VIDEO: Diffan’s Kekasih, a Gaspar Noé-esque Body Horror Short

By JUICE Malaysia  •  14 Feb 2016 in News

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JUICE had written about multidisciplinary artist-filmmaker Diffan Norman’s short film Kekasih when its debut trailer dropped two years ago, but despite being prompted about two screenings of the movie, we stupidly missed it twice. Thankfully, Diffan and co. decided that it was about time that they make Kekasih available for public consumption on Vimeo – coinciding with this year’s Valentine’s Day to boot. And what an apt scifi allegory it is. Based on the oft-used nightingale and the rose metaphor in Persian and Ottoman poetry, also appropriated by Oscar Wilde as a short story, Kekasih sees Nasir Bilal Khan as botany scientist Mansor whose desperate attempt at reviving his late wife (Fauziah Nawi) led him to a psychedelic trip that blurs the literal with the metaphorical – or rather, the scientific with the divine. Part Gaspar Noé-like lightshow, part Cronenbergian body horror, and part Aronofsky-style gritty parable, Kekasih is only a small hint of what Diffan could accomplish with a feature length movie.

Stream the short film in its entirety via Vimeo here.

Watch the trailer below:

Find more from Diffan Norman by clicking here.