WARNING: the film contains nudity and drastic scenes.
 

In Filip Preis’s latest work, that is also his film debut, everything starts and ends in a source. It is the source that brings shiny-skinned characters to live and tells a tender story about queer community.

Pieces of armour, swords and daggers, flowers and nudity, and in the soundtrack: choirs, mandolin, sea waves and flutes. Overabundance seems to be the rule of Preis’s world. Elements and sceneries from fairy tales bring more than just a relaxing effect — the artist adds an erotic touch by changing the whispers of the source into a cramped labyrinth. Whispering is sharing a secret. It is talking from up close, straight into the ear. It is intimacy — both sexual and emotional.

Preis uses visual cliches with great consciousness. The dense symbolism, sentimental landscapes or cottagecore stylisations add humour to the film. The seemingly solemn atmosphere often gives space to raciness and subtle jokes. The fairy tale costume serves as a form of tender gaze towards the artist’s close people. Blood on lips is either fruit juice or visibly fake blood. The sun sets, but never effectively enough to disappear behind the horizon. 

The source in the title is a sea, then saliva left after a kiss, and later some dew drops on grass. It is omnipresent like a story, because Preis’s film is also a tribute to storytelling as a way of creating worlds and to great storytellers, including one of his significant inspirations - Maya Deren. 

Filip Preis graduated from photography at the Lodz Film School. His work is inspired by the internet culture, the absurdities of daily life and visual cliches. He is looking for sensations from the digital world in the real world. He is part of the LGBTQIA+ community and often ecplores the notion of queer sensitivity. 

He presented his works in Zachęta National Art Gallery, Foksal Gallery,  Serce człowieka gallery, PGS Sopot, as well as at Photography Festival in Sopot, Fotofestiwal in Łódź and at Kraków Fringe, which is part of the Krakow Month of Photography. He often collaborates with Warsaw-based collective Turnus. He lives and works in Warsaw.