On December 10, 2020, the film “Live” by director Lisa Charlotte Friederich will start in cinemas nationwide on the Artkeim² film label, distributed by UCM.ONE. The film takes place in a near, dystopian future, in which all public life – including concerts – has been relocated to virtual space due to the risk of terrorist attacks. It combines science fiction elements and a classic sibling conflict into an exciting drama full of rousing music and, due to its basic premise – human encounters are only allowed virtually, with a few exceptions – it shows dismaying parallels to the current situation. “Live” celebrated its world premiere in January 2020 at the Max Ophüls Prize and has since been shown and awarded successfully at German and international film festivals.
The world in a near future: The number of terrorist attacks has increased so drastically that encounters with other people and any form of cultural life will only take place in virtual space. Public gatherings are prohibited for security reasons. There are no more concerts, no more supermarkets, no more theatre, no more pubs.
The psychologist Claire counsels survivors of terrorist attacks. One day, when she finds a ticket, an analogue piece of paper, on a patient’s desk, she breaks out of her life in isolation. Driven by the need for community, she and her brother Aurel, a star trumpeter who for years has only stood in front of virtual audiences, plan a secret live concert in front of real, physically present people. With the help of the hackers Ada and Maximus, they succeed against all odds in realising their plan.
When the mother of the siblings appears shortly afterwards, an age-old conflict breaks out, confronting Claire with an insurmountable opponent: herself.
“Live” is a frighteningly topical film that gets under your skin with its cool aesthetics, extraordinary, moving music and a great cast of actors. It is also almost tragic that the content of the film was created as science fiction four years ago, premiered as “unreal fictional world of thought” at the Max Ophüls Prize in Saarbrücken in January 2020 and was already caught up with reality at the cinema release in the same year. Only the background of the lockdown is different: in the film it is uncontrolled terror, in reality the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic that triggers the Covid-19 infections and diseases.
More information about the movie: Live
