Shapes of Birth
A fragile, wordless meditation on birth.
Director Neels Castillon and dancer-choreographer Fanny Sage share an intimate portrait of birth and the profound transformation of entering parenthood.
For the short film Shapes of Birth, Paris-based director Neels Castillon offers a fragile, wordless meditation on birth, capturing his partner, dancer-choreographer Fanny Sage, and the arrival of their first child.
“This film is a poetic exploration of what it means to give life: the transformation of the body, the joy, the doubt, the euphoria, the fear, and the quiet miracle of existence taking form.” - Neels Castillon
Shot on 16mm film with a tiny Bolex camera, the silent portrait follows the profound shift that accompanies birth, and the redefinition of life as we know it. Exploring the contradictions of welcoming a child, Castillon leans into the intimate details – skin, breath, shifting light – to create a tactile, sensory journey through metamorphosis.
Nowness, October 2, 2025
A wordless film-poem by
directed, shot & edited by
original music by
color grading by
color assistant
filming location
format
camera
lens
film stock
created with the precious help of
Fanny Sage
Neels Castillon
Pablo Sage Castillon
Neels Castillon
Thylacine
Sylvain Canaux
Norman Lemarié
Loreto di Casinca, Corsica, France
Black & White, 16mm
Bolex H16
Zeiss Super 16
Kodak Double Negative 7222
Jean-Pierre Gavini
Louis Arnoux
Romain Alary
Mai Aghababian
RVZ
St Louis
Hiventy
