SIREN

SIREN is a short story of a curse.
In every gaze met, the cursed sees only the onlookers most private secrets. The pupil transforms into a darkened well, burgeoning with deceit.

Our central figure finds themself in the familiar situation of being seen by a crowd, where they are confronted with their unorthodox reaction to fear. Gorging on the hidden lives of many and riding the high of their nervous system, the heightened state of danger blooms into ecstasy, disgust and rage.

What happens when instead of following our instinctual reaction to fear, we yield to it?
What happens when we know things we shouldn’t?

SIREN is a short experimental dance film, utilising contemporary dance to explore the non-binary/trans experience.

  • Scott Fowler
    Director
  • Scott Fowler
    Producer
  • Boston Gallacher
    Producer
  • Boston Gallacher
    Key Cast
    "SIREN"
  • Mattia Papp
    Scenographer
  • Surimu Fukushi
    Lighting
  • Chuck Jones
    Best Boy
  • Sophie Whittome
    Assistance
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Dance, Short, Horror, LGBTQIA+, Experimental, Non-Binary, Trans, Narrative Short, Contemporary Dance
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes 4 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 1, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    2,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Netherlands
  • Country of Filming:
    Netherlands
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    1920x1080 24fps
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Scott Fowler

Born in Vancouver, Scott Fowler trained as a contemporary dancer at Arts Umbrella, and in 2012 he joined Ballet BC as a full time dancer. In 2013, Scott began to explore the mediums of photography and videography as other outlets for his artistry. He created an Instagram account for his photography and gained a large following after being placed on Instagram’s suggested users list in both 2014 and 2015. Scott gained experience in videography through his own explorations and by creating sports and dance videos. He was interested in how his movement knowledge ands experience could contribute to the different methods and perspectives of filming dance, or in other words, how the camera could dance with the dancer.


In addition to filming and editing for various local dancers' auditions, projects, and promotion, Scott had his collaborative dance short film Two presented in the 2017 program of F-O-R-M (Festival Of Recorded Movement). He has also done payed work, filming and producing promotional videos for Alexis Fletcher’s light in the rafters and The Goh Ballet’s The Nutcracker, as well as editing for Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY’s film Stay and the screening of @giselle at Lincoln Center. In April 2020, Scott created and submitted the short film portal for Ballet BC’s Gather’in project, which was sent to all of the company’s patrons and posted on Ballet BC’s IGTV and YouTube. In July 2020, Scott collaborated with Joshua Beamish to create the short dance film Falling Upward which was later presented at the National Arts Centre in Toronto, as well as at the. Sechelt Arts Festival and Push festival in Vancouver.


Scott moved to the Netherlands in August 2020 to join Nederlands Dans Theater as a full time dancer. In September 2020 he was commissioned by Joshua Beamish to film and edit Joshua’s new work Proximity, which was made into a short film and presented in the Fall For Dance North Signature 2020 program. In November 2021 Scott and Joshua were interviewed by Brain Webb as part of the series Without the Dancing, There Ain’t No Dance. The film interview was released in December 2022 and posted on the Brian Webb Dance Company website. In the summer of 2022, Scott collaborated with dancer Boston Gallacher and scenographer Mattia Papp to create the short dance film SIREN, which received a grant from Piket Kunstprijzen. In January 2022, he filmed the dancers of Nederlands Dans Theater in preparation for the Switch 2022 performance, and created a trailer for the promotion of the entire production. In July 2023 Scott collaborated a second time with Boston Gallacher to create the music video for the Octagon Blues track A Curse. In the spring of 2024, Scott plans to work with dance artists and choreographers César Faria Fernandes and Lea Ved and singer Daniel Montero Real to create a new short dance film.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

As director of SIREN, my initial inspiration came from a series of dance improvisational videos created by Boston Gallacher. Originally captioned as “being a literal psycho embodiment of a red flag”, the character Boston developed, so unsettling and alluring all at once, left an indelible mark on me. In the character’s behaviour I could sense a clash of fear and desire, a mask of glamour attempting to conceal a deeply unhinged state of being. It seemed as if this character had an unorthodox relationship with fear. Instead of following their instinctual reaction to fear, they were yielding to it, as though indulging in a state of fight or flight.

In one of my first discussions with Boston, there was something they said about the character that really stood out: “[It’s the feeling of] seeing something that you really shouldn’t, and knowing what to do with that information but also being scared/scarred”. I began brainstorming a narrative that revolved around this feeling, and landed on a universal subject that anyone anywhere can relate to: secrets. Many of us have felt what it’s like to know something we shouldn’t. Like being handed a weapon—equal power and danger arise.

Imagine a world where in every gaze met, you see only the onlooker’s most private secrets. A world where crowds watch you from the darkness, and through the glare of the spotlight your gaping pupils leave no skeleton in the closet unseen. This is the world of SIREN.