Dreaming Is Not Sleeping (2025)

The project, realised with the support of the Arts Council of Ireland, expands on the lyrical film essay style that Rashidi has already established in Elpis (2023). Over a period of two years, the filmmaker went into abandoned ruins and deserted landscapes in Germany, Poland, Denmark and Ireland to capture the haunting visual worlds of the film.

Set against a backdrop of desolate settings and accompanied by a ghostly voice, Dreaming Is Not Sleeping reflects on themes of memory, existence, and temporality. With an immersive, dreamlike aesthetic, the film breaks through the boundaries between past and present and at the same time explores questions of clairvoyance, transience and collective human experience. The concluding sequence invites viewers to reflect on consciousness, meaning, and the fleeting traces we leave behind in the cosmos.

Followed by a conversation with Rouzbeh Rashidi and Jann Clavadetscher.

64 min., IE, DE, PL, DK, 2025

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