Hanaé Sanchez finds it hard to describe herself, but as she put together a multi-disciplinary diptych project, which is composed of a short film and a zine, she realised that her identity, background and art were deeply intertwined. After completing her A-Levels and a foundation year in fine art in France, she studied moving image at UAL, gaining skills in writing, direction and design. The culmination of Hanaé’s studies turned into At Last, proof of her multi-faceted interests in moving and printed images.
In a way to reconnect with her Khmer, South East Asian and Cambodian heritage and to “turn frustration into creation”, Hanaé brought design, animation, storytelling and live action together in her first ever film. “At its core, the work is about connecting with a parent in that unspoken, unconditional way, and about daring to take the past into your own hands in order to bend destiny,” shares Hanaé. “Some might see the film as slightly experimental, especially in a world of instantaneity where you’re expected to get your point across in seconds. But for me, that’s precisely the point: the past, though unchangeable, is always being rewritten in the present.”
The striking film blends phantasmagorical animation with soft black-and-white live action, telling a cerebral thriller of sorts, where a man falls in and out of fractal, cobalt dreams. In its monochrome visuals, backgrounds filled with South Asian furniture and decorations blend into blurred greys, encapsulating the protagonist’s ignored personal history. The protagonist’s chaotic inner world materialises in quick cuts, sinister strings and the heightening of sounds around him, but keeps the viewer at arm’s length with spectral animations that accentuate the film’s arthouse influences.