Lea Ihrig and Freya Guice’s latest ATVA’s entry Radiator Poetry is a spoken word masterpiece with a chilling twist.
Lea and Freya sat down with Brig to discuss their subversive new film that originally started production as a bookend to a trilogy they have been working on for years.
“We were actually going to make a different movie which would have been part of a trilogy, it would have completed that trilogy, but we’re in fourth year and we were both so swamped.”
“We had to start from blank and we had very limited time.”
Though the idea for Radiator Poetry was created quickly, the film’s blend of mind bending poetry and dynamic audio makes it an incredibly compelling watch that’s only amplified by the believable relationship the film portrays.
There’s no dialogue other than that of the poetry read by both Freya and Lea that’s dubbed over the top of the film. Though jarring at first, the poetry perfectly suits the film’s themes of misunderstanding and strained love.
What makes Radiator Poetry all the more compelling is that the film, in a sense, is a personal story for both Freya and Lea.
“We were just thinking what feels relevant to us and then we both thought, yeah this is what we want.”
“We have the radio poetry and that is something we do every time a guest comes to visit us, we always get them to do a little poem on the radiator and we’ll leave it up and then we’ll write it down and record it.”
The radiator poetry is a key element to the film that defines both the lives of the directors as well as the narrative of the film.
Words are at the heart of the film and what we do and how we speak defines us. This idea is perfectly communicated as the film wanders through a story that we can all relate to in some way.
Radiator Poetry is the end of an era for both filmmakers as they leave their flat for good and say goodbye to AirTV for one last time.
“The last four years have been really important to both of us…and it’s really sad to think that era is sort of coming to an end, but obviously we’re all so excited for what there is to come.
Image Credit: Lea Ihrig and Freya Guice
“That definitely influences how we were approaching the film…This film just felt robust in a way because it’s very different now than when we started out.”
The duo admitted that the film was created as a love letter to their experience in uni, as well as to those who have come to their flat where the film is set.
Freya and Lea’s flat houses the titular radiator, but it also houses another key part of the story that comes to define the entire film in the last couple minutes of its run-time.
Without giving anything away, Radiator Poetry is a far more complex film than what is first let on. The spoken word story transitions into something dynamic as the duo explore more complex themes throughout the ten minute run time.
“We felt like it was missing something. We felt like it wasn’t truly one of our films unless it had something crazy.”
Radiator Poetry is a short film unlike anything else screening at the ATVA’s this year. It’s an emotional goodbye as well as a stand out example of how communication defines everything we do in life.
This is Lea and Freya’s last film for AirTV but there’s no doubt their future creative endeavors will be just as good as Radiator Poetry, if not better!
Stay tuned to Brig as we cover other ATVA 2025 entries.
Featured Image Credit: Lea Ihrig and Freya Guice
Fourth year Film and Journalism student
Deputy editor
Contact - deputyeditor@brignews.com
