Block 4. Background Work

Brutalist architecture, a toll elevator and the surrealism of the environment are the daily life of Mzia, a former sniper overseeing this globally unique transportation system. This film’s grotesqueness paints a tragicomic picture of modern Georgia.

There are over 550,000 private security guards in South Africa – more than the combined number of police officers and soldiers. In Fear Fokol, Tuva Björk takes us behind the scenes of an industry built on the power of violence, serving only select parts of the population.

How does a machine learn to read the world? Testimonies and screen recordings introduce the experience of online micro-workers from the Global South: their job is to teach the AI of self-driving cars to navigate the streets of the Global North.

An unconventional choir attempts to communicate with those who have lost their connection to conventional language in this beautiful and humane black-and-white study.

How do we reach those who are beyond language? In this tender film, members of the Genetic Choir Ensemble use careful reciprocal listening and improvisation techniques to connect with nursing home residents who have lost their ability to communicate conventionally. In a series of delicate scenes, the singers share their ideas and put their methods into practice, filling these once sad and silent spaces with a gentle, comforting hubbub of hums, murmurs and intermingling voices. Through this intimate approach, the smallest of gestures – a flicker of a smile, a moment of eye contact – carry profound meaning.

Set amidst rapidly disappearing California landscapes, a herd of goats graze areas vulnerable to wildfires. Through their efforts, a lyrical portrait of the American West is painted, revealing the dangers of today’s crisis and unexpected tools for combating it.

During the conflict in Northern Ireland, a bizarre practice developed that saw actors hired to dub those associated with the IRA. Via unseen archive footage and present-day interviews with key figures such as Gerry Adams and Stephen Rea, “The Ban” looks at the British government’s use of the threat of ‘terrorism’ to justify censorship, reflecting on the central role of the voice to draw inevitable comparisons with the present.

In 1975, soon after the end of the Vietnam War, Hoa Thi Le and Hue Nguyen Che fled the country on a small boat. After nine days at sea, they docked in the Philippines, where they were held in a refugee camp. During this time, along with nearly 100 other refugees, they were utilized as background extras in the filming of “Apocalypse Now”.

Guided by their perspective and memories of their lived experiences, “We Were The Scenery” is a short documentary that traces Vietnam, The Philippines, and the USA within past and present, truth and fiction, life and cinema. Warning: This film contains stroboscopic effects.