Das Resort

About The Film

22.02 min

“I’m dreaming again. It’s what I’ve done for the last forty years.”

During the first lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic, I

was able to experience my hometown and the surrounding alpine landscapes without people or activity. Usually dominated by the hustle and bustle of ski tourism, it was

a wonderful yet eerie sight that had a deep impact on me. During that unprecedented time, I decided to make a short film that contrasted one of these empty ski resorts with the untouched surrounding nature and wrap it in a very human story:

An unnamed narrator in a small, undisclosed mountain village examines his life from three different points in time; his childhood, his adult life, and his old days. As he jumps back and forth, in and out of time, nonlinear memories sur- rounding his long-lost father and the events that took place in a virus-ridden, dystopian world begin to take shape. The exhaustive and introspective search eventually leads him back to a place of fond childhood memories, a cabin found in perfect peace where he can dream again.”

I let the narrative, written by screenwriter Ron Kanecke and adapted to German by Chiara Juriatti, unfold through shots of snow-clad ski pistes, abandoned cabins, cable cars, and empty villages. What would normally be a peaceful environment is seen through the lens of an eerie sci-fi dystopian world. Throughout the short film, it’s evident that this quiet emptiness hasn’t been created by people at all but something more sinister. The void left behind by the lack of human presence is utterly palpable.

“Since the virus, everything went quiet. The lifts don’t run anymore. Now they’re just like two big arms reaching up to me and father’s secret castle.”

Using landscape shots to visually tell the story, I show the impact that humans have on nature. The juxtaposition of the empty landscapes and the search for human traces de- construct the concept of an untouched natural environment.

Although the various lockdowns made us think that nature can return to a pristine state if left alone, it is evident that human activity has already engraved itself to a point where it can be found even in the most remote and deserted regions.

Furthermore, I am aiming to make a comment on technological progress and the political instrumentalization of technology. I question the stability of a highly developed technological society that humans created and lived in. Thereby, the film comes to the conclusion that our main focus on progress is preventing humans from recognizing the state of their actual well-being or that of the nonhuman life around them.

Awards in October 2022

- Seattle Film Festival, September 30th 2022, Selected

- Berlin Shorts Awards, October 21st 2022, Semi-Finalist

- Phoenix Shorts, October 28th 28th 2022, Winner

- The IndieFEST Film Awards, November 1st 2022, Selected

- Independent Shorts Awards, LA, November 12th 2022, Winner - NewFilmmakers NY, January 4th 2023, Finalist

- Amsterdam Lift-Off Film Festival, October 1st 2023, Selected