Jason Sondhi

Sometimes you worry when a real talent emerges from obscurity to unexpected acclaim. For every Susan Boyle, who is subsequently met with multi-platinum success, there is The Man with the Golden Voice, who fails to capitalize on their sudden recognition and is subsequently forgotten.

Kseniya Simonova found fame when her real-time sand animation performance on the TV show “Ukraine’s Got Talent”, turned into the most unlikely of viral hits. Andrew wrote about it a little over a year ago, and with over 19 million views, it might be the most popular thing we’ve ever featured (even more than Kanye). Still, despite resonating with fans the world over, she does work in an obscure medium that doesn’t have a precedent for sustained success. Is there a promising future for Kseniya?

That is a question that will probably linger a while longer, but for now I’m excited to be able to share new work from Ms. Simonova, a high-profile branded content piece for Dior that I’m sure she was paid a lot of money to do. It is another real-time animation, performed live, celebrating the opening of a Dior-themed museum exhibition in Moscow.

If you remember my fashion film post from last year, I have great admiration for Dior’s burgeoning work in film. This piece is based on a concept by John Cameron Mitchell (Rabbit Hole, Hedwig and the Angry Inch), who was responsible for the latest in the Dior “Lady” series, Lady Grey London (incidentally my favorite of the series). I thought that film would be the last of the “Lady Dior” series, but now we have this piece from Kseniya.

The film is a narratively loose romantic tale spanning Paris and Moscow. It isn’t as emotionally charged as the piece that made her famous, but is still breathtaking to watch as, under her skillful hands, it comes into being. Check it out.

thx Indiewire