Benedikte Esperi's short experimental 'Laterland' proves once again that everything around us is mechanical! Jokes aside, there is a specific connection between dance and heavy machinery that 'Laterland' brings to light, and we are delighted and surprised to see it in action.

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We find it hard to write a brief resume of an experimental film that opens fully in every viewer's eye. Each of us watching the same bit, yet in 'Laterland's case, one can perceive the same story differently. One thing is for sure for anyone watching this experimental short – there is a particular focus on human behaviour, and the result is somehow unexpected.

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There are two sayings that go hand in hand, but rarely are they used in the same sentence. The first of them focuses on dance as the primary action, as in “everything went smoothly like a tango dance”, and the other relies on the mechanical precision, and this can be spotted in sayings such as “like clockwork”. In this film, both expressions are combined to prove that they are not that different, and in specific cases, extreme precision can work fine with the water flow of a dance move.

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'Laterland' can easily be shortlisted among the best experimental shorts to come out in 2020, a year we called 'the golden year of experiments', where the name, we think, says it all. Benedikte Esperi put a lot of work into making ‘Laterland’ stand out, and the result is nothing but surprising. Also, a big round of applause goes to the cinematography and sound design for making this short an engaging watch on different levels. The techno music that comes near the end of the film lifts the spirits and foregrounds the powerful connection between the two characters, despite the fact that such a connection seems very unlikely at first. Anyone who wants to see how a short experimental should look like should take a peek at 'Laterland'. An enjoyable and memorable film that we totally recommend!

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Written by Vlad A. G