Candice Lo, a Tawainese director and filmmaker based in London. The Tinted Bloom is an intimate assertion by a survivor of sexual assault. The short is a renouncement of the harrowing experience. Candice carries us through this narrative of her younger self at 14 years-old as she revisits the origin of the incident at her school in Taiwan.

The Tinted Bloom is a reconciliation with trauma and a reclamation of peace, inspiring the unheard to find their words through courage within. Candice approaches this  theme through the juxtaposed images of nature. There is a sense of calm amongst the rocks and fluidity through the symbolism of a waterfall, at a contrast with the brutality of the narrative. This motion propels the film through necessary stages of recounted trauma without derailing the serious subject matter at hand. The Tinted Bloom offers a refuge for survivors amid a wider community made up of chosen and biological family. It is valuable in its introspection of the ever-blooming, multifarious growth of one person.

Candice Lo “Early this year, I flew back to my home country Taiwan to film this project to release this long hidden emotion. I revisited the school after 16 years, seeing the places where the events took place, oddly almost unchanged, the colour on the wall looked a bit patchy, faded but not to my memory.

I tried to film around, it was a bit difficult to film the exact spot where it happened, emotions rose high but I am glad I finally got the courage to face it. I’m hoping by sharing my story through the lens of visual storytelling this will give more survivors the courage to open up, come forward, seek help and use their voice to make noise in any way possible."

‍