PSA: The WALLS Between Us

Los Angeles-based production company Superprime releases new short film, 'The WALLS Between Us' directed by Loren Denis and co-directed by Anthony Vibert. The film highlights the human propensity for taking the freedom to move about for granted and the drastic shift that occurs when that freedom is suddenly removed. While under lockdown orders together in Paris with their infant, for the first few weeks making a film was the furthest thing from Denis' and Vibert's minds. As they adjusted to their new normal as parents and as parents in isolation, they were inspired to create a film that reflected the feeling of time being suspended. The couple began to wonder how people, and athletes in particular, were dealing with the restrictions imposed on their movement. They eventually decided to focus on the innovative solutions that elite athletes had been coming up with and filming their newly-formed quarantine rituals. Denis and Vibert started to make phone calls, contacting their very close-knit team consisting of a DP, editor, composer, and a couple of sound designers to see if they’d be interested in joining them for the project. After they all agreed, Denis and Vibert went on to cast the athletes, most of whom are among the best in France for their respective fields. Through friends and with the producers at Superprime they were able to enlist many impressive professionals, including the Olympian decathlete Ludovic Besson, Olympian fencer Sara Balzer, French Opera House dancer Cyril Chock, famous freestyle footballer Logan, World Champion longboarder Lotfi Lamaali, BMX Flatland pro rider Manu Massabova, and boxer Omar Dramé, among others. The film honours the athletes’ innate need to move through a compelling, sensory tour de force. As we witness their training under confinement, the poetic emptiness of isolation captivates. It’s as if each of their individual bodies contains infinite energy in need of bursting out while every single story merges to form one immersive performance, punctuated by a climactic score.