Astrum Studio’s two new films, directed by Marian Papis, are not your usual exercises in spoken word. Together they form a daring experiment in tone, language, and thought — two over one-hour journeys through the sharp, absurd, and deeply human terrain of modern life.

Each film is built around a sequence of philosophical monologues, performed by two young Ukrainians and an English-speaking Pole. Their English, colored by accent and experience, adds texture and honesty to the words — reminding us that authenticity often speaks more clearly than polish. The result feels both intimate and disquieting: as if we are listening not to performers, but to consciousness itself, thinking aloud.

Papis’s writing is unmistakable — witty, cutting, and playfully self-aware. His texts oscillate between comedy and critique, drawing on themes of technology, vanity, politics, desire, and the fragile absurdities of daily life. There are laughs, yes — but they’re often the uneasy kind, the sort that arrive just before or after a moment of reflection.

Visually, each monologue inhabits its own carefully designed space. The settings, crafted with cinematic precision, amplify the rhythm and meaning of the words — sometimes minimal, sometimes surreal, but always purposeful. This visual discipline anchors the verbal chaos, turning abstract thought into something tangible and immediate.

These are films made for a demanding audience — for viewers who prefer provocation over comfort, reflection over entertainment. They refuse to flatter or simplify. Instead, they invite us to see the world’s absurdities with both laughter and clarity.

In the end, what Astrum Studio offers is not a performance, but a conversation — one that lingers after the credits, echoing somewhere between irony and truth.

Raw, intelligent, and unafraid — these monologues are a mirror we might not always like, but one we certainly need.