Miss Twin Peaks 2019

The official video for the 10th annual Miss Twin Peaks alternative beauty pageant and cabaret night. Inspired by the work of David Lynch, the RR Club has been hosting alternative cabaret at London’s Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club for over a decade now. Taking an expanded and inclusive approach to femininity, beyond celebrating Lynch’s dark nighmarish absurdities, it also embraces the non-binary and beyond. Having been a lifelong fan of Lynch’s work, I jumped at the chance to make this piece. My approach was to adopt the theme of the occasion taking place inside a keepsake box, similar to that of Laura Palmer's, being buried and discovered in a dark and lonely wood. Further inspired by the films of Kenneth Anger, particularly Invocation of My Demon Brother, but also Fireworks, it's a descent into a multilayered puzzle box of dreams inside which hidden desires become manifest. I filmed and edited the piece, using multilayered masking, compositing and detailed grading. Non-synch location sound, effects and music were treated and layered to create the sound design, which was partially inspired by Alan Splet's work with Lynch, particularly on Eraserhead and Blue Velvet. Welcome to the 10th annual Miss Twin Peaks Contest, “A gathering of angels,” an evening of darkness and doomed beauty, of mystery and nightmares played out to an otherworldly rock ‘n’ roll soundscape…