Sentient Beings

Directed by Sonya Stefan

The sounds and images of Sonya Stefan and Stephanie Castonguay blend together in a common quest to transmit a sense of awareness of the interconnectedness between all beings. Stefan’s images zoom into miniature worlds as well as grandiose natural wonders in which manifest elements of the Earth. During a daily walking practice, she collects her images with both digital and 16mm apparatus, which are then composited to create meditative loops. Echoing Stefan’s universe, Castonguay’s disruptive sound seeks to play with aural textures by blending sounds of nature with electrical impulses. Working with errors, accidents, and bugs induced by her own sound machines, such as a pirated CD player and a modified scanner head, Castonguay explores the interconnection between the sonic and tactile senses.