Private Project

Daydreams

DAYDREAMS is an immersive, silent analog film, drawing inspiration from the style of Věra Chytilová’s opening scene in Fruit of Paradise. Through soft, grainy 16mm textures, experimental double exposure and dreamlike editing, the film gently explores themes of justice, trauma, and healing.

Motifs from folklores such as Little Red Riding Hood, Vasilisa the Beautiful, and Onryō flicker across the screen, their stories bound by a central theme: the experience of sexual violence and the ongoing search for justice. These mythologies merge with archetypal symbols, embodying knowledge, truth-seeking, and prosperity.

  • Leniko Sennoma
    Director
  • Francisca Saez Agurto
    Cinematographer
  • Leniko Sennoma
    Writer
  • Leniko Sennoma
    Producer
  • Maria Papaoikonoumou
    Protagonist
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Tagträume
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    experimental, Analogue
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes 15 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 1, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Germany
  • Country of Filming:
    Germany
  • Shooting Format:
    16mm, super 16mm
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.77:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Universität der Künste
  • Inflamável - Festival de Curtas em Super 8
    Santa Caterina
    Brazil
    April 4, 2024
    Official Selection
  • Tokyo International Short Film Festival
    Tokyo
    Japan
    June 2, 2024
    Official Selection
  • Madrid International Short Film Festival
    Madrid
    Spain
    May 12, 2024
    Official Selection
  • Roma Short Film Festival
    Rome
    Italy
    June 20, 2024
    Official Selection
  • Berlin Short Film Festival
    Berlin
    Germany
    August 2, 2024
    Official Selection
  • Serbest International Film Festival (SIFF)
    Kishinev
    Moldova, Republic of
    September 5, 2024
    Semi-Finalist
Distribution Information
  • Leniko Sennoma
    Sales Agent
    Country: Germany
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Leniko Sennoma

Leniko Sennoma works primarily with film and installation. They studied Fine Arts, Philosophy, and Pedagogy at UdK and FU Berlin, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 2020, followed by a Master’s degree (Meisterschüler:in) in Fine Arts at UdK Berlin in 2024.

Their work explores the fluid boundary between reality and dream, with a strong focus on social justice and intersectional feminism. Combining techniques of lucid dreaming with archetypal symbolism, Sennoma questions the dominant narratives of the information age and searches for possibilities of collective liberation.

Their practice aims to dismantle systemic oppression by developing an audiovisual, metaphorical language — one that merges image, sound, and material aesthetics into hypnotic environments that feel both gentle and unsettling.

Heavily influenced by their studies in epistemology, feminist theory, analytical philosophy, and film theory, Sennoma’s works engage directly with the viewer’s consciousness, opening up a wide field of associations, emotions, and contrasts.

Their video installations and short films have been shown internationally in galleries, museums, and festivals, including Galerie Nord | Kunstverein Tiergarten (Berlin, Germany), Gallery 062 (Chicago, USA), Inflamável Film Festival (Santa Catarina, Brazil), Gallery SA-KURA (Nagoya, Japan), and Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen (Oberhausen, Germany).

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Director Statement

With Daydreams, I aimed to create a space where meaning isn't immediately given to the viewer but instead emerges from within. By removing dialogue and focusing on symbolic imagery, my intention was to invite a more personal and introspective experience.

The goal of the film was to challenge conventional power structures, particularly those that shape how trauma is portrayed on screen. I wanted to move away from the typical, often overly simplistic depictions of trauma and instead explore how it can be represented in a more fragmented, nuanced, and sensitive way. Trauma, for me, is not something linear or easily understood, but something complex, fluid, and deeply tied to both individual and collective experiences.

The analog film material is part of the feature film EYES WITHOUT GAZE (2025), depicting a section of the protagonist’s dreams. Through the use of analog film, dreamlike editing, and archetypal motifs from folklore, I hope Daydreams offers an open-ended narrative that shifts between myth and reality, creating a reflective space that encourages new ways of thinking about these themes.

Ultimately, the film is a meditation—an invitation to feel, reflect, and reimagine how we understand and process difficult experiences, and to reconnect with deeper forms of knowledge. Such as the knowledge that our ancestors and peers went through the same pain. And that when we are held by a community, we can begin to heal—both ourselves and each other.