Rumi Kaul is Awake, asleep, dreaming, Awake

Surreal and strange, the symbolic surroundings of Awake create tension without the dread. 

There’s a horror to Awake that lies in the liminal spaces the characters occupy; the car and the road, the glowing red object, the young man asleep and awake, the landscapes that are both of this world and very much not. Blurring lines and boundaries makes for a piece that is distinctly speculative, but has an emotive tension that carries you through the film.

Channeling erotic thrillers and evocative dance choreo, director Rumi Kaul creates an engagaing short film that invites you in with a mystery and leaves you with more questions than answers. The Netherlands Film Academy helped with production with producer Noa Zimmerman and Maarten Ernest edited.