THE NEW YORK CITY LOCKDOWN: A WARNING OF THE FUTURE

French filmmakers, and brothers, Swann and Yoann Chesnel take us on a political journey through the city of New York in total lockdown in their debut short film «Falling Down». According to the brothers, the lockdown is revealing problems in our society that should be addressed.

– «Falling Down» is a warning. We wanted to share an alarming and pessimistic vision of what our society can turn into if we continue to live as we do now. We show the limits of our society and the dramatic consequences of global warming using footage of various catastrophes. Our goal is to make people stop, think and reflect on the impact we have on our environment. In a way, we show people «a point of no return»-scenario, they explain to IRK.

The Chesnels both work professionally in art, with Yoann majoring in graphism and communication and Swann working with film and special effects. They created Thanksbro Studios to gather their skills and to create their own visual universe. With COVID-19 ravaging the world, and travel bans and lockdowns imposed, the brothers turned to their old photo albums and travel pictures for inspiration.

– We wanted to give old photographs new life, and we chose New York because we thought that seeing a metropolitan city like that completely empty and deserted was very powerful. New York is also a city we both love and have lots of photos from. «Falling Down» is ironically opposed to the symbolism of «the big apple»: the city of power and money, where everything is possible and anything can happen.

Swann and Yoann are both based in Paris, but they’re quarantined in two different apartments. However, they are still collaborating on new creative projects.

– We have started on a similar project on Porto in Portugal. We had the chance to visit Porto just a few days before lockdown. That project should be finished before the quarantine in France ends and will be available on our Instagram @thanksbrostudio. We are also working on a big project on Paris, so stay tuned!

IRK presents «Falling Down» under.

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