THE INCREDIBLE DISAPPEARANCE OF BERND SEVENSELVES
Participatory film project with passers-by in the city of Graz
A silent, half-documentary, half-fictional dadaist dark comedy, this short film aims to expose the human condition under the automatizing apparatuses of the neoliberal capitalist system that target the annihilation of the authentic self. Drawing from Richard Sennett’s concept of "The Fall of Public Man," the film re-envisions the public sphere as a carnival-like battleground populated by both potential perpetrators and victims. Embodying a true product of relational aesthetics, the film was shot featuring volunteer participants from the city of Graz, Austria, capturing the exact moment they were invited to pose directly in front of the camera. The narrative centers on Bernd Sevenselves—a character systematically manufactured and problematized as "the other," only to be abruptly and quietly erased by an anonymous hand. In this dystopian landscape where the killers are unknown, the source of authority—while ubiquitous—is untraceable, and the masses blindly await their demise, "Bernd" becomes a universal proxy. Ultimately, the film stands as an avant-garde, striking critique of industrial modernity castrating society in its individual desire, sociability, and autonomous identity.
After he had finished, the pianist took his gloves off and drove aimlessly in a taxi for about an hour through the empty streets of the city. When he got home, he turned on the light and lay on his bed for a few minutes simply watching the ceiling. He recalled his assignment in his head, as if studying the skeleton of an insect. Perhaps he did feel Bernd after all, in some way. With the detached indifference of a completed task, he switched off the light and fell asleep without brushing his teeth.