Oeconomia

In his 2011 essay “The Making of the Indebted Man”, philosopher Maurizio Lazzarato writes: “Debt is not an impediment to growth. Indeed, it represents the economic and subjective engine of the modern-day economy. Debt creation, that is, the creation and development of the power relation between creditors and debtors, has been conceived and programmed as the strategic heart of neoliberal politics.” Carmen Losmann’s Oeconomia sets off on a journey into this strategic heart. The fact that many representatives of the banking and finance sector would prefer not to speak on camera – and those who do are often at a loss for words – makes this an undeniably ambitious undertaking. No matter how transparently the architectures of banks and financial institutions present themselves, the director repeatedly finds herself in front of closed doors while conducting her research. But she makes a virtue of necessity by using phone call transcripts and computer-generated images to bring abstract, difficult-to-grasp subject matter to life.
by Carmen Losmann Germany 2020 German, English 89’ Colour Documentary form

Crew

Written and Directed by Carmen Losmann
Cinematography Dirk Lütter
Editing Henk Drees, Carmen Losmann
Music Peter Rösner
Sound Design Peter Rösner
Sound Peter Rösner, Till Röllinghoff, Etienne Haug, Detlev Schmelzenbach
Production Manager Mareike Wegener
Producers Hannes Lang, Mareike Wegener
Commissioning Editor Daniel Schössler
Co-Production ZDF/3Sat Mainz

Carmen Losmann

Born in Crailsheim, Germany in 1979. After studying Marketing, she studied Film at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne (KHM). Oeconomia is her second feature-length film.

Filmography

2009 Nicht wie jeder; 10 min. 2011 Work Hard – Play Hard; 90 min.

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2020