Private Project

The Longing (aka Hiraeth)

HIRAETH explores temporal, visual, and auditory disturbances as they relate to memory. You are a traveler searching for something you will never find, and to which you can never return.

NOTE: HIRAETH (The Longing) contains sequences of flashing lights that may affect viewers who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy or other photosensitivities such as migraine.

  • Cas Taylor
    Director
    Waypoints
  • C. L. Taylor
    Writer
    Waypoints
  • Cassie L. Taylor
    Producer
    Waypoints, The Souls of Black Pebbles, Submergent, Beautified
  • Cas Taylor
    Editor
    Waypoints
  • Cas Taylor
    Sound Design
    Waypoints
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Hiraeth
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    drama, documentary
  • Runtime:
    5 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    July 10, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    50 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • LA Sci-Fi & Horror Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    July 23, 2021
    North American Premiere
    Leviathan Award, Best Art Film
  • Anticensura Film Festival
    Buenos Aires
    Argentina
    July 24, 2021
    South America Premiere
    Nominee Best Short Film
  • Paris Short Film Festival
    Paris
    France
    September 18, 2021
    Audience Award, Best Experimental Short Film
  • Anatolia International Film Festival
    Istanbul
    Turkey
    September 9, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Toronto Independent Film Festival of Cift
    Toronto
    Canada
    September 18, 2021
    Finalist, Best Experimental Short, Female Director in Short
  • Niagara Falls International Short Festival
    Niagara Falls
    United States
    September 29, 2021
    Nominee, Best Editing, Best Experimental Short
  • Rotterdam Independent Film Festival
    Rotterdam
    Netherlands
    September 29, 2021
    Nominee, Best Experimental Short
  • Florida Shorts
    Florida
    United States
    October 8, 2021
    Semi-Finalist, Best Experimental Short
  • International Sound & Film Music Festival (ISFMF)
    Samobor
    Croatia
    October 23, 2021
    Official Selection (Short film (live-action, documentary and animated), Score)
  • Iconic Images Film Festival

    Lithuania
    November 12, 2022
    Semi-Finalist, Best Production Design
  • Luminous Frames
    Copenhagen
    Denmark
    November 27, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Vienna Indie Short Film Festival
    Vienna
    Austria
    January 20, 2022
    Semi-Finalist, Best Experimental Short
  • Symbiotic Film Festival
    Kiev
    Ukraine
    February 24, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Kalakari Film Fest
    Dewas
    India
    March 20, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Carolina Short Film and Screenwriting Showcase
    Asheville
    United States
    March 5, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Madrid Arthouse Film Festival
    Madrid
    Spain
    March 31, 2022
    Semi-Finalist, Best Experimental Short
  • Cult Movies International Film Festival

    United States
    March 30, 2022
    Finalist, Best Experimental Short, Best Editing, Best Sound Design
  • New York International Women Festival
    New York City
    United States
    April 22, 2022
    Semi-Finalist, BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT · BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN · BEST EXPERIMENTAL SHORT
  • Portland New Alternative Voices
    Portland
    United States
    Best Sound Design
  • ROMA Short Film Festival
    Rome
    Italy
    September 30, 2022
    Best Editing
  • Kaminari Japan Film Festival
    Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo
    Japan
    December 26, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Tokyo International Short Film Festival
    Tokyo
    Japan
    Best Editing
Director Biography - Cas Taylor

Hi, my name is Cas Taylor (she/her, they/them) and I am a multi-award-winning Pacific Northwest-based queer indigenous creator.

I grew up in Olympia, WA, where long soggy weekends meant days spent inside watching old films on a small television that only received three channels. This meant I quickly acquired an appreciation and interest for movies, especially foreign films and obscure 70s films which were on near-constant rotation. As I came to understand my own story through those I experienced on the page and onscreen, I developed a passion for LGBTQI+ stories. It became my goal to empower and amplify character-driven narratives and independent creators whose stories seemed few and far between.

My paintings and visual art have been exhibited in the Pacific Northwest and are available online, exclusively, through www.pfeff.gallery/current

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

HIRAETH explores temporal, visual, and auditory disturbances as they relate to memory, specifically memories of my late father who--in times of personal struggle--was someone upon whom I would turn for comfort, counsel, and company. In his absence, I am filled with a kind of homesickness. A longing for something to which I can never return.

With HIRAETH, I wanted to immerse the audience in a visual and auditory experience where light and sound play with and affect one another, changing one another's very nature--if only momentarily. This is what happens when I experience a migraine with aura. It impacts my very ability to access thought, sensation, and even my conception of reality and memory can become transient, skewed by something as simple as a beam of light hitting my eye just so, or a sound as ordinary as a seagull passing overhead.

Thank you for considering HIRAETH for your festival or event. I welcome your questions and invite you to contact me if you'd like more information on me or the project.

Best,
Cas Taylor