On the foreseeability of future presents

Experimental film-maker Daniel Kötter and composer Hannes Seidl, who have been working together closely since 2008, combining advanced forms of documentary narrative with New Music, have set their sights pretty high. In the next few years they are setting out to study nothing less than the fundamental conditions of social action by means of film and composition with their project series “Economies of action”. It is to be about love, security and law. In the first instalment they focus on an economy of action that has come to the fore as highly suspicious in the years of global financial crisis – the economy of action with money, symbolised by the banker’s profession. For “Credit”, Kötter and Seidl bring on stage representatives of this profession who they had filmed in Frankfurt, not only during their work, but also during their leisure time. Putting together a film from this material, although the soundtrack has been deleted. A strange menagerie sets the film to music live on stage. Among them, two noisemakers who use the sound of air-conditioning systems, echoing steps in the corridor or the clicking of computer keyboards to create the typical ambience of different film genres and two dubbing actors who give their voices to the characters. Individual bankers from the film are on stage too, creating the soundtrack, from subtle to totally rackety noise textures. They are accompanied by the amateur choir of the German Bundesbank singing credos of musical history and contemporary commentaries, chorals and political battle anthems. A credo against probability, banker docufiction and post-punk oratorio in a film setting between TV feature and Hollywood.

Concept, video, music and direction: Daniel Kötter & Hannes Seidl
Setting and assistance: Rahel Kesselring
Dramaturgy: Gerda Strobl
Music and sound: Sebastian Berweck, Andrea Neumann & Peter Sandmann
Choir of the German Bundesbank