“Beating Heart,” or rather, the visualization of a beating heart, is an experimental film questioning the conventions of love and film. Inspired by the later works of avant-garde filmmaker, Stan Brakhage, “Beating Heart” was originally conceptualized with the idea of physically writing poetry on film, just as Brakhage made film his painting canvas in films, such as, Purgation and “existence is song.”. However, due to lack of resources, this idea was instead conveyed digitally. Even without the use of physical film, “Beating Heart” still pushes the boundaries of the idea of what cinema can be, all the while acquiring inspiration from the avant-garde filmmakers of the past. The film begins with blackness and only the sound of a heart beating. The sound foreshadows what is to come and is used twice more throughout the film to remind the viewer of what they are witnessing. In fact, along with the heart beat, there are only three other sound clips used throughout the film, the sound of a female orgasm, an EKG flatline, and a woman saying, “I love you.” This minimal use of sound is another idea taken from Brakhage, who ambitiously opposed the use of sound in film, whatsoever. Brakhage described sound as “a blind alley” and felt film should be created only to entertain man’s most prominent sense, the eyes. “Beating Heart,” for the most part, takes this idea “to heart.” Following the initial black screen and sound of a beating heart is the visualization of a beating heart. This …