A factory, an island, wintertime. Permanent darkness over a small town in the north of Norway. A frozen darkness and rawness which fill the entire film, composed only of fixed shots with no causal links between them, mirroring the entire existence of this community. Whether it is the snow falling, the immobile portraits of the inhabitants or the industrial machinery at work, producing a noise almost as bleak as the lack of sunlight, words and movement, “Dvalemodus” is more about constructing an atmosphere than a narrative. Bieke Depoorter brings the pictorial aspect of her photographic work to the screen, collaborating with the artist and musician Mattias de Craene to add in two more layers: time and movement (the latter gaining force from its rarity). “These mountains, these waves and our people, carry the darkness, lies and slowness within. For he who can take no more, only laughter can bring salvation.” (AJM)