Preserved in memory through the experiences gained through them, relationships – romantic, familial or platonic – hold as much power to shape us in their darkness and dissolution. Directed by Stockholm-based filmmaker Sofia Aedo Zahou, and translated from the Swedish Osagt, experimental short UNSAID compiles unspoken sentiments, addressed towards former loves and lost loved ones, capturing the lasting influence of connections since disconnected.

Drawing on anonymous confessions responding to the question, “Is there something you wish you had said to someone you once loved and lost – something you left unsaid?”, UNSAID communicates the emotive, and sometimes loaded, words that were never able to be expressed. As feelings of regret, sorrow, fear and love emerge in retrospect, its voices gather new learnings from past and lost relationships, examining their own place in dynamics left behind, and how they might approach them if given the opportunity.

Originally created for an exhibition at Stockholm’s Botkyrka Konsthall gallery, UNSAID presents an abstract portrayal of words offered outside their context. Expanding the brevity of these words by constructing new worlds around them, Aedo Zahou develops a rich visual language exploring the overlap of closeness and distance – observing the non-linear nature of human relationships, and the reflections that enable growth beyond severed ties.