'I want'
A durational performance & film collaboration by Antoine Asseraf, René Habermacher & Lynsey Peisinger
Athens, February 2021. COVID-19 lockdown. We are all in the same place at the same time, with the same wants. A rare feat. Could we somehow still connect and create something together, something that speaks to us all? This is what we want. This is “I WANT”
Following strict sanitary protocols and a precise schedule, we filmed over the course of 1 day with close friends and collaborators, creating a collective performance both in front and behind the camera
We crafted a series of performances centered on our current desires, each with the same mechanic – a person enters a room with a suitcase, unpacks and manifests their desires within the room, re-packs, exits the room and starts all over again.
Each performance is twice on a strict schedule, once for each camera angle, with no interruptions or retakes. Both versions of the performance are synchronized and edited together with no attempt at continuity, as we hear Lynsey’s inner voice(s)
What is a performance film? How can the language of the film be employed at the service of a performance? Where is the truth in the performance if you do more than one take? Can fashion play a role in this without taking over?
It’s been 10 years since we first started asking these questions with our first collaboration, “Pilori”. Our current, non-final answer is this film, an experiment unfolding spontaneously, organically and theoretically
— Antoine Asseraf, René Habermache
A film in six acts.
Each act a desire, an integral performance,
performed once alone with the camera
and once with the camera operator
The creators
Antoine Asseraf is an art and film director working in fashion and culture.
René Habermacher is an illustrator, photographer, and film director focused on travel and fashion.
Lynsey Peisinger is a choreographer and performance artist.
This film, shot in COVID-19 lockdown Athens, would not have been possible without the support of our friends and collaborators:
- Marios Schwab, creative director of Zeus+Dione, lent us his ear, his eyes, and his trust.
- Zeus+Dione who brought an open mind, their teams, their archives. and their “1821” Greek bicentennial collection.
- Yannis Siskos and Jose Quijano who applied their make-up and hair skills to this unusual project.
- Avion Films who supplied us with amazing equipment and collaborators.
- Vassilis Georgiou who created custom graphics beyond our dreams.
