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
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.
