freak farm | experimental short

year: 2026

about: A three-minute exploration of modernity and belonging, FREAK FARM incorporates phone footage, recorded sound, and audio effects to .

screenings: world premiere september 24 2026 at local sightings

thoughts: Freak Farm uses sound and image to look at isolation and belonging, a theme I've returned to frequently in different ways across my work to date. Unlike most of my prior work - which usually begins with a script - Freak Farm began in editing, with me essentially throwing image and sound together and trying out multiple permutations and combinations before subtracting and reducing it to its final form, meant to create an impressionistic, lyrical look at alienation and isolation. If one were writing a summation one might say: The film evokes a sense of discordance with its images, atmospheric texture, and editing. Once Freak Farm began to take final form in the editing room, I wrote and recorded the voiceover that closes the project which is meant both to contribute to the feeling of the film and provide a summation of its theme.

a northern flicker films project | directed and edited by brian padian | music by impermanent marker| voice by reginald k butters | sound design by tucky birdbath