“SO CLOSE” tells the story of two prisoners divided by a series of walls, in a world where voices are silenced and laughter is forbidden. Originally commissioned by San Diego’s The Rosin Box Project as a stage ballet, the film was conceived in playful defiance of Chechnya’s law banning music below 80 and above 116 BPM, with its score composed exclusively in 79 and 117 BPM. Choreographer Emily Adams and composer Katy Jarzebowski reimagine silent film for a new generation, drawing as much from Stravinsky and The Nutcracker as from Charlie Chaplin, Silly Symphony, and Michel Gondry’s 1990s music videos. Every detail of the original ballet has been reframed through a cinematic lens, blurring the line between dance and film. Produced in collaboration with Skywalker Sound, alongside foley artist Shelley Roden and sound designer Pete Horner, the film’s story-driven score fuses music and sound design into a single expressive language. Playful, inventive, and quietly rebellious, “SO CLOSE” is a modern fable about finding courage inside the walls that confine us.
