Neels Castillon — film director & artist
Shapes of Birth
Shapes of Birth
Shapes of Birth
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Shapes of Birth

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 Fanny Sage, Neels Castillon & Pablo Sage Castillon.
directed, shot & edited by Neels Castillon
original music by Thylacine
color grading by Sylvain Canaux
color assistant Norman Lemarié
filming location — Loreto di Casinca, Corsica, France
format — Black & White, 16mm
camera — Bolex H16
lens — Zeiss Super 16
film stock — Kodak Double Negative 7222
created with the precious help of Jean-Pierre Gavini, Louis Arnoux, Romain Alary, Mai Aghababian, RVZ, St Louis, Hiventy.