Film

It’s a Big World out There

UWEC professor creates award-winning short film

Julia van Allen |

Jyl Kelley ignores dimensions and transforms still photos into a sensory experience. The UW-Eau Claire professor leans on technology and nature in her creative process. As an intermedia artist, Kelley plays with these distinctions and uses them to create something new. Her latest work, a time lapse titled “Inside Out,” stands alone with its experimental take on film. “Inside Out” received awards for best experimental film and best edited film at the Los Angeles Film Festival last August. It will also be shown in May at the Oxford International Film Festival in the United Kingdom. “Inside Out” shows side-by-side images of a Finnish home, inside and out, as the day fades in and out of nighttime. Stark images of natural light and movements in tandem with the rigid movements and artificial light of the television provide a glimpse into daily life that is rarely seen. Kelley’s film tracks the movements of the universe and the beauty so often ignored in a world dominated by technology and social media. With a screen to stare at, we ignore the beauty of nature as the clouds dance across the sky and play with sunlight. Kelley’s work reminds her audience to look beyond the small things; it’s a big world out there.