The Stranger Inside Her (2023)

“The Stranger Inside Her” is a short movie inspired by Italian giallo movies starring an anonymous woman dealing with sexual assault and the consequences it has on her mental health. The movie reflects on the traumatic experience of sexual assault from a (cis white) woman’s perspective through her inner monologue, expressing her emotional distress covering the phases of before, during, and after the assault. The offender remains faceless and anonymous; a mere representation of the assault itself. The focus lies on the alienation the woman experiences within herself and her surroundings. Her fragmented and blurry identity is depicted through various versions of herself set in enigmatic locations, where her mind plays games with her and causes her to doubt what is real and what is not. As she settles into a new reality, the stranger inside herself has become her.

Duration: 11'

Credits:
Concept, Story, Actress: Christina Themeli
Direction: Christina Themeli, Fausto Mujica
Production: Christina Themeli, Fausto Mujica, Kassiani Goulakou, Eunice Fong
Screenplay: Eunice Fong
Music: Nanuki
Sound Mix: Fausto Mujica, mixed and recorded at Ribbontail Berlin
Special Effects: Underpaid Mantis