perfectly a strangeness

Synopsis

A wordless, sensory film about an abandoned astronomical observatory in the Atacama Desert, whose domes and telescopes the director likens to stone giants from Scottish legend that come alive at night. Through music, light, shadow and rhythm, the film becomes an almost tangible, meditative piece of cinema about technology acquiring a life of its own.

About the Director

Alison McAlpine began as a poet and theatre writer before moving into film. Her debut feature CIELO was named among the best documentaries of 2018 by Esquire and The Guardian. "perfectly a strangeness," her first short, premiered in Official Competition at Cannes 2024, played over 100 festivals, and is nominated for the 2026 Academy Award for Best Short Documentary Film. A 2021 Guggenheim Fellow, she is now working on her first fiction feature.

Festivals & Awards

• World Premiere — Cannes Film Festival, Official Competition | 2024
• Academy Award nomination (Best Short Documentary Film) | 2026
• Cinema Eye Honors nomination
• Screening — TIFF
• Screening, "Best of Fests" — IDFA
• Selection, 24 awards (incl. a Silver Hugo (Chicago), Festival du Nouveau Cinéma Grand Prize) — 100+ festivals in 34 countries