VISTA MARE

AUT/ITA 2023, Documentary, 80 min

Directed by Julia Gutweniger & Florian Kofler · Original version with German subtitles (Italian with German subtitles)

Over the course of a season, the film explores the many behind-the-scenes tasks that go on behind the facade of a “carefree” beach vacation. A resort, artificially created on Italy’s Adriatic coast, serves as the setting for this stoic, surrealist observation. In the hotels’ commercial kitchens, meals are prepared at a frenetic pace; lounge chairs and umbrellas are set up in endless rows on the beach; and neon signs are polished to a high shine. Around the clock, the workers in the “vacation production” industry are on the job, tirelessly working to deliver the ultimate in leisure. The goal: for guests to recharge as fully as possible without giving a thought to what goes on behind the scenes. Even though everything here seems to revolve around the best time of the year, an obvious contradiction lies at the heart of the film. We see people whose job it is to entertain those who, in turn, are trying to recover from their own work. An absurd undertaking, to be sure. (Lina Dinkla, DOK Leipzig)

Vista Mare is a poetic and surrealist documentary revealing the hidden labor behind “a holiday in the sun” at Italy’s northern Adriatic coastal resorts. Filmed over an entire working season (February to October), it takes viewers on a journey through an artificial landscape built to amuse vacationers. Vista Mare’s camera purposefully observes a multinational army of seasonal workers toiling from dawn to dusk. Workers test remote-controlled umbrellas, meticulously prepare meals, and, most importantly, cheer up the patrons to ensure they have a good time. (Italian with German subtitles)