Leave Your Body

Shot within the constraints of Melbourne’s ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns, ‘Leave Your Body’ features the apartment where the filmmaker spent the better part of 2020 and 2021. However, where she sees a prison, her partner Sean sees a sanctuary. To him these five rooms are a fortress, not only protecting them from the virus, but also from the social pressure to interact with strangers. Portraying a fictitious version of himself (as well as the film’s various intruders) he defends his solitude while quietly losing touch with reality. ‘Leave Your Body’ is a celebration of isolation, but also an acknowledgement that the longer confinement continues; the harder it is to rejoin society.

  • Natasha Cantwell
    Director
  • Sean Molloy
    Key Cast
  • Reilly Smethurst
    Composer
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 6 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 2, 2021
  • Country of Origin:
    New Zealand
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English, No Dialogue
  • Shooting Format:
    16mm
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Experimental Superstars
    Novi Sad
    Serbia
    November 9, 2023
  • Sankt Studio: Shhhhh
    Berlin
    Germany
    November 4, 2023
  • Galleria Rajatila: Videokoppi
    Tampere
    Finland
    July 22, 2023
  • Cuerpo Transparente
    Buenos Aires
    Argentina
    June 23, 2023
  • Video Art Miden
    Thessaloniki
    Greece
    June 3, 2023
  • Woodland Pattern Poetry Marathon
    Milwaukee, WI
    United States
    January 29, 2023
  • Les Instants Vidéo
    Marseille
    France
    November 12, 2022
  • Ibrida Festival
    Forlì
    Italy
    September 16, 2022
  • Garofano Rosso Film Festival
    Forme
    Italy
    September 5, 2022
  • Gallery Kyy: ELO(KUVA)KUU
    Tampere
    Finland
    August 6, 2022
  • Mientras Tanto CINE
    Maldonado
    Uruguay
    June 24, 2022
  • Experiments in Cinema
    Albuquerque, NM
    United States
    May 9, 2022
  • aCinema: Geopersistence
    Milwaukee, WI
    United States
    May 1, 2022
  • Moinho Cine Fest
    Custóias
    Portugal
    April 14, 2022
  • Diametrale Film Festival
    Innsbruck
    Austria
    April 2, 2022
  • Brunswick Underground Film Festival
    Melbourne
    Australia
    April 2, 2022
  • Silence is Golden
    Belgrade
    Serbia
    November 17, 2021
  • Blue Heeler Film Festival
    Muswellbrook
    Australia
    October 30, 2021
  • The Nomadic Contemporary: NoCA Cinema
    New York, NY
    United States
    October 17, 2021
  • Simultan Festival
    Timișoara
    Romania
    September 11, 2021
  • Pugnant Film Series
    Athens
    Greece
    September 3, 2021
  • Malarkey Film Festival
    New York, NY
    United States
    July 26, 2021
  • Od Arts Festival
    West Coker
    United Kingdom
    May 28, 2021
  • Eye's Walk Digital Festival
    Syros and Corfu Islands
    Greece
    April 1, 2021
  • Beeler Gallery: November
    Columbus, OH
    United States
    January 19, 2021
Director Biography - Natasha Cantwell

Spanning music video, fashion photography and art projects, Natasha Cantwell’s work openly embraces awkwardness while drawing from the absurdity of human behaviour. Her 16mm experimental films have screened at festivals and exhibitions worldwide, including Experiments In Cinema in the U.S. and the European Media Art Festival and Stuttgart Filmwinter Festival For Expanded Media in Germany.

Holding a Bachelor of Graphic Design and a Postgraduate Diploma in Art and Design from the Auckland University of Technology, Cantwell has guest lectured at Unitec and the Manukau Institute of Technology in Auckland, New Zealand. She has also presented at Semi Permanent Design Conference in Sydney, Australia as the senior photographer for Frankie Magazine.

Alongside her art practice, she produces and curates for festivals and galleries, including the Auckland Underground Film Festival, Channels: The Australian Video Art Festival and the Victorian Archives Centre Gallery. She is currently based in Melbourne, Australia.

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