Threshold centers on an unnamed woman confined to a castle rooftop in southern Portugal. Filmed in black and white with a texture that feels unearthed, the work moves fluidly between temporal registers—past bleeding into present, the real colliding with the imagined, danger shading into performance. The protagonist becomes a modern Scheherazade, wielding seduction and cunning as survival tools. The viewer inhabits the position of both witness and accomplice, drawn into complicity by the act of watching. What unfolds is a choreography of emotional volatility and calculated gesture, each movement advancing a psychological duel that seeks catharsis through exposure and release.

Review by Julie C. Sheppard:

Threshold is a visually stimulating short that presents a female protagonist enslaved in a lonely castle. Shot in stark black and white, it has an ancient feel. The rather crumbling structure gives the central figure a constricted place to pace, as if a rat in a cage. Cinematography and, in turn, bold editing are at times truly dizzying, as things turn upside down, slow down to a snail’s pace, and images suddenly disappear.  

Other captivating moments include the use of clever image duplication and seeing the massive, terrifying knife seemingly fly up in the air, with the use of camera reversal. Spine-chilling orchestral motifs, including a rumbling, sombre cello add to the sense of isolation and desperation in the piece. 

The intense, disconcerting expressions on the face of the talented main character gives us reason to believe that she is indeed on the precipice of making a dire decision to dramatically relieve herself of her captivity.