Cinema Sauvage

A story of attraction, freedom, and the moments when tenderness becomes courage

27 Sep 2026

By Veronika Varvianska

In Cinema Sauvage, the love story follows no familiar script. Alicia and James appear together in one frame, then inhabit separate spaces in the next. There is no clear sequence of events: their closeness emerges in a glance, a pose, or the way a scene changes when the other person enters it.

The light-filled setting resembles a film set whose genre has yet to be decided. A basketball hoop, worn walls, and leather armchairs seem like incidental details, yet they give the dressed-up looks a sense of real life. The characters could be lovers, strangers who have just met, or two people who have already parted. That uncertainty leaves room for viewers to imagine a story of their own.

Stylist and creative director Joana Claro expresses shifts in their relationship through clothing. Tulle, velvet, and silk bring softness and vulnerability; leather and defined silhouettes lend the looks resolve. Washed-out pastels meet black, which draws the shoot’s different moods together. Tenderness and strength do not take turns: both are present in each character.

The title Cinema Sauvage promises a film while leaving its plot open. That is part of the appeal of Tanja Tremel’s series: each photograph can be seen as a scene in its own right, and the shoot as a whole as a story about the freedom to be yourself alongside someone else.