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Focus 9 to 5
We Are the World, We Are the Assets
This programme focuses on the subject of labour – on those who perform the tasks yet ultimately become mere resources within the global work system. It raises questions about the agency of working individuals, and how that agency can be exercised – or surrendered – in relation to ethics and mental well-being. It is crucial to consider the broad spectrum of systemic labour exploitation, addressing both physical workers, whose natural environments are being polluted and destroyed, and those whose “mysterious and important” tasks sustain machine learning systems. Eventually, we are confronted with the question: are we essential, expandable, or at least recyclable?
Appointments & Tickets
Wed 3.9. • 22:45
Cinema Trafo 3
Fri 5.9. • 18:30
Cinema Sterk 1
Sun 7.9. • 10:00
Cinema Trafo 3
18+
66'
Presenting Partner
Supported by
Curated by
Olga Bobrowska
Films
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The Levers
A man looks like he needs a job. Another man comes with a proposal – the job offered is simple: it only requires listening to music and pulling levers. This economic arrangement favours simplicity and compliance through looking away and mishearing. Direction Boyoung Kim Duration 9' Language Korean Country South Korea Year 2019
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(Fool Time) JOB
A puzzling and disturbing film that employs refined, black-and-white, grainy aesthetics. Interspecies creatures (combining characteristics of birds and mammals, including humans) maintain an oppressive, capitalist system of work and life that merges Darwinism with corporate culture. Direction Gilles Cuvelier Duration 17' Country France Year 2017
Animation
Thomas Machart
Music
Fred Meert
Sound design
Fred Meert
AFTERWORK, Luis Uson, Andrés Aguilar, EC 2017_05.jpg
Afterwork
What if the golden era of US cartoons never ended? It’s hilarious how that silly old Groompy keeps getting smacked around by Yummy, who’s a real trickster! But did you realise that Groompy is actually a genuine actor? Did you know he is caught in a miserable routine both on screen and in real life? Direction Luis Usón Duration 6' Country Ecuador, Spain, Peru Year 2017
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Machini
A powerful tale based on truth, a story that is both universal and local. Through the ongoing practices of Western colonisation in Congo, an exploitative economy overtakes public and individual lives, turning people into machines and reality into dystopia.Direction Frank Mukunday Duration 10' Language French Country Belgium, Congo - Kinshasa Year 2019
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Their Eyes
The workers of our brave new hybrid world annotate and segment images; everything has to be labelled and assigned to categories. This documentary work, deriving from new media aesthetics, thematises global divisions within labour structures and the consequences of accelerating digitalisation. Direction Nicolas Gourault Duration 23' Language English Country France Year 2025
Human Resources, Trinidad Plass Caussade, Titouan Tillier, Isaac Wenzek, FR 2022_01.png