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Est. Reading Time: 7 Minutes

MARK (M) Tell us a little about yourself - when did you become interested in film and filmmaking?

RUAIRI (R) I was pretty performative as a kid. I grew up really enjoying acting in school shows and I joined a local theatre group when I was 12. I guess that sort of naturally developed into a curiosity about the other side of the camera, and what opportunities that could provide.

My first job was working the candy bar at a cinema, which meant a free ticket to basically any movie I wanted. That led to film being a fairly large part of my teenage years, and the more I watched, the more I grew aware of the complexity in films. I feel like once I begun to see film as a form of expression, as well as a storytelling medium, it was impossible not to fall in love.

On Themes

M I feel like the film’s possibly exploring and pursuing one’s true sense of self, with different aspects or versions appearing, disappearing and converging to complicate reality and truth. So I know you may not want to delve into this too deeply but can you please touch on the film’s themes?

R The film is definitely about the fractured perception of self. Particularly in the last few years, in my early twenties, my sense of self has felt quite unrefined and seems to be constantly shifting. The impact this has on my desires and anxieties can be quite disorienting, and it can be hard to fully grasp what I genuinely want and believe, and what I don’t. I’m constantly being influenced by news, relationships, emotions, and experiences, and I sometimes struggle to process all of it into actual concrete beliefs and opinions. 

The world of the film represents my state of mind quite well, with different versions of myself arguing with each other over which beliefs and ambitions are worth hanging onto, and which are not. I think confusion about the self is fairly common in all stages of life, through ambition, sexuality, fear, and an array of other subcategories. What makes us ourselves can be a complicated puzzle of influence and instinct, and finding out what those pieces are, and then translating them into a rounded sense of self can be a difficult process.

M I think you’ve done a fantastic job in using several tools and techniques to bring your ideas and vision to life on screen. Please tell us about your ideas and thoughts behind using the door lock as one of the key storytelling elements within the film. I really like how you not only use it visually, but sonically too as it essentially becomes part of the sound design/score.

R  The concept of the locks felt like a natural reflection of the pathways of the sleeping mind. In the process of developing the film, I started paying more attention to the patterns of my brain when drifting off to sleep and I became overly-aware of the way my brain would bounce around different topics before settling on one to explore in more depth. It was as if my subconscious was wandering through the information and experience it contained, unable to properly focus on any one topic. There was too much uncertainty to unravel, and so it became locked out of every room until it found the ‘right one’ for that point in time. 

I was intent on creating a rhythm to the film, so when the stream of consciousness is disrupted and the audience is pulled out of the dream, the rhythm changes. The sound of the locks therefore became a key part of developing the rhythm as the score wasn’t added until one of my later drafts.

M And I liked the way you used interiors and exteriors to explore and ruminate perceptions of one’s inner vs outer self. So I wanted to ask, did the idea of transitioning outdoors also naturally reflect the pathways and patterns of the mind?    

R I think the further you sink into dreams, the more reality becomes an abstract concept. Concepts of time and space are still continuous but become less grounded, and I felt the movement outdoors reflected that. Without seeming to take any steps or interrupt the point of focus, the characters and objects move through the dreamscape at rapid pace, often jumping between different locations. One moment the characters could be in an alley, the next in a park and so on. I feel like once the mind has settled on something to explore, it moves beyond the confusing and restricting hallway space and begins to open up, bouncing around different locations, restricted only by my actual ability to explore and film real places during lockdown.

The elevator particularly represents the structure of doorways in dreams, in that they rarely lead you where you expect them to. A doorway in a dream is more like a physical construct of transitioning, from one place to another spiritually. Unlike all the locked doors up to that point, the elevator doors open, and the mind moves on into whatever it has decided to explore. There are quite a few doorways in the film, some open, some shut but at no point do they work literally, from one space to an adjacent space. Instead, the doorways function as a transitional marker from one dreamspace to another.

‘I feel like once I begun to see film as a form of expression, as well as a storytelling medium, it was impossible not to fall in love’

— Ruairi Walsh

On Inspiration

M What are some of the films and who are some of the filmmakers that inspire you, and why?

R There is so much variation in excellent film that I feel like I will never have watched enough. Every director has a different style and vibe, and each time I watch something new I feel like I’m watching a completely different style of art that I want to take inspiration from.

Filmmakers like David Lynch are a source of inspiration. His ability to tap into a really primal state of emotion and desire, and his drive to continue creating outside of his film work is amazing. I see him as an inspiration because he is not just a filmmaker, but a creative in every sense of the word.

For Involuntary Perceptions, Maya Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) was a huge source of inspiration. I feel like her representation of the trickery of the unconscious mind, and its overlapping memories, perspectives and intrinsic desire to create meaning is fascinating.

On The Future

M What are you planning to make next?

R The seemingly endless lockdown in Melbourne felt quite creatively restrictive, but I have been working on a few projects. I’m hoping to get back out and continue doing freelance film work to develop my skills, but currently that’s pretty difficult. So at the moment I’m working on pre-production for a music video that probably won’t begin filming until 2022, but I‘m enjoying the process of developing ideas for it.

Mark’s Final Thoughts

• All of Ruairi’s elemental and structural choices complement the larger ideas and themes of the film - I really like the fact that every choice is very well considered and thought-out.

• Reading his answers, you get a real sense that Ruairi isn’t interested in washing over or rushing past anything. He’s very much one to explore and break down every possibility in as much detail as possible. This is of course an important characteristic for any young artist as it generally leads to greater depth and meaning in their work. In addition to the tools and techniques mentioned in the interview, I think this is evident through relatively simple but effective changes in colour and costume as well as his use of split screens.

• I love seeing young filmmakers mention true pioneers like Maya Deren, I think it’s so important because groundbreakers like her teach us about the potential and power of art and film.

  Tags Bourgeon Experimental Live-action

Want to Learn More? Click here for Ruairi’s thoughts about the symbolism of cameras as well as the powerful impact of music and sound design within film.

The founder of Hommage, Mark Shaba published this interview on 02.11.2021. Mark is a filmmaker from Victoria, Australia. He respectfully acknowledges the past and present traditional owners of the land on which he creates, promotes and screens art, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation who are the custodians.

Involuntary Perceptions is the first film added to our new collection ‘Bourgeon’, which is aimed at promoting and showcasing talented first and second-time filmmakers. Our goal is to encourage filmmakers who display ambitious, promising and unique qualities while learning their craft. Being one of their first interactions with an online platform, we hope to set a nice example and standard of personalized film discussion and promotion.