In the opening scene, people rush inside of the stretched canvas tent and amble across and in between the cracked wooden benches. The lights gleam perfectly reflecting off the walls and lighting up the entire space. Arid, dusty sand rests peacefully anticipating the sliding and trampling that is about to become the show, the show that will change everyone’s perspective on the world forever. Endless shadows occur slowly as the bright yellow light temporarily blinds you. Color. That’s all all you see as you wait in anticipation. The crowd gives a warm applause as the scenes begin. As you watch you seem to forget where you are and what is presented before you. You are being swooped into another world where anything is possible and a story is being told without any words.
I interviewed Erica Linz, who plays the main character, Mia, in the film. We follow her through a dramatic and theatrical endeavor which actually turns out to be a love story “told through the mechanism of aerial straps” according to Erica. Igor Zaripov, one of the worlds best aerialists, plays the male lead. When I asked Erica about the challenges of making a movie without dialogue, she said, “The hardest thing is figuring out exactly what you are trying to tell the audience at every moment because abstract ideas are harder to convey. Igor and I would sit down and determine what it is we are trying to convey to each other, how this relationship was developing—the part where we trust each other, the part where we make fun of each other, or when he’s teasing me.”