Natacha Horn Multimedia Artist and Film Director
Natacha
Horn
Belgian-born multi-media multicultural artist. Indian mother born in Africa. Danish-Belgian father. Journalist turned filmmaker turned painter. The work carries all of it.
She began as a journalist. Then came digital animation, advertising, a passion for directing. Then SWING, a film about abuse that won a BAFTA ceremony-adjacent award on its first try. Then a documentary portrait of the woman she loves, and the most personal work she has ever made.
Became a Liar
A cinematic portrait of the maverick music icon as never before. Tikaram delivers, in her own words, a raw, political and personal account of life as a brown, queer woman growing up in the UK, echoing the themes of her new album LIAR (Love Isn't A Right), the sequel to her multi-million selling debut Ancient Heart.
Watch at Doc N Roll 2026 ↗"SWING questions our concept of abuse and challenges the audience to redefine their involvement via seemingly normal interactions. Through SWING I wanted to uncover abuse that's perhaps more relatable to the everyday viewer."
She started as a journalist. That was the plan, and for a while it held. But she was always looking for other ways to express her creativity, so she began experimenting with digital media, and her first animated music video for the dance label PIAS, with its distinctive 2D animation, was quickly noticed by advertising agencies. Nokia, Lanvin, Galliano, Canal Plus. A leading TV campaign promoting safe sex. She became creative director of the first online magazine for Elle Belgium. Then she moved to New York.
In New York she was asked to direct a music video for UK singer-songwriter Tanita Tikaram, and discovered a passion for directing film. She directed two more videos for Tikaram, and corporate work for DeBeers, Clyde & Co., and the United Nations, for whom she made a documentary about sexual violence. The work kept moving toward the subjects that mattered most to her. SWING was the arrival point.
Tell us about SWING.
SWING is an abstract short fiction film written, performed and directed by women. A collaboration with writer/performers Jenny Kondol and Sarah Xanthe. I met the two actresses in a play written by them which left me very moved, about legalising prostitution in the UK, and it sparked the interest in working with them on a short film. After a year of discussing various ideas and scripts which were not quite landing where we wanted, I challenged them to write a script about different abuses based on a concept I had in mind with the title SWING. They developed the script, I worked on the visualisation, sourcing the funding through Kickstarter, location, materials and film crew.
I was delighted that award-winning cameraman Raul Cadenas de la Vega agreed to shoot the production with me, and I was able to use the spectacular Asylum in Peckham as the backdrop. My first production as a filmmaker premiered at the London Independent Film Festival April 2018 and won Best Newcomer as director for first short film.
"Gender stereotypes are explored and blind gender casting is purposefully adopted in much of the film. As a predominantly female creative team, we advocate for greater female representation in film."
Natacha Horn · On SWINGWhat were the challenges of the film?
Over the past year, abuse allegations have rocked the film and entertainment industries. This short film tackling abuse is a bold, abstract, reflective look at the various ways in which abuse can manifest in simple day-to-day situations. In past work, I made a documentary about sexual violence for the UN, and Jenny and Sarah have explored the darker side of sex work. But through SWING I wanted to uncover abuse that's perhaps more relatable to the everyday viewer.
SWING questions our concept of abuse and challenges the audience to redefine their involvement via seemingly normal interactions. LGBTQ undercurrents represent the sexually diverse reality of life. The ramifications are present in all relationships.
Greatest inspirations or influences?
I believe people are my real inspiration. Everyday people that I observe walking in the city or on public transport. I love to imagine their stories. I am very much influenced by my travels. Culture, music, colours, words and a smile. I love life and good wine.
What is next for you?
I am working on two different exhibitions with an English photographer and another one with my mother who is 85. And I hope we will wake up and save our planet for the next generations.
An abstract short fiction film written, performed and directed by women. A reflection on the ways abuse manifests in ordinary situations. Shot at the Asylum in Peckham. Camera: Raul Cadenas de la Vega. Writers/performers: Jenny Kondol and Sarah Xanthe.
Blind gender casting. LGBTQ undercurrents. A female creative team advocating for greater representation.
Became a Liar
An anti-documentary portrait of Tanita Tikaram, directed by Natacha Horn, who is also Tikaram's wife. In her own words: a raw, political and personal account of life as a brown, queer woman growing up in the UK. The film echoes the themes of Tikaram's new album LIAR (Love Isn't A Right), the sequel to her multi-million selling debut Ancient Heart.
Tikaram achieved chart success in 1988 with "Twist in My Sobriety." Thirty-eight years later, her wife is making the film that finally tells the full story.
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Sleepless Night 007 - 205 x 150 cm - Ink, pencil, marker, acrylic, pigments, oil stick on craft mounted on canvas.
