In The Garden
A symbolic and layered rumination on the origins of Eve (or Hawwa in Arabic) in the prehistoric and eternal Garden of Eden.
As the wildress grows around her, Eve (played by Sophia Jade) grows too. She awakens fully formed and standing upright amongst the natural world surrounding her. The serpent adorns her, and weaves itself into her form. She soon finds herself unclothed and alone in a new world. A mysterious door behind her could be her past or future. She goes from alive to dead to undead and back to alive. Adam watches her. Is the viewer Adam?
This experimental and surreal short film was written, directed, produced, shot, sound designed and edited by Ramzi Abed with original music provided by long-time collaborator Ken Cravens' musical project, all lowercase letters.
-
Ramzi AbedDirectorThe Devil's Muse, Telephone World, First Person Savior, Let Love In
-
Ramzi AbedWriterThe Devil's Muse, Telephone World, First Person Savior, Let Love In
-
Ramzi AbedProducerThe Devil's Muse, Telephone World, First Person Savior
-
Sophia JadeKey Cast"Eve"Let Love In
-
Project Type:Experimental, Short
-
Runtime:7 minutes 56 seconds
-
Completion Date:December 17, 2023
-
Production Budget:800 USD
-
Country of Origin:United States
-
Country of Filming:United States, United States
-
Language:English
-
Shooting Format:Digital
-
Aspect Ratio:16x9
-
Film Color:Color
-
First-time Filmmaker:No
-
Student Project:No
-
Venus International Erotic Film Festival
Spain
August 27, 2024
World Premiere
Best Experimental Short Film -
Shock A Go Go Film FerstivalNew York
United States
October 18, 2024
East Coast Premiere -
The Great Film ClubLos Angeles
United States
August 23, 2024
Ramzi Abed is a visual artist and filmmaker based on Planet Earth.
Ramzi Abed has always been a champion of independent film. Ramzi has worked in film acquisitions for over a decade, and has always focused on discovering new talent and creating new avenues for new filmmakers.
Ramzi wrote and directed the independent thrillers, The Devil’s Muse and Telephone World, which both went on to become cult films over the years, both garnering broad releases on home video and streaming channels including Netflix and Tubi. Ramzi has worked in practically every area of filmmaking that exists, and has created an interesting if controversial legacy that transcends genre and industry. He directed two music videos for Bitter:Sweet, including a version of their song, "Drama", featuring Serj Tankian of System of a Down. He also produced a hugely popular music video for the song, "The Chosen Legacy", by metal legends, Dimmu Borgir. He is currently active developing new projects, listening to lots of records and taking avant-garde digital and 35m photographs in his spare time.
Ramzi most recently directed the music video for "A Free Society", the title song from the debut album by Night Crickets, a jazzy post-punk supergroup comprised of David J Haskins (of Bauhaus, Love and Rockets) and Victor De Lorenzo (of Violent Femmes) and renowned musician, Darwin Meiners.
Abed's latest feature films are First Person Savior and Let Love In. First Person Savior stars John Karyus (Foxfur, V/H/S/2), James Duval (Nowhere, Donnie Darko), Dawn Wirth, and is about and inspired by gun violence and video games in present-day America. Let Love In stars Victoria de Mare (Dust Up, Stripped) and Ramzi Abed, and is about the search for love and personal peace against the backdrop of the world of adult films. Both films are now finished, and ready for exhibition soon.
I wanted to convey a dialogue between open nature and open humanity, exposing the inherent dichotomy between the concepts of sin and shame against the symbolic character of the first woman Eve, and her own legacy in cinema. I also wanted to highlight nature in its entirety as Eve is in eventually in her own natural state, as she is juxtaposed against the nature in a garden that slowly becomes framed against modernity and domesticity. Hopefully it's dreamlike and transcends traditional interpretation or meaning.