Sheut

What does Sheut mean?, they ask me. It is a concept from Egypt´s mythology, the “shadow” in every human being. The Sheut cannot exist without the person and the person cannot exist without the Sheut. It is the duality that lives within us and that shelters, in its darker side, those negative events that we call traumas. Even though the origin of this word comes from ancient Egypt, I consider it can be used today in a global way. We all have a Sheut, a shadow that we try to hide and the one we can sometimes never achieve to live with in peace.

This shortfilm describes the search of this coexistence through a man reconecting with his past. The protagonist of the story is Luis, a man who works in ships. Living in the sea he neither has a steady home nor places himself in an specific space. Without control of his life he runs away from his past, from his childhood lived very close to the shores of Peru. During the development of the plot, Luis decides to go back home and face his past. A past that no longer exists and that he has to rebuild in order to understand his Sheut. What Luis does not remember is that his shadow has always been there, by his side. Growing stronger through the accumulation of pain. It is when he accepts the presence of this darkness in his life that Luis is able to see his Sheut again and embrace it in peace. This journey to acceptance is the core of the story, of this voyage that we can all have if we want to.

When I began this project my main question was: How can I tell this story in a shortfilm? With it came another question: How can I portrait the dreams, thoughts and projections of Luis’ mind?

The solution was to dedicate all the areas to the creation of the protagonist´s world, which had to be as much real as surreal. It is worth mentioning an important element: the sea as an emotions’ agent of change. It was then that the shortfilm, evidently, had to be filmed on the peruvian coast. I found within the beaches of Mancora a surreal coast, that allowed me to blend the lonely mind of Luis with his reality. It was not important to mention a city in the story in order to leave some doubt to where this character is, remembering his life without an exact location. Playing with the faces of time, we discovered the Luis’ parents appear just as a memory with no changes. The script dealt with conversations that are read and heard through projections; and as for photography we used as much cold as warm …. to emphazise the difference between the memory, the fantasy and the reality. The visual effects done in the post production process have a mystical approach that provided the desired creation of the dreamlike atmosphere. Lastly, I want to highlight the characterization of the Sheut. To give life to this character was the true challenge of the shortfilm both on visual and technical levels. As I consider the Sheut as a global concept, I wished it to be a mystical being, a dark humanoid that reminds us of the shape of a shadow. All the elements mentioned before as well as the performance given by the actors allowed the construction of this dreamlike voyage. A voyage that, in my opinion, became a purgative process for all the ones involved in this project.

By making this shortfilm I understood even more the importance of film. Filmaking as a reflex of oneself, of one culture or of one universe. I had two motivations to make this shortfilm. The first: that “accepting” and “liberating” become ideas close to the spectator. The second, very similar to the first: that this story moves the audience in such a way that can be seen and understood in the coexistence with their own Sheut. Because it is there, always with us. We only need to look it in the eyes and smile at it.

Teo Belton,
Lima. 2017.