RETRODREAMING

 SOUND / COLOUR / 16:9 / ULTA HD

Germany, Japan – English / hybrid / experimental / documentary

The film focuses on the visual quality of the Showa-era architecture of Japanese elementary schools. A voice from a tape recorder recalls the story of a secret sleep-experiment that resulted in further mysterious events. The audiovisual experience draws the viewer into a strange, suspenseful atmosphere somewhere between an unlived retro-future, a sci-fi dream, and an unfinished mystery tale.

RETRODREAMING examines the common phenomenon of ghostly, abandoned schools, which came about due to demographic change in the countryside of Japan. Empty schools in deserted villages tell their own stories, may they be a pandemic, the aftermath of a nuclear catastrophe, or just due to depopulation. The film references the Japanese tradition of telling „Kaidan“(ghost stories) and the multiple school-themed „Kaidan“in Japanese mainstream culture, which encompass the idea of entities and memories remaining in these architectures.

Distributed by

https://lightcone.org/en/news-724-retrodreaming-de-alisa-berger
https://www.agenciafreak.com/en/peliculas/retrodreaming/