Embrace the Sound of Silence in this Meditative Short for Surf Brand Roxy

One of South Africa’s top young directors, Dan Mace, releases his latest short film ‘The Sound of Silence’ in a collaboration with Roxy.

Shot in Transkei on South Africa’s ‘Wild Coast’, the film follows surfing champions, Bianca Buitendag (ranked fourth in Woman’s World Surfing) and surfing competitor and punk singer Lee-Ann Curren as they traverse the stunning landscape to become ‘truly lost’ and re-define ‘the sound of silence’.

The ten minute film highlights the stark contrast of nature at its most raw with the overindulgence and consumption of city life - as illustrated in the racing title sequence.

Commenting on the inspiration behind the film Dan explains: “I have worked with Bianca before, on a short film 'Disguised in Nature'. Initially Bianca and Lee-Ann approached me about making the short. After meeting them together I realized how beautifully different they both are in appearance and first impressions, but also how similarly they take in the world and ultimately are one and the same.

“We had a brief concept overview beforehand, but I wanted to wait until the end of the trip until we could collectively write the spoken script. We used a number of poems to guide the narrative but the overarching inspiration was to highlight and showcase a positive outcome from a negative situation. I use film to describe how I’m feeling in moments of time; so I think this really came out of being immersed for a long period in the hustle and bustle of city life, and I could think of no better place to go than the Transkei!”

The edit and music in the film play an important role in conveying the emotions and pace of the story. Explaining their influence Dan adds: “I am super-stoked about the score. Mike Kelly, the music producer and I, share the same meaning of art – except mine is visual and his is sonic. The concept and meaning of 'The Sound of Silence' is about searching for the feeling of disconnection. In this day and age we are so attached to everything through a constant stream of information that I wanted to tell a story about what would happen if you had to remove yourself from all of that.

“The title sequence is made up of a number of fast-paced cuts, as I wanted to evoke the emotion of overconsumption, making the audience aware of the need for escape. I had a lot of fun with this; translating the overindulgence of information visually in an abstract way to contrast the tranquil reality of the incredible blue open ocean which we propel out to in the opening scenes on the coast.”

Interwoven with the journey of Bianca and Lee-Ann, the film is peppered with snippets of footage from the local communities in Transkei and the coast. All of the footage was shot on location by a small camera crew formed of Dan himself, with Gary Kaatz, and Drone Cameraman Dale Staples.

Dan adds: “In the title sequence I sourced the shot of the lightbulb bursting and then a couple glitch visuals (the quick transition shots of audio waves and TV static) but other than that, everything was shot and built for the film.”

The Sound of Silence has been launched on Dan Mace’s Youtube Channel and will be submitted to international film festivals over the coming year.