narrative · 2024 · Independent
NEON REQUIEM
SYNOPSIS
A late-night jazz musician navigates the neon-drenched streets of downtown LA, searching for a missing collaborator. Shot entirely on 35mm with available light, the film explores isolation through texture and shadow.
STILLS
CREDITS
| Director | Marcus Chen |
| DoP | Marcus Chen |
| Editor | Sarah Kim |
| Client | Independent |
| Role | Director of Photography |
AWARDS
- SXSW Grand Jury Prize — Best Cinematography 2024
- AFI Fest Audience Award
Neon Requiem was an exercise in constraint. We had three weeks, a skeleton crew, and the conviction that the city itself should be a character. Every frame was lit by what Los Angeles offered us: bar signs, passing cars, a single fluorescent bulb in a practice room.
The 35mm grain you see isn’t nostalgic — it’s honest. Digital would have cleaned away the very thing we were trying to say.