Steakhouse by Špela Čadež : intimate partner (psychological) abuse through tangible imagery and the act of resistance

Krajnc, Maja (author)

This article examines Špela Čadež’s Steakhouse, a ten-minute animated short, as a formally inventive and politically resonant depiction of psychological abuse in intimate relationships. The film provides a nuanced and impactful portrayal of the cyclical nature of psychological abuse, exposing emotional entrapment through richly textured visual and auditory design. Employing analogue multiplane collage animation and haptic visuality, Steakhouse creates a tactile, immersive experience that evokes emotional suffocation, particularly through the key sequence of smoke. Drawing on Alain Bergala’s conception of cinema as art, it argues that the film’s aesthetic strategies function as a mode of authorship and critical engagement. Grounded in an interdisciplinary approach, it further incorporates Laura U. Marks’ concept of haptic visuality and Sara Ahmed’s notion of “everyday resistance” to explore how subtle gestures become feminist acts of refusal. Although not explicitly framed as a feminist work, Steakhouse critiques patriarchal dynamics embedded in domestic space and labour. Parallels with Agnés Varda’s Cléo from 5 to 7 underscore the role of spatial embodiment in the articulation of female subjectivity. Produced during the pandemic, Steakhouse foregrounds animation’s power to render invisible forms of violence perceptible and to provoke critical reflection through sensory engagement.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Špela Čadež, Steakhouse, psychological abuse, multiplane collage animation, haptic visuality, female subjectivity, Cléo from 5 to 7
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: AGRFT - Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: Str. 54–71
• Numbering: Vol. 23, no. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-180878
• UDC: 791.6
• ISSN on article: 2040-0594
• DOI: 10.1080/17411548.2025.2494923
• COBISS.SI-ID: 240039683
• Publication date in RUL: 18.03.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Studies in European cinema
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 2040-0594
• COBISS.SI-ID: 525968921

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: Špela Čadež, Steakhouse, psihična zloraba, multiplanska kolažna animacijska tehnika, haptična vizualnost, ženska subjektivnost