As in Sciencefiction

Video – 2007
HDV, 6.34 min

In As in Science Fiction, nothing that unfolds is purely fictional. Through a fragmented, cinematic narrative, a series of surreal and abstract performances explore a young woman’s struggle between her desire for autonomy and social expectations. The characters, a mother, a tango dancer, and a man, mirror the stages of life between adolescence and adulthood. The forest becomes a space of imagination, hinting at the simplicity and harmony of rural life, while the city symbolizes new encounters and the complexities of independence.

She drives along with silent companions – stuffed animals wrapped in white cloth – until she suddenly stops to retrieve a raw chicken from the road, hiding it beneath her shirt. In the forest, she discovers a nest of tiny porcelain swans, crushing their eggs as she moves past chestnut figures with minced meat bodies, glimpsing into a self-sufficient yet eerie world. Suddenly, her mother appears in the distance, sporting oversized pig ears and drawing her into a duel in an open field. Nervously, the young woman plays the flute until a birthday cake is handed to her – a symbol of burdens carried into adulthood. Later, she finds herself alone, high above the city of Berlin, yearning for connection as she encounters a tango dancer and, later, a man at a dinner table – figures who remain curious, strange, and distant. Through a cinematic lens, the mother, dancer, and man are presented in a fragmented narrative that visually captures the turmoil of coming-of-age. The film explores the comfort and isolation that come with autonomy and independence, set against the pressure, tension, and unease of social expectations and assigned roles.