Jellyfish, 2024

(’64)

Experimental romance drama exploring the interplay between multiplicity, intimacy and urban spaces.

“After hiding the fact his new apartment looks directly into his Tinder sweetheart's bedroom, Dolius must process uncomfortable new feelings of guilt as he becomes perversely infatuated with a different side to Penelope he secretly observes through the ‘screens’ of their apartment windows.”

Director’s statement— “Jellyfish seeks to dig into the often uncomfortable boundaries between our public and private selves—an investigation becoming all the more relevant in a world where every part of life can feel observed. In following Dolius, a character who watches but can’t touch, I wanted to explore what happens when intimacy becomes more about perception than reality—and how easy it is to lose sight of where one ends and the other begins.

    Shot entirely handheld and evoking the lofi aesthetic experience of the Dogme 95 movement, the film captures the raw, fractured subjectivity of Dolius’ world. His experience is filled with contradictions: desire and disgust, longing and distance, guilt and thrill. The visual style reflects this tension, capturing his emotional instability in close-up moments that don’t hide the imperfections of human connection—or of its absence. By juxtaposing scripted scenes with improvised moments, I wanted to reveal something uncomfortably real about Dolius, something that can’t be faked or carefully constructed.

    Jellyfish is, in many ways, a reflection of our shared experience in modern cities—overcrowded, yet often profoundly lonely. In exploring Dolius’ journey, I want to invite audiences to confront that uneasy space between intimacy and isolation, and to question what happens when our own realities become as performative as they are private. This film is as much a reflection of those questions as it is my own struggle to understand the spaces between who we are and how we’re seen.”

Directed & Written by—Ewan Waddell

Produced by—Lena Weißmüller, Runescape Gallery

Director of Photography— Olivia Waligora

Editor—Ewan Waddell

Assistant Editor—Ethan Ho
Colourist—Lea Pech

Cast— Mathis Li, Maria Klein Araya

Supporting Performances—Kristers Ozols, Lija Novruzova, Mischa Wanker, Liuba Dyvak, Khiri Chumtong

Intimacy Direction—Katja Weitzenböck

Assistant Directors—Anna Schubert, Lija Novruzova

Camera Operators—Olivia Waligora, Kaito Sashihara, Marco Puerto

Camera Assistants — Karun Gill Leo Bonmati Maya Zaretski

Gaffers — Kaito Sashihara Marco Puerto Leo Bonmati Dilinna Ike

Sound Recordists — Dominik Hoffmann, Mirko Porta, Daniel Gardner

Hair & Makeup — Liuba Dyvak
Art Dept. Assistant — Abi Hutchinson

Style — Jannis Jelto, Esha Suparman
Art Direction — Runescape Gallery
Set Design — Nataliia Lushnikova
Jewelry — Oysteria

Associate Producers — Julia Saumande, Sanghyeok Lee, Kristers Ozols, Till Haselbarth

Dialogue Translation — Marcela Araya

Special Thanks — Art House Rising, Friedrich Raphael, Karibruni Berlin, SK Purvis, Pablo Klein-Araya, Catalyst Institute for Creative Arts, Maria Gisèle Royo.