JESSICA
Circus Film | 4 min | Germany | 2021 | Directed, filmed and edited

A humorous solo portrait of Australian hula hoop artist Jess Mews. She plays the role of Jessica, an “awkward and determined” character who tries to show her best side as a circus artist while reflecting upon herself and her trajectory.

Note: “Jess and I met in Berlin during the darkest winter I have ever lived. It was the middle of the pandemic, everything was closed, temperatures hardly went over 5º and it was dark after 4pm. So, there was a lot of space to do absolutely nothing and also a lot of space to fall apart. At that time, and for the very first time in my life, social media was having a huge impact on me; I felt everyone was doing so much more than I did and I just had a big impostor syndrome. When I met Jess, she told me she was feeling the same as I did, so we decided to boost each other and create something together doing what we both enjoy the most. Jess told me that she wanted to show a different image of herself, different to the typical commercial cabaret circus style she was used to. “Most people see me onstage as very outgoing and brazen but I’m not like that on the inside.  Making fun of myself and the effort that’s gone into developing my career and now not worrying what the casting agents or producers think”, she said.

I feel that Jessica was my pandemic winter lifesaver, and this is why I want everyone who watches it to know it.”

Directed, filmed and edited by Clara Rodríguez Arasanz.
Production: Oscar Kaufmann
Original idea by Jess Mews
Music: Amour Plastique by Videoclub
Filmed at Blumen-Grundschule Berlin
Thanks to Blumen-Grundschule Berlin, Carles Samarra and Oscar Kaufmann