directed by Elin Visser, the 13-minute short is a visual poem tracing a woman’s internal journey as she contemplates abortion. Water becomes its through line, water in the womb, water in the sea, as the transformation she experiences is both deeply personal and universal. Through hazy imagery and a poetic monologue, the film captures this shifting relationship with her body and the strength that can surface in moments we’re rarely taught how to speak about.

images courtesy of the artists

Visser’s aim is to sit with the emotional landscape that comes with abortion, beyond technicalities or eventual outcomes. Drawing from her own lived experience, Floating Solo uses the medium of poetry to reach us through the screen. As Audre Lorde wrote, poetry gives shape to the unexpressed — a way to articulate what resists neat explanation.

After graduating from Design Academy Eindhoven with a magazine centered on female sexuality, Visser worked as an art director across video and photography. The project of Floating Solo however marks sharp turn inward, to a place where she holds the direction in her own hands. While still reflecting parts of her broader practice, she is ever committed to opening conversations around bodies, movement, and the evolving position of women in society.

Now that you know what to expect, currently making its way through the festival circuit, Floating Solo can’t yet be viewed in full yet…but for now we offer you the trailer.