The Last Time Your Name Is Spoken
A SHORT FILM BY AMANDA MATTHEWS
Short description:
The primordial spirit, Sophia, embodies a suffering, middle-aged artist, forging determination to break the cycle of oppression hemmed into their very existence.​
In a collision of mighty forces, The Last Time Your Name is Spoken spans recent millennia revealing a dark and lyrical allegory of erasure, abuse, survival, and redemption.​
​
*Persons with disabilities were integral to making this film.
*This film contains depictions of violence, self-harm, or trauma.
​
For more information, including the Director's Statement, please visit FilmFreeway.
(Password protected to view film.)​
Trailer for Film
1:07 length
(Click Center to Play)
This is where we are right now with awards!
Artwork by Audrey Matthews-Fields
Director Statement
What is stripped from our humanity when taught we are "less than"? The natural world offers a richness of abundance, community, equilibrium, and resurrection worthy of celebration, yet tyranny reigns supreme among humans. In this unnatural order, those who are marginalized continue to suffer long after they realize their value.
This short film was born from trauma that spawned intrusive thoughts, feelings of brokenness, and a desire to end the suffering. This agony lives in the LGBTQ+ community, disabled, discounted, and marginalized groups, as well as many iterations of women - those who have experienced psychological or physical surveillance, confinement, and abuse.
Mirroring and symbolism are employed throughout, drawn from religious anthropology, history, and philosophy, revealing common themes spanning many eras. Beloved family & friends created an incredibly inclusive cast of voices spanning age, gender, sexuality, class, race, and ethnicity.
Inspired by the concept of three deaths, this film is:
1. A survivor's reckoning,
2. A "speaking truth to systems of power" narrative, and
3. A metaphorical rite of passage about ending abuse and silencing demons that extend their life in our minds.
Much of the footage, especially of Artist/Sophia was shot by my dear friend, Roger Chambliss, who is legally disabled due to catatonic schizophrenia, which he has navigated for 40+ years. I chose to leave in slight elements of tics and stimming while filming some scenes. With no budget and two iPhones, we embarked on telling a very personal, yet universal story. The footage and voices aren't perfect, but they are beautiful, haunting, and necessary, resulting in a fever dream, murder ballad, feminist anthem, and love letter to those who feel represented.
​
2024 Pau 4-245-737 Copyright Registration, Library of Congress, The Last Time Your Name is Spoken (Script text, vocals, short film)
