Here is a head trip: what do you do when even your own reflection can’t look at you? Dive is a metaphysical dark comedy with an offbeat aura, which manages to be hysterically funny and achingly poignant. Directed by Matthew J Saville, the 13min short delves into questions of self reflection, internal conflict and grief with playful perverseness. Saville teases his audience by orchestrating an absurd plot, with plenty of shocks, laughs and twists, in order to highlight these very mundane emotions, and he does it in a way which isn’t easily forgotten.

George has lost everything, even the ability to end his life, but it’s when he loses his own reflection in the mirror, that things start to really get out of hand. George needs to make a decision; fight to find and save yourself by facing your fears or give up altogether and get lost forever.

Dive is pulled off masterfully by Saville’s brilliant direction. Opting for a mundane set design, Saville’s short is a visually low-key film with a very concrete sense of space. By playing claustrophobia, in George’s messy living room and his small bathroom against spatial fluidity, in the underwater abyss of his subconscious, he’s created a scrumptious aesthetic feast to gorge your eyes on.

Saville found his inspiration for the film in a surrealist painting by Rene Magritte, titled ‘La Reproduction Interdite’. The artwork shows a man looking in the mirror, but rather than his face, he sees the back of his own head reflected in it instead. “As I sat there staring at it, I wondered why your reflection would turn its back on you? This short film is my answer to that question.” the film director recalls.

While the premise is an attention-grabber in itself, Dive offers more that just a neat gimmick to win over its audience. Self reflection, fear, suicide and grief are brought to life by some good old physical comedy, a winning formula, as humour is an inevitable part of even the most sombre of situations.

“While the film has some dark themes, it was important to me that it was essentially uplifting. Being the surviving half of a pair of identical twins (my brother died in childbirth), I have always wondered what it would be like to be face to face with my other half. For me, it would be an emotional though perfectly natural and positive experience.” Saville explains.

Perhaps this is the reason why the director decided that his protagonist should be saved by his subconscious self, who would provide the key (or in this case the doorknob) to solving his emotional anguish and finally facing reality.

Dive is full of imagination, heart and humour – all the right ingredients needed to make an impact which hits you like a blast of pure oxygen. It’s shorts like this that make me realise how much talent there is and how truly lucky I am to be able to see and share it with you, our devoted audience. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Saville is currently working on his first feature as well as a TV series. He is also developing Dive as a feature film so stay tuned for more info to come!