This selection presents four compelling films that question how reality and perception are shaped in the digital age. Each production delves into the effects of media and technology on individuals, pushing beyond the boundaries of classical cinematic storytelling.
“A Lack of Clarity” takes viewers on a nocturnal journey, questioning personal privacy and identity in an era of widespread surveillance technology. “Love” explores the ever-evolving nature of language and meaning through social media, revealing the creative power of the hashtag #love. “Podesta Island” investigates the intersection of the digital world and physical reality, questioning the internet’s influence on what we perceive as “real.” Finally, “When Forever Dies” embarks on a historical and cultural archival journey through myths and love stories, examining how cinematic images from the past continue to shape our present.
Each film unveils the fluid nature of perception and reality through media while utilizing a storytelling approach that challenges the limits of time, space, and meaning. This selection invites the audience to deeply question identity and reality in a world shaped by technology and media.
Short Films
A Lack of Clarity – Stefan Kruse Jørgensen / Denmark – 22 min.
A nocturnal journey through a brightly lit, crowded city, reflecting on the rise of surveillance technologies. The film draws a fragmented connection between late 17th-century Paris and the possible surveillance of the director’s own dreams.
Love – Anna Hawkins / Canada – 8 min.
“Love” explores the fluid nature of language on the internet through the most frequently used hashtag on Instagram: #love, which has been used in over two billion posts. By assembling seemingly unrelated visuals, the film seeks to comprehend and reconcile all possible connotations of a single word at a given moment in time.
Podesta Island – Stéphanie Roland / France – 23 min.
According to Google Earth, it exists. According to Wikipedia, it does not. Podesta Island questions the island’s true existence, engaging in a discourse between its digital presence and its physical reality.
Feature Film
When Forever Dies – Peet Gelderblom / Netherlands – 109 min.
When Forever Dies is a mythical tale of two lovers, Forever Woman and Forever Man, whose fates intertwine between light and shadow. Spanning different times, places, and genres, their gothic love story unfolds through an overwhelming stream of archival footage drawn from over 100 films in cinema history.
