Before container-ships leave port, lashers secure the containers using heavy metal bars. They are the last port workers to do such dangerous jobs surrounded by self-driven vehicles and remotely operated cranes. Each body tells its own story: from grieving for a colleague who died on the job to just keep going. Stowaway animals appear as visions of a more natural world.
Year of production 2021 Length 21min Country Netherlands, Slovenia Shooting Format 4K Aspect Ratio 2.39:1 Dialogue English, Dutch Director Katarina Jazbec Producer Sem Janssen, Katarina Jazbec Production TENT Film WriterKatarina Jazbec Cinematographer Matija Pekić Editor Jesse Immanuel Bom, Katarina Jazbec Sound Designer Jorick Bronius Music Giliam Spliethoff, Jorick Bronius Choreography Angeliki Diakrousi, Katarina Jazbec CG Animation, VFX and Compositing Ryan Cherewaty Cast Toby Slager, Django Binder, Shennen Jamanika, Brown Pinas, Lars Masselink, Misja Vos, Martines Simmons Supported by IFFR RTM Pitch Award - Mondriaan Fonds - V2_ Lab for the Unstable Media - TENT Film - Het Raam Digital Cinema - Budgetcam
Festival selections International Film Festival Rotterdam 2021, The Netherlands - World Premiere FeKK - Ljubljana Short Film Festival 2021, Slovenia - Critics Award DOKUDOC - International Documentary Film Festival 2021, Slovenia Niederrhein Filmfestival 2021, Germany - Best Dutch Movie Award, Audience Award Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam 2021, Netherlands Festival Slovenskega Filma 2021, Slovenia Bosphorus Film Festival 2021, Turkey Festival Mente Locale - Visioni sul territorio 2021, Italy Neues Slowenisches Kino Festival 2021, Germany Dani Slovenačkog Filma Belgrad 2021, Serbia Noč kratkih filmov (The Night of Short Films) 2021, Slovenia Longue vue sur le court 2021, Canada - Jury Special Mention BOGOSHORTS - Bogotá Short Film Festival 2021, Colombia Laceno d'oro International Film Festival 2021, Italy - Best Cinematography Award Afragola International Film Festival of Architecture and Design 2021, Italy International Shorts 2021, Australia London Short Film Festival 2022, UK FIPADOC - International Documentary Festival 2022, France International Festival of Films on Art 2022, Canada IFSAK Short Film Festival 2022, Turkey Cinemagic ‘On The Pulse’ Short Film Festival 2022, Northern Ireland Akbank Short Film Festival 2022, Turkey K3 Film Festival 2022, Austria - Best Short Film Award Filmfest Dresden - International Short Film Festival 2022, Germany Landshut Short Film Festival 2022, Germany Brussels Short Film Festival 2022, Belgium Festival international Jean Rouch 2022, France South East European Film Festival Los Angeles 2022, USA - Best Documentary Short Film Award Cinema Talks 2022, Austria - Best Short Film Award, Extraordinary Program In The Palace International Short Film Festival 2022, Bulgaria Psarokokalo International Short Film Festival 2022, Greece International Film Festival Kino Otok - Isola Cinema 2022, Slovenia Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival 2022, Hungary Festival Internacional de Cine de Huesca 2022, Spain - Best Documentary Film Award Mediterranean Film Festival Split 2022, Croatia Shortcutz Amsterdam 2022, Netherlands ShorTS - International Film Festival 2022, Italy ANDARAS - Traveling Film Festival 2022, Italy - Special Jury Prize Marienbad Film Festival 2022, Czech Republic MDOC - Melgaço International Documentary Film Festival 2022, Portugal Open-Air Filmfest Weiterstadt 2022, Germany Beyond Borders International Documentary Festival 2022, Greece PLONS International Short Documentary Film Festival Leeuwarden 2022, Netherlands Odense International Film Festival 2022, Denmark TIFF ODA - Tetova International Film Festival 2022, Republic of North Macedonia - Best Short Documentary Award BEAST International Film Festival 2022, Portugal Job Film Days 2022, Italy - Best Short Film Award Un Festival C'est Trop Court - Festival Européen du Court Métrage de Nice 2022, France Filmfest Eberswalde 2022, Germany Monstrale Festival 2022, Germany Mediterranean Film Festival 2022, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Best Short Film Award Still Voices Short Film Festival 2022, Ireland Caminhos Film Festival 2022, Portugal INTERFILM - International Short Film Festival Berlin 2022, Germany Olhares do Mediterrâneo - Women's Film Festival 2022, Portugal Hak-Is Short Film Festival 2022, Turkey - Best Film Award Zoom - Zblizenia International Film Festival 2023, Poland Director's Note I am intrigued by the contrast between the idea of never-ending progress and the agency of our finite human bodies. Ever since I moved to Rotterdam, the port has loomed large in my imagination as a space to explore this dichotomy. I set out to traverse this huge, seemingly impenetrable, hub of human and technological activity, where I encountered the lashing community. In shifts around the clock, they perform heavy labour in any kind of weather on giant containerships. From the start, I wanted to build a visceral cinematic language deriving from movement and dance techniques. Together with Angeliki Diakrousi (choreographer), we developed The Handbook for Eyes, Bones, Muscles, Skin, and Dreams, which we based on interviews with lashers, extensive field visits, and studio experiments. It contains choreographic scores that are inspired by Feldenkrais, Butoh, and Deep Listening. The arts of poetic movement meet the workers whose bodies tell what is at stake in our society.
