The film Misericorde inhabits a dreamscape of an insomniac, moving through a land of distorted mirrors.
In the Middle Ages a misericorde was a weapon used to put a wounded knight out of his misery. As a theological term, it refers to forgiveness and compassion. In French it has been used as an invocation, notably in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot: "Christ have mercy on us!" That there may be no one listening (or arriving) remains a central anguish, felt in the depression, addiction and other disorders that are normal responses to increasingly abnormal culture. This film inhabits a dreamscape of an insomniac, moving through a land of distorted mirrors, fluctuating boundaries, and uncertain identity. A man fractured in narcissistic multiplications, a woman convulsed in neurotic gesticulations, are lost both to themselves and to each other. Yet there is a beauty to their shared ordeal, a nature pulsing with possibilities as near and intimate as they seem out of reach. It suggests the accord that comes with awareness, the passion that springs from despair.
Premiere - Ibiza Cinefest 2024
McMinville Short Film Festival 2024
Queens World 2024
Director - Nataša Prosenc Stearns
Producer - Nataša Prosenc Stearns
Actor - Natasha Maidoff
Cinematographer - Lisa Stoll
