As Finley Peter Dunne said “the past always looks better than it was. It’s only pleasant because it isn’t here.” Mexican-Spanish collective NonSense, formed by Azahara Gómez, Lluis Martí, Luis Rojo, Iván Martinoz, and Kevin Speight, draws on nostalgia’s core element with their latest film Old Times, centred around the themes of love, time and loss. Old Times is “an appreciation of the beauty of the past, an exploration of regret through an insight into our past actions.” With the premise of finding beauty in the past, the eerie imagery of the film is fittingly based on the novel The Past by Argentine writer Alan Pauls and explores the longing of a feeling that is no more.
Staying true to their complex artistry and signature cinematic visuals, NonSense looks back on life-changing episodes and the consequent emotional challenges, presenting the film as a tribute to sorrow and the embracing of love as a necessary sickness. This cathartic short film comes in collaboration with Mexican womenswear brand Simple by Trista. But this is not the first instalment of this collaboration. The duo joined forces in the past with Movement 1, making ripples and earning awards at various festivals such as the Mexican Fashion Film Festival, Bokeh South Africa International Fashion Film Festival and Copenhagen Fashion Film Festival. This second collaboration digs deeper into the values of the brand to reflect Simple by Trista’s emotional aesthetic and personality; reflecting the mundane, raw, animalistic and despair miens of the past.
Talking exclusively to Schön!, director Kevin Speight says “Old Times is the second chapter of a trilogy of films we are directing for the label Simple by Trista. The focus here lays in sharing the emotional aesthetic and values of the brand, rather than featuring the clothing. In both Old Times, as well as the first chapter – Movement 1 – we use emotions as a common path to understand the world and create a cathartic experience.” Further discussing the inspiration behind the film, he asserts “the novel The Past by Alan Pauls was a good influence to create the imagery as it offered an insight into another way of understanding relationships. Old Times stands as a visual expression of this exploration, in which we celebrate transformation as a positive and necessary experience despite all. It’s important to let go of what we are comfortable with and face ourselves in order to create something new. Transformation is a key concept in this trilogy, something we’ll be looking to explore further in our third piece.”
Director / Kevin Speight
DP / Lluís Martí
Line Producer / Luis Rojo
Young Woman / Natalia Plasencia
Young Man / Brien Hansen
Old Woman / Tara Parra
Old Man / Marcelo Ferrari
Narrator / Frances Healy
Production / NonSense Collective
Production Design / Joanna Prado
Wardrobe / Giovani Estrada
Words / Sara Delgado
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