The last man on Earth seeks immortality through an ancient ritual of becoming one with the Snake.

Experimental film

Solus Rex

(2024)

Solus Rex is a visceral short film that drifts between dream and memory — a descent into the subconscious where instinct and beauty collide. Through striking imagery and hypnotic rhythm, the film explores isolation, transformation, and the pull between control and surrender.

Written & Directed by Marta Lillioja · Original Soundtrack by Future Phonic Studios
Winner: Best Dance Film — Amsterdam Independent Film Festival (2024) · Nominee: Best Original Soundtrack — Veneto International Film Festival

STORY

Solus Rex — “The Lonely King.”

The last human left on Earth faces the quiet end of the struggle between humanity and nature.

In this dreamlike fable, the Snake becomes the mirror of eternal, mysterious Nature — a creature older than memory, born 100 million years ago. Legends tell of snakes becoming humans, and humans returning to the earth as snakes.

Through fragments of ritual and memory, the film explores transformation and survival — the moment when man must surrender, lie down, and crawl wordlessly, like a snake. And live forever.

PROJECT

Solus Rex was conceived and produced in Amsterdam as an experimental short film exploring the tension between ritual, nature, and transformation.

The film’s haunting sound design and original score — winner of Best Dance Film at the Amsterdam Independent Film Festival (2024) and nominated for Best Original Soundtrack at the Veneto International Film Festival — were created in close collaboration with composer Richard Burki.

Blending mythic imagery with tactile cinematography, the project was realized with an international team of artists and continues to travel internationally through festival and gallery contexts, positioned between cinema and contemporary art.

Directed by: Marta Lillioja
Producer: Marta Lillioja
Director of Photography: Robin Ruitenberg
Sound & Music: Richard Burki
Editor: Marre Bonke