SELASIFILMS
SELASIFILMS
projects
These projects are my early work as a filmmaker, experimenting montages, cinematography, directing and editing.
Credits
Director - Rayleigh S. Gadogbe
Camera Operator - Harrison Dunne
Lighting - Lucy Heller
Actor 1 - Jacob Stewart
Actor 2 - Ava Tunicliff
conflict
Conflict was a short experimental film created as part of a college exercise. We were tasked with producing a film based on the theme Conflict and editing it to an upbeat soundtrack. The story follows two neighbours: one throws a lively house party, while the other tries to confront him about the noise. Their argument escalates in humorous and unexpected ways, culminating in a creative twist. This project was filmed and edited within a very short time frame, showcasing my ability to work under pressure, experiment with storytelling, and adapt creatively to constraints.
emma & narcissus
Emma and Narcissus was my first short film, inspired by the painting of Echo and Narcissus. Initially, we interpreted the painting in our own way before learning the full story, then added elements to reflect both the original tale and our own creative vision.
The film begins in black and white, showing Emma, a modern-day girl experiencing bullying. After accidentally dropping her phone into a pond, she falls asleep and wakes up in ancient Greece, where a boy is watching his own reflection across the water.
The story explores themes of vanity, love, and unrequited feelings, the montage of their interactions shows Emma’s affection contrasted with the boy’s self-obsession.
When Emma disappears, leaving behind a handful of daffodils, the narrative returns to modern day, emphasizing the consequences of his vanity. This project was an early experiment in storytelling, cinematography, directing and visual interpretation, and it marks the beginning of my journey as a filmmaker.
Credits
Director - Rayleigh S. Gadogbe
Producer - Holly Mutch
Cinematographer - Ava Mchale
Production Manager - Georgina A. Ward
Camera Operator - Whole Team
the inspiration behind
emma & narcissus
After I saw the painting in the Walker Art Gallery, before knowing the story of Echo and Narcissus, my friends and I came up with the idea of this unconventional love story. We decided we wanted to share the story of the origin of the word narcissist. The idea of a whimsical, fantasy story, almost like a daydream instantly drew us in. From researching the story of Echo and Narcissus, we kept our original idea and added to it, creating almost a modern day adaptation of the original story, with our own twist. We want this story to portray a deep tragedy, which draws two worlds together, one being modern day, the other being Ancient Greece 8AD. This story has taught us that, whilst self love can be healthy, an extreme form of it, known as narcissism leads to isolation and ruin. That a codependent loss of self, like Echo’s/Emma’s can result in a person withering away due to unreciprocated affection.
Begins in black and white, we see a girl consumed by her phone, distraught by photos shared of her. The location is a water feature in Liverpool (Chalybeate Spring in St James Garden). We see the girl trip and fall into the water, when she emerges the world is bright and colourful. She has gone back hundreds of years in time. The girl meets a man and falls in love with him, later to find out that he is vain, he does love her, not the way she loves him. He loves nobody but himself.
Daffodils are featured in the painting, as the symbolism of vanity. Daffodils comes from the story of Echo and Narcissus, according to the legend, Narcissus was cursed by the goddess of revenge, Nemesis, after he rejected the advances of the nymph Echo. Nemesis lured him to a stream where he saw his own reflection and immediately fell in love with it. He could not pull himself away, and in some versions of the story, he either wasted away staring at his reflection or drowned in the water.