Experiencing Interruptions?

Searching For The Wave

Faye heartbroken and confused recalls her memories of her recent relationship with artist Ava in hopes to understand why she abruptly left in the middle of the night. This leads Faye to a speculative dark realization about her former partner's childhood.

  • Chelsea Muscat
    Director
  • Chelsea Muscat
    Writer
  • Sasha Perez
    Producer
  • Milly Roman
    Producer
  • Lee Elson
    Producer
  • Chelsea Muscat
    Producer
  • Amelie Hennig
    Key Cast
    "Faye"
  • Danielle Clare
    Key Cast
    "Ava"
  • Devyne Muino
    Key Cast
    "Little Ava"
  • Chelsea Muscat
    Editor
  • Mikaela Reid
    Sound Mixing
  • Greta Keating
    Original Soundtrack
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student, Other
  • Genres:
    Drama, experimental narrative, lgbtq, Fiction Film, Lesbian, Heartbreak/Romance, LGBTQ DRAMA
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 10 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 15, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    4,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - SUNY Purchase
  • NFFTY
    Seattle
    United States
    April 29, 2022
    Seattle Premiere
    Winner Best LGBTQIA Film
Director Biography - Chelsea Muscat

Chelsea Muscat is a queer filmmaker originally born and raised on the island of Gozo in Malta. She recently graduated from the SUNY Purchase Film BFA where she received the Sol Turell award for her outstanding thesis film in order to help fund the post-production process.

In her work, she often explores themes of abandonment through mother-daughter relationships, childhood trauma, and LGBTQ+ relationships in fiction, documentary, and experimental film. Her work is often very personal, poetic, and very subjective while moving through streams of memories in order to understand the things that are often hard to grasp clearly in our lives.

Additionally, she has an ongoing photo series titled "Mommy Nervosa" that has been published by Feature Shoot magazine depicting her mother's mental illnesses and anorexia for the last few years. This helps her cope while sharing her unique story with others. She hopes to turn the series into a photo book in the near future.

Recently she has lived between NYC & Gozo and has gotten involved in environmental activism by using her filmmaking tools against the overdevelopment that is threatening her island on a daily basis.

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Director Statement

The last memory I have of her was that night. She painted me a beautiful painting of me and my dog overlooking the sea for my birthday. In the morning I went to the next room and she came running after me scared to the core that I was sneaking out. I reassured her I would never do such a thing. We spent another hour in bed then she walked me to the door and kissed me goodbye. I haven't seen her since.

I wrote Searching For The Wave, after a long sense of bewilderment and confusion that still lingers to this day. I kept trying to understand how a person could love you so extremely one day to being completely okay with never speaking or seeing you again the next. In trying to understand it led me to several different possible explanations, of course I had no idea how true they were but it was a way for me to cope, to imagine, to create something from all of it.

Since I only know my story I put aspects of myself in all the characters. Through creating this free-flowing narrative of memories and dreams I was able to give myself some kind of closure not only to this abrupt parting but also to my childhood self who was always left bewildered and confused by my unstable mother's actions and extreme paranoia.

My film is a dramatic take on the things in life that are often too hard to process and that understanding comes in small waves through time. Searching For The Wave tells the story of how sometimes love is not enough, and that sometimes being with someone has to do with how much we’ve been able to sift and work through our own baggage. Regardless, every experience brings growth, and a deeper understanding of life and self so I like to say, it’s always beautiful to love and have been loved.