Cecilia Reeve’s debut film explores the transformative power of water

Cecilia Reeve’s animated film Porous is hypnotic and visceral – like swimming through the darkest parts of the unconscious mind. Exploring our intrinsic and emotional relationship with water, the narrative unfolds in a single bathroom. Water gushes into the tub, the door shuts, and along with the protagonist we plunge into a dream-like sequence – a beautifully tender and tactile meditation on healing from sexual trauma.

Made during her MA at the Royal College of Art, Porous stems from Cecilia’s own personal experience. “I faced a significant personal struggle in trying to define and validate my own experiences, convincing myself that they were worthy of being transformed into art,” she says. “It was very difficult at times, but ultimately cathartic.”

The narrative is abstract and disorientating, with the protagonist shifting in form and perspective – much like the ever-changing and unpredictable quality of water. Cecilia drew inspiration from works of magical realism, like Julia Armfield’s short stories, Salt Slow and Suzan Pitt’s animation Asparagus. These artists depict the body as fluid and unstable; a site were emotions and experiences can unfold and come undone. “I wanted the film to reflect an unconscious, organic narrative, for each scene to flow and bleed into the next,” says Cecilia.

This dream-like sequence developed from her dissertation, which explored how animated metamorphosis can be a powerful tool for visualising the unconscious. Blending images can create new meanings to break away from conventional ideas of time and narrative, she explains. During production, Cecilia cut, reversed, and rearranged many of the animated scenes. “It was a continuous process of editing and restructuring, where sequences were moved around to build up emotion and create a sense of release.”

The materiality of the film is central to its intention. Cecilia wanted it to feel like “an animated painting – an image untethered from a canvas that could move and shift creating an immersive experience”. She worked onto a range of materials. The protagonist’s skin was painted entirely on glass, for example, to achieve a “textural, fleshy almost uncomfortable look as the skin constantly ripples and changes”. The dream sequence was entirely painted on a bathroom tile, reflecting the film’s subject matter.

All of this, combined with its layered soundscape, adds to the film’s deeply immersive and sensory quality. Created by Eleanor Fineston-Robertson, the sound design carries an uncomfortable realism. A ceiling fan offers an ambient undercurrent to layers of water recordings, made both in the studio and in Cecilia’s own bathroom. “In animation, unlike live action, the entire world is crafted from materials, and the same meticulous approach applies to sound design,” Cecilia explains. “These unusual and unexpected associations of sounds and visuals are a really exciting part of animation that you don’t experience with live action.”

Following the film’s disorientating unraveling, a moment of catharsis arrives as the protagonist appears to plunge into a deep body of water, shedding a layer of skin and disintegrating. “This idea of submersion as healing and transformative is very relatable to so many people; it offers a pathway to transcend our physical selves,” says Cecilia. Porous was a response to trauma, but Cecilia chose to portray this subtly through symbolism and mood. “I aimed to avoid creating something that would be triggering or upsetting. By not allowing these themes to dominate the film, I believe it ultimately becomes a more powerful expression of acceptance and release.”