London-based director Xiao-Wei Lu paired up wtih grime artist Visionist paired up with on an experimental fashion film full of classic horror references and sultry colour palettes. Dressed in contemporary labels such as MM6 Maison Martin Margeila, Nikita Karisma and Ufo Town (work of stylist Daisy Deane), young woman played by Portia Ferrari is falling deeper into state of anxiety in contemplation of her relationship. Inspired by Visionist's dark and disturbing experimental grime music, the core concept of the film expresses the surreal, claustrophobic sensation of going through an anxiety attack.

In her interview for Hunger magazine, where the video premiered, the director Xiao-Wei Lu talked about her personal connection to the subject:

'My film and photography work have always been based around the distorted perception of reality and consciousness,” Largely based on my own experience of living with memory fragmentation and anxiety in the past.  I find it fascinating how a sense of being in control could simply be tipped over the edge by the tiniest trigger, with our emotional and physical state being influenced by disruptive thoughts.'

The music by producer Visionist was created specifically for the film's emotive narrative, cementing the overall feel of surrealism and experimentation as way of portraying mental state of anxiety.

When Visionist and I met through a friend last year, we talked a lot about expressing the sensation of going through an anxiety attack in our work, which is how this collaboration started. In my case, it was like going through a trance and it could hit me at anytime.  We were aiming to capture and recreate this sensation in this film, whilst exploring just how surreal and subjective reality can be.  

http://xiaoweilu.com/