Catalogue > At random

On a mysterious crackling magnetic tape, a “viewer” discovers shaky, low-definition images, which seem to have been shot during a moon landing. It is as if we had just landed on another planet, the desert—or rather deserted—landscapes of which, filmed in static shots, seem nonetheless familiar to us and encircled by a worry-ing strangeness. Traces of the past remain: rusty machines, pylons, human artefacts that multiply as the cameraman approaches what were towns, now plunged into absolute and silent desolation. Although Sebastian Mez (Metamorphosen, VdR 2013) shot the images of his new film before the pandemic that immobilised a large part of the world last spring, The Great Void is inevitably enshrined within the dystopic imagination disseminated across consciences by this global event. Composing a series of magnificently framed scenes, emptied of all living presence, the German filmmaker observes without blinking the agony of our civilisation. No more, no less.

Sebastian Mez is a filmmaker, video- and soundartist. His work has been shown at countless festivals worldwide and have won numerous awards. He studied film directing at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in Ludwigsburg, Germany. His short film CLEAN UP was shown at more than 40 international film festival and won several prices. Among others EIN BRIEF AUS DEUTSCHLAND won best middle length competition at Visions du Réel in Nyon in 2011. METAMORPHOSEN was his first feature length film, which premiered at the Berlinale 2013, followed by numerous festivals and awards worldwide. His experimental work SUBSTANZ was nominated for the Filmpreis für Filmkunst of the Neue National Gallerie in Berlin 2015. Sebastian lives and works in Berlin.