Still from “Indecision IV” (2018).
Rose McGowan‘s name has been splashed all over our screens after leading the charge against disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein last year. Now, the actress-turned-activist, who is the de facto face of the #MeToo movement, is reclaiming the headlines, and this time she’s starring in a short film. Commissioned by the Mashael Al Rushaid-owned Heist Gallery, Indecision IV “captures a magnetic encounter between McGowan and a contemporary dance performance”, and is set to premiere at the Institute of Light in East London on December 15 and 16.
The Saudi gallery owner and the American activist first met at a social gathering approximately six months ago. “I approached her and commended her for her bravery, and we went from there,” recalls Al Rushaid to Vogue.me. Shot in a derelict 17th-century chapel in Soho, London, the immersive short film sees McGowan completely improvising a response to a performance by contemporary dancer James Mulford. Mulford was commissioned to choreograph and create a dance inspired by Russian-born artist Maria Kreyn’s painting The Allegory of Indecision, an oil piece that depicts a pack of dogs fighting and Saint Sebastian slumped under a tree. “The performance idea evolved into an immersive experience,” explains Al Rushaid. “We placed microphones all over the chapel to capture every texture and sound, every breath, every foot step the dancer would make, and channel it via noise-cancelling headphones to an audience,” she adds.
Still from “Indecision IV” (2018).
Shot in one continuous take, the short, which was six months in the making, was filmed during one of the actress’s most intense, emotional, and watershed years. Indecision IV aims to convey these emotions on-screen. “There is great power within vulnerability,” notes Al Rushaid. “That a woman can express strength and be feminine and a man can express vulnerability and be masculine, and only when we are able to do both we can reach true transcendence.”
Opening up about her experience, McGowan told Artnet, “Collaborating on Indecision IV was a very moving experience. At the intersection of energy, physicality, and art, it gave me a space to work through emotions during a tumultuous time. [It is] a beautifully taut piece that taught me a lot about grace.”
Indecision IV premieres December 15 and 16, The Institute of Light, London Fields, London.
