Orion Carloto

With both pen and camera lens, Orion Carloto captures the dreamlike beauty of memory. Film for Her is a story book of people, places, and memories captured on film. Through photographs, poetry, prose, and a short story, Orion Carloto invites readers to remember the forgotten and reach into the past, find comfort in the present, and make sense of the intangible future. Film photography isn't just eye candy; it's timeless and romantic--the ideal complement to Carloto's writing. In Film for Her, much like a visual diary, word and image are intertwined in a book perfect for both gift and self-purchase.

Film for Her

Deea <3

We paint poets as damaged beings, as delicate dandelions blowing wherever the wind takes them.

And if those memories—monumental or mundane —slip between our fingers and linger off into the unknown just like everything else we’ve ever grown out of, then I’m certain we will always look back and remember that it was we who lived so carelessly for what felt like an endless summer.

Most of what was, is lost which terrorizes me to no end.

Jun Angelo Cabuguas

lili🎐

I felt so related and seen, I really needed to read this right now.

Mia Caven

I loved this book. It is a film photography book with poetry throughout. Although my opinion on modern “aesthetic” poetry is that it is quite foundationless, orion has a beautiful way of describing little things in her life and with the photos, an atmosphere I adored was created. Definitely worth it.

With both pen and camera lens, Orion Carloto captures the dreamlike beauty of memory. Film for Her is a story book of people, places, and memories captured on film. Through photographs, poetry, prose, and a short story, Orion Carloto invites readers to remember the forgotten and reach into the past, find comfort in the present, and make sense of the intangible future. Film photography isn’t just eye candy; it’s timeless and romantic—the ideal complement to Carloto’s writing. In Film for Her, much like a visual diary, word and image are intertwined in a book perfect for both gift and self-purchase.

Inez

From then on, and as another year around the sun would pass, I found myself becoming more and more uninterested in my annual day of validation.

victoria

I don't want to be the person who says what's poetry and what is not but i'm pretty sure this book wasn't lol. 

Not saying is totally bad, the pictures were really interesting – sometimes more interesting than the poetry in fact – and some quotes were ok but for some reason nothing here felt original, I feel like most of the pages were just stuff I already saw on books or movies. 

If you want a cute "aesthetic" book to decorate your living room this is totally for you but if you want to actually read poetry then I recommend to search for something else.

Anabel

This felt like going through Carloto's bednight stand - cute, but at times, disturbingly out of context.

I really enjoyed the pictures in the book,tho the poetry itself wasn't my cup of tea. I mean, it wasn't bad but it wasn't outstanding either.

Andrea Cabezudo García

REVIEW
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC

I would say that I have been an Orion fan since I was 17 years old. Now I am 21 and, although I do not consider myself old at all, it makes me reflect on how curious life is and how quickly time passes. When I started following her social media, I automatically became a loyal fan. I always liked her aesthetic, the aura that she gave off. The things she said and, more importantly, how she said them, made me feel better about myself. You could see that Orion was a dreamer with an artist soul, in every way, and that was comforting to me.

As soon as she published Flux, I got hold of it. My teenage self devoured it and added it to her list of favorite books. It was there that I discovered that Orion was not just an image. She was not an idol to look up to. In a way, empathizing with her poems made me humanize her. I was heartbroken myself, and even though we weren't going through the same thing, it felt like talking to a friend.

Years later, Orion announced that she was publishing his second book: Film for Her. My more mature self reacted the same as my past: wanting to read it. When it came to my hands, it was like going back to the past. I read it in a couple of hours and closed the book feeling like someone new.

You see, my experience reading Film for Her has been very different from Flux. This time I have read the book empathizing only in some parts for the simple fact of not being in the same sentimental point as the writer. But that is why I liked it so much. It is not about representing your feelings, but about making you feel. You can feel melancholy, longing, and fear in the same way that you feel love and happiness. It doesn't matter if your life is like this or not, Film for Her allows you to dive into another and feel it as yours.

I have to say that my favorite pieces have undoubtedly been Would I ?, Creature of habit and Chaves. In addition, Orion has reached another level with this work. The mixture of images, poems and texts creates a beautiful rhythm and reaches an almost cinematic level. She is beautiful in every way and no one in their right mind could deny that she is an artist from head to toe.

So I can only recommend this reading and thank Orion for letting us see a little of his mind and also teach us something along the way.


