Sara Cwynar's 'Red Film' Explores Perception Through Beauty Industry Imagery

Sara Cwynar's 2018 short film 'Red Film' examines how we perceive reality through layers of mediation. Over 13 minutes, two narrators discuss beauty, visibility, and novelty while imagery from product development in beauty and advertising industries unfolds. Shot on 16mm celluloid and transferred to digital video, the film features intense greens, blues, and reds, with scenes from makeup factories, photography studios, and printing presses. Cwynar appears herself, red-faced and lip-synching to voiceovers. The film references Lina Bo Bardi's 1960s display system for São Paulo Museum of Art and Rem Koolhaas's 2001 concept of 'junkspace'. Credits list 20 writers and thinkers including Boris Groys, Bjørnar Olsen, Susan Stewart, and Sylvia Wynter. The work is available online, with Chris Fite-Wassilak, a London-based writer and critic, authoring the analysis. 'Red Film' continues Cwynar's exploration of analogue nostalgia and hyperreality, similar to her 2017 work 'Rose Gold'.