Borealis, Our First Short Film

Do you believe synchronicities are meaningful?

While on the archipelago of Svalbard, undergoing research for the 'Borealis' collection with visual artist Coline L'Achiver of Studio Cosmogram, I was connected to artists across different creative mediums with ties to the Arctic. 

One evening in Longyearbyen, Svalbard's largest settlement, Coline invited me to a performance by acquaintances, the jazz duo BirdWorld, once back in London. Later, during their performance at 180 Strand, I was mesmerized by their fusion of rhythmic jazz and wistful ambience. Speaking with members Gregor Riddell (cello & pedals) and Adam Teixeira (drums & percussion), we connected over our mutual admiration of the natural world and representations of it in the auditory realm. Aptly put, "Listening through the eyes" is the slogan of Gregor's Oslo-based radio show, SVS. Gregor invited me to contribute a guest mix to SVS, reflecting my time in Svalbard experiencing midnight sun. Thus, our collaboration began.

A few months after we returned from Svalbard, Coline's friend, sound artist Mathias Arrignon, coincidentally participated in an artist residency onboard a ship circling the archipelago's shores. During this residency, he captured field recordings of the landscape with his specialist recording equipment, such as a hydrophone, a specialized microphone designed to record underwater sound. His sounds document a natural environment in transition. They lie somewhere between awe and mourning, capturing a drastically changing environment in his sonic piece Brief Elegy to the Pale.

Developing these unique connections with artists across these various disciplines, I began to contemplate what sort of project I could create that would enable us all to work together on our shared source material: the Arctic.

I pondered producing a short film representing the two opposites I experienced in Svalbard, belonging to so few other places on the Earth: polar night and midnight sun; endless darkness and perpetual light. I never cease to feel compelled to create visual art and design that searches for balance. The endless metaphors and personal reflections that can be inscribed to the extreme pendulum swings of light in the North Pole are truly compelling. Yin and yang, shadow and light - this balance in the cosmos and inside our psyche is universal. Kåre Tveter, the famed Norwegian artist who kickstarted my fascination with seeing both midnight sun and polar night, perfectly encapsulates this sentiment:

 

"Svalbard is fierce, solitary, angst-filled; it allows me to put my own existence in perspective. I have found reality here. And beauty."  ~ Kåre Tveter

 

Coline and I began working on a story for the film, and true to our creative tendencies, we decided to have a non-narrative arch centred around music and dance. It would be segmented into three distinct movements: Moon, representing solitude, Storm, representing reality, and Sun, representing resolution. I wanted the film to have a simple, yet visually strong, storyline that was ambiguous enough to allow the viewer to inject their own personal experience into the story. The intention for Borealis was to be emotionally impactful, with touches of psychedelic transcendence. We began to work on the film with a simple act: listening to polar-influenced ambient music and making simple ink drawings based on the three movements of the film.

While casting for a Director, we admired Raquel Couceiro's minimalist style. Raquel is a Lisbon-born, London-based filmmaker. She has held the position of Film Editor and Head of Fashion Film at SHOWstudio since 2012. Couceiro has worked with major international talents and organisations such as Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, and Vogue. Her work is infused with hints of sci-fi; adding this vision to a nature-based short film appeals to my desires to demonstrate, through art and design, how surreal and alien our own planet is. Shooting with Raquel, we were dazzled by her incredible breadth of skill, mastering directing, videography, editing, and effects. 

We were introduced to Movement Artist Ekin Bernay through a friend, Léa Malgouyres, from Sadlers Wells. Ekin is a Turkish performance artist, dance and movement psychotherapist based in Istanbul. Her work focuses on the healing qualities of performance art. Bernay has performed at notable arts institutions such as Sadlers Wells, the Royal Academy of Arts, and Tate Modern. We loved her spirit and the infusion of metaphysical energy in her work. Kind, talented, and beautiful on the inside and out, I had met my first true muse.

We shot the film in late-January 2026, accompanied by Todor Ivanov on camera assistance, Gil Warner with lighting, and Carly-Jo Van Dyk on hair & makeup.

Borealis' Nova Zip Boilersuit was chosen to represent Moon, with its stealth codes and sense of isolation, enveloping the body in one piece. The Arctic Optic Hooded Raincoat and Ursa Merino Wool Bouclé Hat were incorporated in Storm, offering protection against the movement's chaotic elements. In Sun, the Borealis Wool Mock Neck Top was paired with ivory hosiery and layered briefs, creating a neutral polar base to appreciate the top's tonal intrigue.

After filming, Coline's visual art was integrated in the form of vertical icy panes, reflecting the reeded glass used in our 'Borealis' slow fashion photoshoot. Additionally, she designed a peaceful digital artwork to conclude the film. The artwork recreates a sundog, the natural phenomenon most commonly seen in the Arctic, where light refractions through ice crystals in the atmosphere cause multiple suns to appear.

BirdWorld's score beautifully translated the three themes into sonic form. Isolation and solitude were expressed through mysterious synths and Adam's rhythmic drumming in the Moon movement. During Storm, an emotive and hollow electronic score created space for Mathias' wind, ice, and static field recordings, causing sonic tension. Concluding in Sun, BirdWorld's beautiful ambient pedals signalled a healing release, a pause to absorb the beauty of the present.

Being able to create art for the sake of collaboration is an immense privilege. Reflecting on the current chaos of the world, I hope the film's message of balance resonates with others feeling confused and disheartened by the state of the world's affairs, and the divisions splitting our communities. Our Earth is brilliant at maintaining equilibrium. I wish for mankind to find its own balance between endless dark and perpetual light.