Before We Collide

A young couple dance on a housing estate rooftop before sharing a cigarette and gazing pensively over a locked-down city. This simple yet charming black-and-white short captures a fractured moment in time. The low-fi nature of its unfussy form, a series of time-lapse photos glued together by a mesmerising soundtrack, belies the sophistication of its haunting content. Featuring VHS home-movie footage of childhood birthday celebrations surrounded by adoring family and neighbours, Hadi is determined to celebrate this birthday in style, even if he is now alone on lockdown.