FLUORESCENCE is an autobiographical account of a woman's journey of immigration. Written by Syrian artist and refugee, Kinana Issa, the film explores the themes of liberation and captivity. It follows a woman whose journey of immigration is over, but whose suffering and displacement continues. The film premiered at the 2019 BFI London Film Festival.

“I TRY TO MOCK THE DISTANCE, IT STAYS. WHAT’S NEAR STRETCHES EVEN FURTHER AWAY. I TRY TO WIPE THE BORDERS, THEY MULTIPLY. I SEE A BETRAYAL IN LOOKING BACK, ANOTHER IN MOVING FORWARD.”

As the Filmmaker in Residence Carys created and directed a trilogy of short narrative films, each influenced by themes highlighted in WNO’s Autumn 2017 Russian Revolution Season; Eugene Onegin, Khovanshchina and From the House of the Dead. The films are an artistic response to the operas and revisit these classic stories through a modern lens.

Inspired by the opera From the House of the Dead, FLUORESCENCE hopes to give a voice to women who have been forced to leave their country in order to escape war and persecution.