As in Sciencefiction

2007
Video, HDV, 6.34 min
Dorsten-Wulfen, Berlin, Hamburg, Germany

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.