Kalina Nedelcheva

Ghostling

Ghostling explores the human experience of alienation, established by the chronic Othering involved in the structure of class in the digital age. The scenes follow an ambiguous ghost figure as it moves through a house. Archival footage of outdoor sceneries is used to establish a visual juxtaposition with the indoor aesthetic—this contrast can also be carried on as a metaphor for the antonymic relationship between freedom and confinement. The cinematography embraces montage, accompanied by a poetic monologue and a captivating score. Images pop-up on screen and layer on top of each other with a rampant yet rhythmic immediacy, suggesting the transient process and intensity with which thought and feelings manifest and disappear. Ghostling illuminates the confusion and torment of invisibility, as well as the aftermath of disappointment that is so often present when striving to be an agent of change, connecting to audiences on an individual level. Besides its nod to Marx on the topic of alienation of the self, Ghostling engages through a contemplative, stream-of-consciousness monologue that makes playful references to a range of philosophers and artists. In doing so, it nudges viewers further to embody a gaze that is increasingly detached from modern society.