Candy Sandwich will Satisfy your Audio Visual Munchies
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]M[/dropcap]odern cannabis consumers are rich in entertainment options. From podcasts to trippy YouTube videos to print magazines, there’s a lot of quality cannabis content out there. But there’s only so much content that satisfies all of your entertainment needs. Filmmakers Sayuri Kimbell and Gabby La La aim to entertain your eyes and ears with content that’s perfect for cannabis consumers.
La La and Kimbell have made a series of YouTube videos, ASMR Crafting, that pair their colorful and psychedelic visuals, with tingle-inducing Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) audio. For those who don’t know, ASMR is “an experience characterized by a static-like or tingling sensation on the skin that typically begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine.” This feeling is evoked by specific audio, such as whispers, or the soft crunch of packaging. People often use ASMR videos to relax.
But it’s not just about helping others relax and entertaining consumers, Sayuri and Gabby have bigger plans for their content creation. Their artist statement reads:
“ASMR Crafting with Sayuri and Gabby La La is about reclaiming the female Asian-American body by pointing the camera on ourselves. We challenge the perception of Asian-American women as silent sex objects by presenting manicured and fantastical visions of ourselves.”
La La and Kimbell’s short film, Candy Sandwich, which is based on their similar Youtube video, is being shown at the SPLIFF Film Festival, “a film festival by stoners, for stoners,” which is taking place in Seattle, Portland, Denver and San Francisco. CULTURE spoke with Kimbell before the festival, to find out what inspires her as a filmmaker, and the role cannabis plays in ASMR Crafting.
Are you guys from Oakland, California?
We met in Oakland, and Gabby is still there, but I moved to Portland. So now I’m representing the Pacific Northwest front, and Gabby’s representing the Bay Area. The distance has helped our collaborative project grow. Now we’re both super on top of it. It’s been a blessing in disguise.
How was Candy Sandwich conceptualized?
We gravitated towards ASMR because it came up as a sub-genre on YouTube, and we chose it because it was fringey and weird. But we also gravitated towards it because of its intimacy and playfulness. People watch ASMR videos to relax themselves in preparation for sleep or work. We’re making video art essentially, with an ASMR twist, with the hope that we can help people relax and start the process of healing.
What drew you to SPLIFF, do you guys enjoy cannabis? If so did it influence the making of Candy Sandwich?
It’s kind of funny. We both do enjoy cannabis, but we never made Candy Sandwich with the intention of it being a stoner film. But after showing people our videos, people were like, “Whoa this is trippy. This is super psychedelic and weird.” So it made sense to enter this video into the SPLIFF Film Festival.
Do you have any suggestions of pairings for cannabis items and Candy Sandwich?
I’ve been into a lot of the CBD stuff. So I think that would be a good pairing for the video because they both help your body relax. I would suggest a CBD heavy joint with the Candy Sandwich video.
Make sure to check out Gabby La La’s Youtube Channel, which features all of the cannabis-friendly ASMR crafting videos. Also, this is SPLIFF Film Festival’s first year, so if you’re in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco or Denver, be sure to grab some tickets and check it out!
Festival Dates are as follows:
- Denver: April 13
- Seattle: April 19 and 20
- Portland: April 20
- San Francisco: May 3 and 4
