Eigenleben / Documentary / 16′ / 2015

Synopsis: Everything seems in perfect order. Robotic cranes precisely move containers, cargo trains pass trough a scenery resembling a miniature world. Between, arrays of houses, bright and tidy, clean and saturated. We are in Switzerland one of the wealthiest nations on the planet. We meet two young adults. They seem as clean and bright as the world surrounding them. They care about appearance, they seem to function well. Of their dark sides we only learn by narration. Disorientation. Inner void. Anxiety of loosing themselves.
How do you define your existence in a society that provides endless opportunities?

Project description: Assigned as a documentary Eigenleben is questioning the borders between documentary and fiction filmmaking. The film combines highly staged tableaus, in which the two protagonists perform everyday tasks, with the unemotional of-voices talking about inner struggles. Induced both by an undefined connection between spoken content and visible performers , and recurring sequences of artificially moving trains, the film additionally clears way for doubts on the format and the content told. These doubts are reinforced at the end when the female protagonist addresses the viewer with a challenging look into the camera.

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