SND had imagined a series of pieces taking place within some sort of purgatory - an abstract in-between place where time has dissolved. Having experienced a near-death event, they had seen the visuals of this project somehow reflecting the dreamlike journey from life to the precipice of death and back. I started to think of the ascending levels of Dantés Purgatorio, and loosely re-imagined them as bleak, liminal spaces from the modern world, wherein reality has exploded into harsh, digital fragments. Each piece is meant to be a mini fever dream that perfectly loops, reflecting the endless sense of time and space in purgatory while also functioning on social media platforms where looped video playback is standard.

Lucas Hrubizna is a Toronto-based director originally hailing from the Canadian prairies. Described as having “incredible control of tone”, Hrubizna’s work explores artifice, truth and the surreal space between. His music videos, narrative and documentary films have earned him Vimeo Staff Picks, nominations for the Prism Prize and a UKMVA, and play at SXSW among other festivals worldwide. He holds a BFA in Film Production from the University of British Columbia.