THIS IS EPHEMERAL

A film by Alaina Latona

“This Is Ephemeral”

We are born cascading down a mountain
Fast learners, somersaulting in sync
Put on a brave face;
This is ephemeral

It's a single ticket
For each of us
Bespoken for the garden
Or backstage for the rock show
(it doesn't ask, it only tells)

I see you in fuchsia
Running down the sidewalk
Standing sunflowers tall

We are given the gift of light
May it blind,
may it bore
We must sprout and grow
Yet for some of us
We find flight but too soon

We watched icarus melt
and still Hand in hand
we race towards the sea For what?

Because despite our fight to heal,
In futility we share
our dancing joy
Our wealth
Our destiny
Our failure
Our fallout

We are all ships in the night
We idle
And we pass

Cartographers shouting into the void
In unison
Wandering the only map we know
Back to the garden
from whence we came

“This Is Ephemeral” is a film made up of 133 videos by 97 people, including me

I don’t know what came over me around 4PM on May 20th, 2020, but I posted on my IG story that I wanted people to send me random, 5 second video clips from the last few days (or so). I knew I had to make something, and this is it. This is human life! I had no vision for this until I saw what everyone sent me all together! THANK YOU ALL FOR TRUSTING ME!

Some of you are my family by blood, some of you are my family by choice, some of you are my soulmates, some of you I met on November 18 2005 at a football game, some of you I met on the internet, some of you I have known for over 20 years, some of you I have only known for a few days, some of you I met in Boone, in Nashville, in NYC, in LA, some of you are my friends by way of work, some of you I have worked for, some of you have worked for me, some of you I met in improv classes, some of you are my “cousin’s” cousins, some of you I met drunk on a hotel roof after a John Mayer concert. All of you are amazing to me!!!!!

 I was able to collect the videos over the course of four hours, through IG messages, texts, and emails. I finished the project at 4:30AM the following day. After work on May 21st, 2020 I wrote the song with some piano noodling by my brother that I reversed, and some mermaid vocals by Britt Hope I put in space. I also found some random trumpet sounds online. The rest I wrote between 8PM-9:30PM later that night. 

I wrote the poem you see in the subtitles after my friend passed away last year.

Contributors IG accounts order of first appearance: @ladybert @allie_fetch @jessicaleplon @addie_subtractie @kittyvastano @themagicofmenopause @carorogers @adamgreifinger @taralaustin @christianmasinsin @mashavladimir @maria_blair_ @belhartm @ryanedmundson @unclebizket @___augustine @___kyr @rebeccacicione @abezek @nathenmcvittie @itsgabss @ariellamastroianni @vesperucca @aidan_mcnaughton @doomstation @kaitlyntillery @wellshuxley danielle cleary @elisabeth_ciaccio @eseatz_ @kbfriedland @kelseymargol @chrisfarren @charlottegillies @cleo_thompson_ @heavyheadedrose @theitalianstallion93 @jrmahrens @mkwmullen @nick.miano @cappamusic @musicalmaximous @memiano @aubreyprimer @europaoza @veraa_aurora @allie_nguyen @stiiina @russellep @thefoxyjay @dianakris @paigespowart @dd_patresa @kuldeepnc @ryansoroka @cal.maro @melisssaaahhhh @hannahmconrad @jordanlips3y @thejessicamaros @breannasill @lee__tucker @irizarryjt @younglacroix @iam_audio @eboggia @duragmodel @jpdrummer823 @_____choma @jamieleeming @tupricig @misssweetpatootie @maddsolar @kennethsmunoz @lauren_veltri @thomasfalcone @tonia.nadia @tiny_pizza_horse @louisandersenr @louisandersenr @luke_boz @madison_nj @marinacaffeina @micaelacleary @tglamm @ryan_song @tinatassels @katie.eve.davis @runswithwolves_ @maurasiobhan @mercybell @sarahsj @moodfumes @_mitchmance @_thenatsmeow @sarahkfaucette