STUDIO AIDEEN BARRY

Embroidering the Earth's Mantle (2025) 

is a visually captivating experimental film that fuses surrealist inspirations of the works of the forgotten surrealist and twice war refugee Remedios Varo with performers’ parallel life journeys, blending historic cinematic techniques and cutting-edge motion design to bring Varo’s visionary concepts to life.

Embroidering the Earth's Mantel is an evocative experimental short film inspired by the life and surrealist vision of Remedios Varo, a twice-displaced refugee shaped by the traumas of the Spanish Civil War and World War II. Drawing from Varo’s haunting painting of the same name, the film explores themes of displacement, resilience, and the mystical interplay between technology and the occult.

In a richly textured visual landscape, innovative motion design merges with historic cinematic techniques to create a tapestry of dreamlike, dystopian worlds. Award-winning designer Richard Malone’s enigmatic costumes bring Varo’s cloaked, mysterious protagonists to life, while sculptor Sadhbh Mowlds’ glass inventions evoking fragile yet intricate machinery serve as powerful symbolic motifs throughout the narrative.

The film’s emotional depth is heightened by an original soundscape from composer Irene Buckley, inspired by the glass and hydraulic technologies that influenced Varo’s early life, complemented by immersive Foley work that adds tension and atmosphere. Performers—survivors of conflict and oppression from Palestine and Ukraine—interpret their own lived experiences, embodying themes of survival and resilience and lending a profoundly authentic, intersectional voice to the work.

Through the seamless collaboration of visionary artists across disciplines, *Embroidering the Earth's Mantel* invites audiences into a surreal, multi-sensory journey that reimagines Varo’s visionary worlds while honoring her legacy as an artist and survivor.

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Embroidering the Earth's Mantel was commissioned by The Arts Council of Ireland Project Film Awards 2025

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