RESEÑA
Gracias a NetGalley por concederme este ARC

Si hago memoria, diría que he sido seguidora de Orion desde que tenía 17 años. Ahora tengo 21 y, aunque no me considero para nada vieja, me hace reflexionar sobre lo curiosa que es la vida y lo rápido que pasa el tiempo. Cuando empecé a seguir sus redes sociales, pasé a ser automáticamente una fiel admiradora. Siempre me gustó su aesthetic, el aura que desprendía. Las cosas que decía y, lo más importante, como las decía, me hicieron sentirme mejor conmigo misma. Podías ver que Orion era una soñadora con un alma de artista, en todos los sentidos, y eso me resultaba reconfortante.

En cuanto publicó Flux, me hice con él. Mi yo adolescente lo devoró y lo sumó a su lista de libros favoritos. Fue ahí cuando descubrí que Orion no era solo una imagen. No era un ídolo al que admirar. En cierta forma empatizar con sus poemas me hizo humanizarla. Yo misma tenía el corazón roto y, aunque no pasábamos por lo mismo, se sintió como hablar con una amiga.
Años más tarde, Orion anunció que iba a publicar su segundo libro: Film for Her. Mi yo más maduro reaccionó igual que el del pasado: deseando leerlo. Cuando llegó a mis manos, fue como regresar al pasado. Lo leí en un par de horas y cerré el libro viéndome como alguien nuevo.

Veréis, mi experiencia leyendo Film for Her ha sido muy distinta a Flux. Esta vez he leído el libro empatizando solo en algunas partes por el simple hecho de no estar en el mismo punto sentimental que la escritora. Pero es por eso mismo por lo que me ha gustado tanto. No se trata de que represente tus sentimientos, sino de que te haga sentir. Puedes sentir la melancolía, el anhelo y el miedo de la misma forma que sientes el amor y la felicidad. Da igual si tu vida es así o no, Film for Her te permite bucear en otra y sentirla tuya. 

He de decir que mis piezas favoritas sin duda han sido Would I?, Creature of habit y Chaves. Además, Orion ha alcanzado con esta obra otro nivel. La mezcla de las imágenes, los poemas y los textos crean un ritmo precioso y alcanzan un nivel casi cinematográfico. Es bonito en todos sus sentidos y nadie en su sano juicio podría negar que es una artista de los pies a la cabeza.

Así que solo me queda recomendar esta lectura y dar las gracias a Orion por dejarnos ver un poquito de su mente y además enseñarnos algo por el camino.

Kaia Mann

Ok fine this made me want to romanticize my life. :|

Shannon O’Connor 

This collection of poetry reads as more of a memoir of sorts. There is poems, photography, and prose documenting Carloto’s life. She writes of the ups and downs she faced and about the people she loves most. There were several poems that resonated with me personally, having also spent some time in Paris. I fell in love with her poetry reading Flux and although this collection is completely different, I really enjoyed it. I feel like Carloto’s writing has grown and changed since her first collection and it was interesting to see her write about more than just love.

zilver 

Orion Carloto’s “Film for Her” is a winding path through a nostalgia that does not belong to you, though maybe at the end of this book it will feel like it does. A collage, mixture of poetry, prose, and pictures, “Film for Her” guides us through the years of Carloto’s early adulthood, following her across the country and the world as she discovers both new places and herself, and herself in those new places. How lonely and invigorating living alone in a foreign city can be. 

“I’ve sewn my eyes shut
and relived visions of you
through many passing moons”

The subject matter of the poems sways from (lost) love to (as she calls it herself) growing pains to false and new starts. Not all poems resonated with me, and I think that was partly to do with the subject matter. It didn’t always feel like it could break loose from the “okay/good” level to something new and burrowing. I did really feel like the different parts of her life that Carloto describes and goes through actually felt different while reading. As if she is maturing and growing not only within the narration but also as she is writing. This works very well to enhance the feeling that periods in her life come and go as you read. 

“In the darkness
I can feel your heart beating
on the corners of my shoulder blades,
and I know that there’s love in there
both pure and divine.”

I think the strength of this book is really the collaboration of words and photographs that together craft a tangible nostalgic atmosphere, one that surrounded me fully as I made my way through. This made the book stand out beyond “just” being a book of poetry about someone’s life. The 35mm film in combination with Carloto’s sense of framing and movement as she photographs carries something magical that really radiated through the rest of the pages as well. 

“I’ve poured this raddled body 
into more people than I can count. 
Crossing off tally marks
on the backs of necks
creating strangers
out of lovers.” 

I received a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Film for Her

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