Sleep Well, My Love

Is this a bedtime story? Hardly. The starting point in "Sleep well, my Love" is an old family photo album. With the help of artificial intelligence, the photos in it come to life in an uncanny way. Over these disturbing images, a child whispers "The Willful Child" by the Brothers Grimm - a fairy tale about a mother who literally beats her child into the grave out of love because it is disobedient beyond death.

“Mother” stands for care. But what makes a “good” mother? Although we like to believe that there are universal truths, the concept of motherhood is profoundly shaped by changing social norms and cultural expectations.

Inspired by the photo album and the fairy tale, this experimental short film questions idealized notions of motherhood. What begins as a nostalgic exploration becomes a disturbing reflection on memory, identity and the narratives we inherit.

  • Erika Kassnel-Henneberg
    Director
  • Erika Kassnel-Henneberg
    Producer
  • Rasmus Kassnel-Henneberg
    Voice
  • Coyote Hearing
    Sound
    Cicada Killer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Schlaf gut, Liebes
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Video Art
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 3 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 3, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    Germany
  • Country of Filming:
    Germany
  • Language:
    German
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Erika Kassnel-Henneberg

Erika Kassnel-Henneberg creates experimental short films as a one-woman show, independently developing every stage of the complex filmmaking process—from concept and research to production, post-production, and distribution. Her works are time-based media art that critically explore social developments through the use of video, CGI, and artificial intelligence. They navigate the space between reality and simulation, documentation and construction.

Her videos have been presented internationally, including at the FILE - Electronic Language International Festival in São Paulo/ Bra, BIDEODROMO - International Experimental Film and Video Festival in Bilbao /Es and IVAHM - International Video Art House Festival Madrid / Es. Kassnel-Henneberg has received several awards. She also teaches at various universities and serves on juries supporting contemporary media art.

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Director Statement

We are the narrative of our own memory and the memory of others about us. This is how our identity is formed in a chronological context.

But today we know that memory is neither true, nor objective, nor complete. We lay traces, collect documents and photographs, and archive them. I see in this an existential doubt: who am I really if I cannot trust memory? If I leave no traces, did I ever exist?

In the digital age, cloud archives are our memory. Artificial intelligences collect vast amounts of data and traces that we leave behind in the infinite expanse of the internet. They find everything and forget nothing. They seem to know us better than we know ourselves. Can they tell us who we are?