No Real Body
«The Fiction of a Singular Identity»
Baltensperger + Siepert (Stefan Baltensperger, David Siepert, Uwe Lützen), 2020
in cooperation with Soe Arkar Htun + Sai Naw Kham (Myanmar)
Victoria Akujobi + Bunmi Ajakaiye (Nigeria)
Rushdi Al-Sarraj + Ahmed Hassouna (Gaza)

What if we had been born in elsewhere – living the same life, but exposed to different conditions in other places? Reality can also be conceived of as a succession of “parallel universes”. Let us imagine that we could jump back and forth between these universes and actually experience the plethora of other potential spaces, variations in patterns, similarities, divergences, and cultural topographies.

No Real Body is a metaphysical experimental arrangement: three film production teams in three different locations (Myanmar, Nigeria, Gaza) were given the same screenplay. The three teams had follow a strict time table but at the same time had room for improvisation and cultural/spacial adaption. The resulting situations depict plausible and probable configurations in worlds far removed from the cultural context in which the screenplay was written.

This setup resulted in three 16-minute feature films, shaped in the light of different cultural codes. More than just revealing these codes, however, the complex interweaving of images and imaginaries directs the gaze back at the audience who find themselves confronted with a whole range of questions.

https://www.baltensperger-siepert.com/no-real-body