The found-footage short film OVERWORK offers a personal reinterpretation of a collection of educational 16mm films from the German Employment Agency.
Using 16 mm format from the 1970s to the 1990s, the Employment Agency of the FRG produced numerous short films aimed at representing various occupations. In great detail, each of these films documents a specific profession: textile machine operator, forest technician, hospital operations technician, audiometry assistant, precision engineer, ceramic model maker, and so on.

The representation of the working world in the original footage appears coherent and straightforward. The voice-over perfectly aligns with the image—what you hear is what is shown on screen. Departing from these unambiguous routines, OVERWORK amplifies repetitive actions and processes to bring to the surface underlying dimensions of work, where boredom and violence are in constant tension to the point of exhaustion.

Awards:

- Best Experimental Film Award 2025 from the German Film Critics' Association
- NRW Competition award, International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, 2025
- Audience Award and Honourable mention from the jury, Schmalfilmtage Dresden, 2026

Screenings:
- International Short Film Festival Oberhausen (DE), NRW competition, 02.05.2025
- Filmfestival Münster (DE), International short film competition, 20.09.2025
- Interfilm Berlin (DE), 07.11.2025
- Short Film Festival Cologne (DE), 19.11.2025
- International Film Festival Rotterdam (NL), 30.01.2026
- Regensburg shortfilm week (DE), 06.03.2026
- Schmalfilmtage, Dresden (DE), foundfootage competition, 12.03.2026
- Rencontres Internationales Traverse Video, Toulouse (FR), 13.03.2026
- Filmfest Dresden (DE), 14.04.2026
- IndieLisboa (PT), 3.05.2026

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