Sleep (2023)

Sleep (2023) is a cinematic venture that emerged from a casual conversation about creating a new film. Originally conceived as an 8-hour exploration of the concept of stillness, the idea evolved and transformed into a 5-hour, 21-minute reflection on contemporary screen time habits. The film, shot during the last week of 2023, delves into the immersive experience of mobile phone usage, offering a unique perspective on our digital age.

Capturing the ease with which one can become engrossed in their phone, the film explores the boundary between the virtual and the real. It’s a personal journey, marked by moments of introspection and a touch of fear about the ease with which one can disconnect from the world.

Intriguingly, all the audio in the film is original, a conscious choice to avoid copyrighted material. Every sound, from the ambient tones to the clips from Lilja’s other projects, contributes to the immersive and somewhat unsettling experience.

With a subtle nod to Warhol’s ‘Sleep’ and a personal homage to the 2013 original, Sleep (2023) unfolds as an unexpected exploration, offering viewers a thought-provoking and introspective journey into the ever-evolving landscape of our digital lives.



Video 321 minutes
2024

Wikipedia

IMDB

Dark Room

“We hear faint sounds, we see blurred images. Who are we and who is trying to contact us?”

Dark Room Poster

A family is inside a freestanding room-sized camera obscura by a small lake. They observe the image projected through the pinhole, when suddenly something scares them.

I always try to push boundaries – my own at least. Here the entire film is shot without a lens, just with a pinhole adapter in front of the camera cell. So basically it is a timelapse, but that’s a necessity because of the long exposure times needed. The film name Dark Room means Camera Obscura – which basically is the technique used to produce the images.

In the end the poster almost became more important for the film. All the bogus festivals and awards serve as criticism against the “scam festival industry”. Dark Room became a piece of conceptual art telling the story of something that at the same exists and does not exist. Something where you don’t lie, yet your story is not true either. It’s a testament to the modern times and confusion.

A blog post.

IMDB page

Festivals:
Cinemaking International Film Festival
Amsterdam Freedom Independent IFF
The Black Panther International Short Film Festival
Lift-Off Filmmaker Sessions @ PinewoodStudios
Rohip International Film Festival
8 & Halfilm Awards
21114 – Film fest
Bestlov Film Festival
Onyko Films Awards
Paradise Film Festival
Crown Wood International Film Festival
Ealing Film Festival
Anatolia International Film Festival
Iconic Images Film Festival
Golden Bridge İstanbul Short Film Festival
Savona International Film Event
Beyond Earth Film Festival
TAMIZHAGAM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL – WINNER, Best Experimental Short Film
The Filmmaker’s Space Film Festival – WINNER, Best Short Experimental
Blackboard International Film Festival – WINNER, Best Experimental Film
Golden Lion International Film Festival (GLIFF) – WINNER, Best Experimental Short Film
Rohip International Film Festival – WINNER, Best International short film
World Indie Film Awards – WINNER, Best Experimental Short
Subathra International Film Festival – WINNER, Special Mention Award, Best International Short Film
Caravan International Film Festival – WINNER, Experimental Films
Sittannavasal International Film Festival – WINNER
Tokyo Film Awards – HONORABLE MENTION
Tokyo International Monthly Film Festival – FINALIST
Spring Time International Film Festival – FINALIST
T.I.F.A. – Tietê International Film Awards – FINALIST
Robinson Film Awards (International Film Festival) – SEMI-FINALIST

Brothers

 

Best Art Fiction FilmBest Director

HOTYSFF-2016-Laurel-300x166

Haida Gwaii

aliif

bff

BSTSFF 2016 Selection Laurel

Brothers is a short film about the different perception of the world around us by children compared to adults. Children’s mind is still a blank canvas with lots of space for imagination, whilst adults have already spoiled it with symbols and meanings.

The film premiered at Haida Gwaii Film Festival 2016 and was also screened at Hang Onto your Shorts Film Festival, Brightside Tavern Film Festival and All Lights India Film Festival. It was also part of Official Selection at Blow Up Chicago International Arthouse Film Festival in 2016. It was awarded with Best director and Best art fiction film at Fresh Stream Experimental Film Festival 2018.

poster
Brothers film poster

still
Still shot from Brothers short movie

Platform

Platform
Platform

We live in a hectic worked, where everyone just cares about themselves. People are not really in hurry, but the society has planted in their mindsets. They need to run and hurry. they need to use their elbows to be before others. They need to fit in the train that is already a full. Platform is a short story from CPH airport train station. It is a bystander view about the stress that the society is putting over people. Soundtrack includes distorted totalitaristic announcements and bible sentences.

“There is a train for everyone, but some of us must stay at the platform”

Order your copy here

 


Video 16 minutes
2015

SLEEP

Sleep Poster

Sleep is an experiment I made that ended up launching my film career and still gets unexpected attention. It’s a piece where I wanted to explore the differences between 1963 and 2013 by creating an 8-hour long film of me sleeping.

My film, unlike Andy Warhol’s original Sleep, uses modern tech like drones and multiple camera angles to capture me sleeping naked, with dream sequences added in. Despite the advances in technology, working with 8 hours of material on consumer-grade equipment is still tough.

The film’s context is more important than its content. I released it as a single-layer DVD on Amazon, which was even ordered by the Rotterdam International Film Festival for its screening in 2015. This unusual distribution method was part of what got it noticed.

Christopher Costabile wrote a master’s thesis on Sleep, calling it an example of “aesthetics of cohabitation.” He analyzed how my use of digital tech challenges norms about space and time, linking it to the aura concept by Walter Benjamin.

In 2023, Sleep found new life through the sleepstreaming phenomenon, quickly racking up over 100,000 views on YouTube. Unfortunately, YouTube took it down for violating their nudity policy, which was a blow since it meant they didn’t see it as art.

The way I shared Sleep—first on Amazon, then on YouTube—helped it reach a wider audience and even got it screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and discussed in an academic thesis. This mix of old and new ways to distribute films has been key to its ongoing influence.

In January 2024, I announced a sequel, also called Sleep, showing me using a mobile phone for over 5 hours. When I was in Rotterdam again in 2023, a Sri Lankan director told me he’d heard about my film in film school, showing how far-reaching its impact has been.

 

 

Media catalog

Video 480 minutes
2013

Wikipedia

Amazon DVD

IMDB