One for Sorrow

The short film invites us to step into the skin, and the gaze, of the augurs: to watch flight until it starts to speak.

One for Sorrow — Plot

In ancient Rome, augurs were priests who read the sky by watching birds in flight, trusting that movement above could offer prophetic signs. The piece opens with unfiltered footage of birds in motion, as if simply watching a landscape. Gradually, flight shifts from movement to clue: the drawn trace appears, accumulates, and turns the sky into a space for interpretation. The ending, multiple sequences of traced swifts with a mirror effect, pushes this ambiguity further: patterns double and invite the viewer to perceive shapes, as if the sky were returning a symbol.

• Release date
• May 2, 2024
• Runtime
• 5 min
• Genres
• Music, Animation
• Director
• Xavi Bou