Time to Burn with Matias & Mathias

Matias & Mathias were recently on a shoot in eastern Congo and came back inspired about, of all things, burning heretics. Having been reading up on witchcraft and superstition (which is still prevalent in that part of the world) for another job, Matias Rygh and Mathias Eriksen thought it’d be a great subject to bring through in their latest project for jewellery brand, Bjorg. The result is an intriguing short fashion film that sees a strange religious procedure take place in the middle of nowhere.

“The film was shot in Iceland and yes, it was a remote location. We had a hard time finding timber for the stake,” says Matias Rygh. “The brief was very generous in the sense that it was was wide open. We were asked to visualise the universe from which their (Bjorg’s) latest collection originated. The jewellery holds a very distinct, raw yet beautiful feel that we wanted to capture and the trail seemed to resonate very well with the mysticism and symbolic power of jewellery.”

The meaning behind the film explores the consequences of setting trends in fashion and garners inspiration from people who think differently to spark change for the better.

“Historically those individuals are often the ones that have instigated progression, whether it be in art, science or philosophy,” considers Eriksen. “In terms of fashion, we wanted to explore the cost of being ahead of the pack and maybe sacrificing your own reputation. We may be pushing this notion to its limits, yet people are still being persecuted for expressing themselves all over the world, sacrificing themselves for the greater cause.”

When they aren’t burning people at the stake The Gang Films repped directing duo is based in Oslo and their focus is geared towards developing their own fiction projects as well as doing “intriguing commercial work”. Growing up as skateboarders, their interest in filmmaking was sparked when they realised they enjoyed being behind the camera and they developed their storytelling techniques by making videos with friends.

“We met in school and have been working inseparably ever since,” adds Eriksen. “People often ask us if we are brothers since we have the same name, which would make our parents quite strange. It is very convenient for us, in the sense that people do not always know which one they are talking to (and who is to blame).”

Holding a first name that is pronounced the same, Rygh adds that although the pair boast a broad reel of commercials and short films, they are beginning to find their directing voice and at the age of 22 and 23, we get the feeling there’ll be plenty more to come from the Norwegians. Next up is a script that touches on the mechanisms of terrorism.