For film is a projected light from which its inhabitants can never truly escape. In Jeanne Liotta‘s experimental short film Loretta, the form of a female figure is literally burned into the film and projected with a searing intensity as bright as the sun. Is the woman reaching out to grab our attention? Or are we just voyeurs peeping in as she luxuriates in her own existence?

Everything about this four-minute short film is burning with intensity, from the searing yellow flickering that never stops long enough for us to get our bearings to the over-the-top dramatic score arranged by Carlo Altomare.

Produced in 16mm, Loretta still works very well watching it on video, although one can imagine a film projection would truly create the sense of projected celluloid going haywire, careening through the projector like a rocketship sucked through a wormhole. But, even watching on a computer monitor, the chaotic, rushing stream of images has a furious energy that’s immensely invigorating.

Liotta has posted numerous wonderful works like Loretta to Vimeo, but is still a small percentage of her output according to her official filmography on her website. Go check out some more.