A Beast In The Mangrove

Bluesky

Like its fellow Directors’ Factory entry Learn To Read The Wind, this collaboration between Brazilian filmmaker Wara and Israeli Sivan Noam Shimon is an impressive example of world building, although it relies quite heavily on voice-over to set the scene, when visuals could be used to do more of the ‘talking’.

The action unfolds in the mangroves where we’re told “a man with unlimited powers demanded descendants”. Pairing a consideration of toxic masculinity with myth proves a rich combination as we see a woman (Samires Costa) fall victim to the “beast” (Garcyvyna) of the short’s title. The writer/directors bring home the sense of threat and use the power of suggestion throughout as the woman undergoes her own transformation.

Strongly elemental, the suggestion of touch is strong, not just in the short’s central attack but later through the use of sand on skin. Pace is also used in disturbing ways, whether it's to emphasise the woman’s immobility or, later, in the measured way her transformed figure takes up the hunt. Praise is also due to Sarah Escuidero for her tricky physical performance as La Bête.

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