EN UNDERSØGELSE AF EMPATI

Denmark, Germany

Fiction

Dana welcomes art student Penelope to her home to participate in her performance. The meeting between the two women takes an unexpected turn for Dana and leaves her disturbed. To find out what actually has happened between them, Dana musters up the courage to meet Penelope at the opening of her graduation show.

Written & directed by: Hilke Rönnfeldt
Produced by: Asbjørn H. Kjelstrup , Hilke Rönnfeldt
Cinematography: Roxana Reiss
Editing: Josefine Svenningsen
Production Design: Josefine Friis Lange
Costume Design: Fredericke Kellberg
Make-Up & Hair: Louise Weiland
Original Score: Leslie Ming
Sound: Juuso Oksala
Visual Effects: Bruno Edelmann
Cast: Sara Klein (Dana), Emilie Claudius Kruse (Penelope), Lisa Carlehed (gallery owner), Mathias Broe (angel in blue)

Statement of the director:
A STUDY OF EMPATHY studies indeed the behavior of our two main characters, but it also studies the relationship between me as a filmmaker and the viewer. It is the aspect of sculpturing two parallel rooms, inside the film itself and outside in the reality with the person watching it, that I was interested in retrieving through the form of a performance or experiment in the film and its consequences on the film's narrative and in the relationship to the
viewer. A fundamental aspect I wanted to reflect on in this film is the pressure I feel in our society to be empathetic towards each other and demonstrate a permanent emotional availability. I think in the times we live, we have the chance to be physically and virtually connected to as many people as ever before. But how do these connections feel like? From this perspective of insecurity about empathetic connection, the two main characters in my story walk on a thin line on what empathy and connection appear to be. They explore, manipulate and give up on each other while I would like to invite the viewer to delve into their own feelings of empathy within the film’s room, but also beyond it. With this film, I don't want to judge how we empathise, rather understand how our relationship towards empathy has changed.

Production:
Frau Film
https://www.fraufilm.dk/

World Sales:
Shortcuts
http://shortcuts.pro/

Selected at Leuven International Short Film Festival