Proof of Life

The interior of an empty, open space: the borderline between in and out is thin. Human presence can only be found on the sound tape: a male voice recalls horrendous TV-images, a popular disaster movie, a long-term imprisonment. The title alludes to the diplomatic negotiating jargon for the video recording of a live hostage. After a.m../p.m. Asselberghs continues his search of an unique audiovisual approach, playing on the spectacle of mainstream media, commenting on it, countering it. Associative and suggestive (instead of formatted and explicit), the radical rift between sound and image reveals a film which needs to be listened to. A sound tape for watching. Or is this still-life even a self-portrait of the spectator?