While scrolling through Instagram, a young woman sees each picture-perfect post through a dark lens. Every post seems to show someone who is “doing better” than herself. She puts her phone away with a sigh, ready to take the bus, alone, to an undisclosed location.
So begins the latest film from Random Acts, as Channel 4’s short film platform returns with a focus on youth and mental health. In Blue Hands, made by drawing-based animation artist Diyala Muir and produced by Dazed in collaboration STOP PLAY RECORD, a young woman struggles with the burden of her repressed grief. The film, first broadcast on Channel 4, is making its exclusive online premiere with Dazed.
Muir, who was born in Cyprus, with Scottish and Lebanese roots, has previously explored the human cycles of loneliness and sexual desire in her work. Most of her projects comprise of caricature-like animations and loops, with only small dashes of colour. With Blue Hands, Muir delves into issues of mental health and isolation. The three-minute short film takes viewers through this journey, on a bus that won’t stop – no matter how many times the woman presses the red button.
Watch it above.
