In the organizer's words:

December 5-19, 2025
Between Amazon-TikTok and social media ban: "the mirror" exhibition by Daniel T. Halsall at the HFF Studio for Media Art in Sendling!

"the mirror" by HFF directing student Daniel T. Halsall is a documentary expanded cinema installation exploring our digital present / Halsall takes exhibition visitors* to the Brazilian Amazon, where the isolated Munduruku community is currently undergoing a rapid digital transformation after only gaining internet access about a year and a half ago / What distinguishes their use of smartphones, content & co. from the technology consumption that has gradually become ubiquitous, as we know it here in Munich and in most other places in the world? / And what role does Australia, the first country to introduce a social media ban for under-16s from December 10, 2025, play in this context?

The exhibition "the mirror" leads into a space of reduction: concrete floor, white walls. The technology is not hidden: cable harnesses and loudspeakers stretch across the floor. In the center is a swing construction that keeps the projection surfaces suspended. On display are everyday situations from the Amazon and Australia, the visual universality of which is astounding. Whether isolated in the Amazon or living in the middle of an Australian suburb: how people sink into a screen with their gaze and body looks the same everywhere.

"the mirror" is an exhibition created by HFF film directing student Daniel T. Halsall as part of the "Stipendium Medienkunst der Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film (HFF) München made possible by the Kirch Foundation with the support of Ms. Regina Hesselberger".
The project was produced by Daniel T. Halsall and Lukas Augustin. Jefta Varwijk was responsible for the visual design of the documentary 16mm footage shot in the Brazilian Amazon and Australia, while student director Johannes Beck was responsible for the sound.

Exhibition "the mirror" Opening hours:
Fri, December 5: 5 p.m. - 11 p.m. VERNISSAGE
December 6 - 18, 2025 Daily 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Free admission | Family-friendly: While parents explore the installation, there is a large play corner with a BRIO train for the youngest visitors.
Atelier für Medienkunst München | Bavariastraße 6a | 80336 Munich | Route planning

"the mirror": A cinematic journey into our digital future
While a globally unique law banning social media for under 16-year-olds comes into force in Australia on December 10, 2025, an isolated community in the Amazon is struggling with the massive consequences of having gained Internet access only a year and a half ago. The new exhibition "the mirror" by HFF director and media art scholar Daniel T. Halsall is set in precisely this area of tension; the studio in Sendling becomes the setting for an immersive 16mm Expanded Cinema installation that spans from Munich to Brazil and Australia.

A personal question as the starting point
"The starting point of the project was a personal question," says Halsall. "How can I accompany my son on the path to a healthy use of cell phones and the internet - even though I am still in the process of finding this for myself?"
This search led the artist on a global journey to find answers among those who are just getting online - and those who want to unplug.

Global context: defense and digital intoxication
For the Munduruku in the Brazilian Amazon, the situation is complex: on the one hand, they use the internet as a crucial tool to draw global attention to their situation and defend themselves against illegal gold diggers. On the other hand, the digital reality has arrived there very quickly and with full force - including massive problems with cell phone addiction among young people. "The conversations we had there in the rainforest about children's cell phone use are amazingly similar to the discussions we have here in Munich," says Halsall. Australia is already one step ahead: while the exhibition "the mirror" is running, a radical social media ban for young people is coming into force there. The world is watching this legislative attempt - the outcome is uncertain.

Journalistic expertise and analog aesthetics
Filmed on analog 16mm material (camera: Jefta Varwijk), the installation creates a deliberate aesthetic distance from the digital world. The project was produced together with the renowned filmmaker Lukas Augustin (CNN Journalist Award, among others). His

journalistic expertise and international experience were of central importance for the realization of the project.

Life in the studio: children's birthday party between art installations
For the first time in the almost 20-year history of the HFF Media Art Scholarship, an entire family moved into the studio: Daniel Halsall, his wife and their son. "The studio is basically one big room. The only separable area was a walk-in closet," says Halsall. "With a bit of rethinking, this turned out to be the perfect 'Tiny Room' nursery." This year, the studio is not just a production facility, but a lively place that has probably never seen as many children's birthday parties as it did last year.

About the artist:
Daniel T. Halsall is a Dutch genderqueer director and screenwriter. He lives with his family in Munich and studies scenic directing at the HFF Munich. He is the 19th winner of the Media Art Scholarship.

Press contact | Pre-viewing appointments (possible from December 2-5) | Images:
Jette Beyer | Press Office HFF Munich | j.beyer@hff-muc.de | 089-68957-8502
Daniel T. Halsall | Artistic Contact | daniel@fiskfilm.com

*Due to a binding requirement for the university by the general rules of procedure for the Free State of Bavaria dated 01.04.2024, all personal and functional designations may only be listed in the female and/or male form. Multiple gender spellings are not permitted. Naturally, persons of all gender identities are expressly included.