Collaboration 2020

A Lighthouse Project Emerges

With Collaboration Across Borders (CAB), filmmakers from different European countries came together to work on an episodic film project. The concept was developed during the pandemic via Zoom conferences and was filmed in spring 2021. The project is currently in post-production. From this intensive collaboration since March 2021, friendships have formed that are both professional and personal in nature.

The directors developed a concept that, although filmed in different locations and directed individually, follows the same plot and comes together in the final montage. Five stories merge within a single building. To link the floors in a way that gives the impression the stories take place in one building, we employed stylistic devices such as consistent lighting direction, recurring visual motifs, and revolving sound design. For example, a recurring train can be heard on all floors, eliciting different reactions. It is the story of a house. Its residents live side by side under a state of emergency, hearing each other only indirectly. Questions that preoccupied the creatives in 2020 were pushed to the extreme.

Networking 2.0

The various filmmakers amplified the intense emotions of the past months. This has resulted in a work that balances between humor and dystopia, capturing the essence of humanity. In response to the ongoing pandemic, filmmakers from Malta, England, Sardinia, and Germany joined forces.

Short Synopsis

The residents of a high-rise building have not left their home for years. Each has developed their own way of coping—until suddenly the last day of the state of emergency is announced.

The world stands still. At least around this building. The residents of the block have found different ways to deal with loneliness and have developed unique forms of communication.

The Achievement

Directors from across Europe (who only met in person at screenings or festival events) came together online to develop the narrative script. Each director then took on one character and shot that part of the film in their home city or country. The films were then edited and interwoven to create a single narrative set entirely in a fictional location – Edifice129 – brought to life by a digital artist/animator and our sound designers.

This project is truly one of a kind. Never before have directors from multiple countries collaborated in this way to weave individual perspectives into a continuous narrative universe. The combination of remote production, individual shoots in different cities, and the digital creation of a shared fictional location makes the result something completely new—a concept that has never existed before.

The collaborative process was challenging, as creative and cultural differences had to be overcome, and post-production was complicated by remote work and the need for a unified directorial vision. We would love to present this unique collaboration at Raindance and bring our entire team together in person for the first time. In a panel discussion or even a workshop, we could inspire filmmakers through the extraordinary story behind this project.