Shorts: Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine embodies a fierce protest against systemic injustice, capitalist exploitation and state oppression. The films in this programme observe and confront the ‘machine’: from corporate power and cultural imperialism to state brutality and labor exploitation. They shine a light onto the complex social dynamics in which survival is often prioritized over solidarity, where power imbalances define the exploitation of workers and resources.
These stories also reveal the force of individual and collective agency: how a single act can save or sacrifice lives, how communities organize when the state is absent and rise in protest when it fails. The films invite us not only to witness resistance, but to consider our own role within the systems that govern us.
In this combined programme
-
Vultures
Dian Weys
In the volatile moments after a car crash, before the authorities arrive, a hot-headed yet desperate tow truck driver fiercely protects his tow. But the situation quickly spirals out of his control.
-
L’mina
Randa Maroufi
Jerada is a mining town in Morocco where coal extraction, although officially halted in 2001, continues informally to this day. L’mina recreates the current work in informal mining pits using a set design created in collaboration with the town’s residents, who perform in their own roles.
-
Skin on Skin
Simon Schneckenburger
An industrial slaughterhouse somewhere in Germany. Jakob is a security guard, while Boris from Bosnia does the slaughtering. Amid the cold and the violence, a silent bond develops between the two, as does an unspoken longing for freedom.