Dwelling in the Dissolve - Directed by Holly Willis

Project Title: Dwelling in the Dissolve

Brief Synopsis: Dwelling in the Dissolve borrows footage from the discarded fourth reel of the 1987 Hollywood action film Street Justice. Sections of the film are submerged in various substances, and we watch as the colorful dissolution washes away the original film’s celebration of violence and toxic masculinity. The elemental colors that make up the emulsion – cyan, magenta, and yellow – are released, resulting in roiling flurries of tinted silver halide crystals. The film’s title is inspired by the work of new materialist philosopher Stacy Alaimo, who describes a form of dissolution that represents a “radical openness to one’s environment." In this film, “dwelling in the dissolve” offers dissolution and transformation as tactics for undoing violence.