In the Lumière brothers’ first film from 1895 workers were captured leaving their factory, a process which took less than a minute. In the hypnotic variation on this iconic moving image we observe a similar event played out over eleven minutes. What has changed in 117 years? And who are these workers today?
The title of the early silent film Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory in Lyon essentially tells us everything we need to know. Its contemporary variation is more ambiguous. While we initially make out indistinct figures in a seemingly endless corridor, we finally see their faces up close. Using a precise formal concept, the director not only treats cultural memory, harking back to one of the most celebrated works in film history, but she is also quick to make use of the medium’s appeal, establishing a compelling rhythm to enhance footage of an ostensibly banal event.
11 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Katharina Gruzei
/ Screenplay Katharina Gruzei
/ Dir. of Photography Renate Bauer
/ Editor Katharina Gruzei
/ Producer Katharina Gruzei
/ Contact sixpackfilm
Katharina Gruzei (b. 1983, Klagenfurt, Austria) studied at university in Linz, Santa Barbara, and Berlin. She works with both photographic and film media; in her conceptual pieces she examines sociological and political issues, but also the qualities of the medium itself. She treats archive footage, using its artistic depiction to uncover the nature of her chosen theme.
sixpackfilm
Neubaugasse 45/13, 1070, Vienna
Austria
Phone: +43 152 609 900
E-mail: [email protected]
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