Why tenderness is the most underrated part of a festival

Festivals can be many things at once.

Joyful, freeing, hilarious, intense, enriching yet tiring. They can also be a place for great tenderness, where your most open and vulnerable self is encouraged to the surface.

We talk a lot about the points where the energy peaks: ecstatic, communal moments in the rave and infectious waves of giggling with your friends. But some of the most precious interactions at festivals happen when you’ve slipped away from the dancefloor.

Berlin-based documentary photographer Frankie Casillo has a remarkable eye for these in-between moments of closeness and stillness. He captures human interactions with a striking candour, where intimate body language and tangled limbs speak a thousand words.

For the second edition of our series with Frankie, we’ve selected four of his shots from over the years, captured between 2016 and 2023.

Fusion Festival, 2016

“This one actually changed how I shoot. With the legs intertwined, there’s something about only seeing part of the picture. It keeps the mystery around people while feeling very close and intimate at the same time. Fusion itself feels exactly like a rave should: intense, powerful, and dusty.” 

Bucht der Träumer, 2017

“Brandenburg’s Bucht der Träumer was a surreal experience on the Helenesee lake. I only went once, but travelled there and back two days in a row. It’s one of those festivals that stays in your memory.” 

Naked City, 2021

“This London festival felt like a breath of fresh air. A relaxed, post-lockdown gathering where families danced alongside ravers, and the music spanned jazz, house, disco, and more.”

NACHTI, 2023

“One of the most thoughtfully executed outdoor festivals you can experience. Running since the late ‘90s, but kept deliberately small at around 3,000 people, a tight crowd drifts between the lake and the dancefloor. It's all about connection.”

Revisit part one of our series with Frankie here.