Emily Ho

There’s something interesting about the fleeting nature of dreams and the endless ways they can be interpreted as signs or of something deeper and even spiritual. From CIA conducted case studies into dreams as channels for anomalous cognition and astral travel, to lighthearted exchanges of strange dreams between our friends, the meaning we attach to dreams ranges differently for everyone. Ever since I was young, I’ve felt a personal connection to dreams and continue to experience vivid ones to this day, recording them in a dream journal I’ve kept over the years.

For my experimental film, I chose to explore the topic of dreams—specifically false awakenings, sleep paralysis, and their potential connection to the supernatural. Titled “The Awakening”, the film is a psychological horror piece with subtle touches of humor. Many of the dreams portrayed are based on real experiences I’ve documented, though some scenes are creative spin-offs. The audience essentially experiences the dream in real time with the dreamer, following the same emotions of confusion and realizations of her looped false awakenings. The cinematography emphasizes fragmented montages of physical movement and shifting environments, using both visual and audio elements to evoke disorientation. Key motifs include mirrors and clocks, symbols I’ve found frequently distorted in my own dreams.