Rhiannon Mudaliar

RECORD THIS is, in essence, an archive: a year of image, word, and sound. I’ve been describing it as Socially Engaged Artfilm, since I am an artist and director, and a proud maker of socially engaged work. By now, that descriptor feels a bit clinical.

What developed was dirty, and shaky, and true. I sat down to pull it all into shape this spring, and found it expansive, alive, almost wriggling in my hands. In summer 2021, I had a treatment for a film, a script, storyboards… but circumstances demanded something different. I have never been so glad to have worked against my instinct. By the time the leaves had fallen, documenting was as easy as breathing.

Featured are intimate portraits of my life, surrounded by queer friends and artists, many of whom have begun to transition during our time together. Footage, images, and a body of reflective poetry combine into a short film: a sort of multimedia collage.

In a time when the political climate is trending towards violent hostility against trans people, I feel it is more vital than ever to celebrate the intricacies of our rituals, and the intimacies of our relationships. This project has given me a vector not only for self expression, but for survival. There is a desperate beauty in transformation at this moment in history, and it deserves to be preserved. The title draws upon this urgency. Resist the erasure of our presence. Declare our identities as worthy of documentation. Celebrate our beauty. RECORD THIS!