Shueti: The Mysterious Director Who Makes the Mundane Look Magical
The so-called Banksy of filmmaking has always chosen to stay anonymous and rather let his works speak for themselves. But what do they say? And do they leave you with answers, or rather more questions? Eyeforce dives in to the world of Shueti.
Seen through the eyes of 11 influential individuals, NO MAN’S LAND focuses on the subjects’ inner monologue as they consider the impact of the corona crisis. Shot on 35mm film, the project mixes dreamy sequences with raw and realistic portraits. Making us wonder whether we are looking at the real world, or something more intangible. Somehow Shueti always finds a way to make very normal things magical. Or very magical things normal.
In AGHORI we see an Indian priest in the Thar desert moving in a trance. As the music and movements of the priest intensify we get a feeling that something is about to happen. There’s a tension in the images we’re seeing, suggesting we are watching something supernatural. Is this just a man dancing? Or is there something more? Shueti always keeps you guessing.
In the world of Shueti, things are almost never what they seem. Take his work for G-star, it’s about the game of chess. The most boring, mundane sport on the planet. Apart from golf maybe. But somehow, in the hands of Shueti. Even a story of two people sitting at a table becomes something that makes your heart beat faster.
Picture this, we fade in from black and find ourselves floating over a glistening expanse of snow, before entering a hallway, still floating and slowly rotating. We see a man sitting behind a desk, working on something we cannot see before shooting through a tunnel, flying over a stunning river delta and having a geyser explode in our faces. Grains of sand floating in the air seamlessly morph into a shot of the starry night sky. Before we shoot back through the tunnel and end up floating high above a beautiful glacier.
If I didn’t tell you I’m describing Shueti’s work for Jaeger-LeCoultre, a luxury watchmaker from Switzerland, you’d swear I was telling you about a dream.
And that’s ultimately the power of Shueti. Making you doubt whether what you’re watching is real, or something from a place beyond reality. In a way it’s both at the same time. Shueti’s way of making the real seem magical in turn makes the magical seem real. So if you need a bit more magic in your life, all you need is a shot of Shueti.
