ENC: Above and Below (With Q&A)

The Bioscope is proud to welcome back The Encounters South African International Documentary Film Festival.

Tickets: R60

Above and Below

Dir Nicolas Steiner

Switzerland/Germany | 2015 | 118 minutes

Blurring the lines between fiction and documentary, this mesmerising and beautifully shot film follows five survivors through their daily hustle in a seemingly post-apocalyptic world – although the reality is that they are simply living on the margins of contemporary America. Moving from a Mars simulation in the Utah desert to an abandoned military bunker in California to the flood tunnels of Las Vegas, the film has an ethereal otherworldly feel that is counterpointed by the deeply felt humanity it grants its diverse cast of misfits. Above and Below is all the more remarkable given that it is Swiss director Steiner’s graduation film. His ability to find transcendent beauty and poetry in the grit and dirt of America’s broken wastelands marks him as a major cinematic talent.

Awards:

German Film Awards 2016 - Best Documentary & Best Cinematography

Munich International Documentary Festival (DOK.fest) 2015 - German Documentary Music Award

Swiss Film Prize 2016 - Best Documentary, Sound & Editing