Life Life Balance

After already pushing the limits of self-exploitation in my twenties, I had to realize how difficult it was for me to embrace idleness in a patriarchal, capitalist society that constantly makes me, as a woman, feel the need to prove myself. Observing the current debate on unemployment benefit, I was struck by how disturbingly clear it became that a person’s value in our society is measured by their productivity, their labor. The debate is dominated by an apparently unquestioned premise: Those who don’t work are worthless; those who don’t pursue a career or fail to find self-fulfillment in their job have failed in life. However, I also see signs within my generation, now in our thirties, that this mindset is beginning to crumble. Many no longer believe in the neoliberal promises of upward mobility and often resort to quiet quitting, doing only as much as absolutely necessary – but why quietly, and not with loud protests? Against the backdrop of these experiences and observations, I came up with the idea of telling the story of a woman who uncompromisingly chooses idleness as a way of life, portraying her idleness—or rather her refusal to work—as an important act of rebellion against a performance-driven system, but also as a significant challenge. The film aims to raise questions about what not working means on both an individual and societal level, what possibilities it offers, but also what conflicts such an attitude provokes. In producing the film itself, it was important for us to critically reflect on our own work habits, to strive for good working conditions within the scope of what is possible, and to avoid falling into the trap of self-exploitation ourselves.