We Might As Well Be Dead

Wir könnten genauso gut tot sein

63rd TIFF: Greek Premiere

It may only be a tower block on the edge of a forest, but you can tell by the look on the faces of the people hoping to join the building’s community that this must be one of the last bastions of civilisation in a world that has fallen apart. To live here, shielded from a dangerous environment, is the goal. But when the caretaker’s dog disappears, an irrational fear spreads among the residents. Security officer Anna makes an appeal for reason and begins to search for the animal. Meanwhile, her daughter Iris locks herself in the bathroom. She is convinced that, with her “evil eye,” she herself is responsible for the dog’s disappearance. When a newly formed vigilante group demands stricter security measures and a renewed suitability test for the entire community, Anna begins to fear for her right to stay.

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Natalia Sinelnikova

Script: Natalia Sinelnikova, Viktor Gallandi

Cinematography: Jan Mayntz

Editing: Evelyn Rack

Sound: Michael Kondaurow

Music: Maxi Menot, Michael Kondaurow

Actors: Ioana Iacob, Pola Geiger, Jörg Schüttauf, Şiir Eloğlu, Moritz Jahn, Susanne Wuest, Knut Berger, Mina Özlem Sagdic

Production: Heartwake Films

Producers: Julia Wagner, Magdalena Wolff

Co-production: RBB Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg, Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf

Co-producers: Magdalena Wolff, Lina Mareike Zopfs, Charlene Gürntke, Ioana Iacob, Verena Veihl, Cooky Ziesche

Costumes: Marilyn Rammert

Production Design: Elisabeth Kozerski

Executive producer: Julia Wagner

Make Up: Franziska Mayntz

Format: DCP

Color: Color

Production Country: Germany

Production Year: 2022

Duration: 94΄

Contact: Fortissimo Films

Awards/Distinctions: Best Cinematography Award – Tribeca Film Festival 2022

Natalia Sinelnikova

Natalia Sinelnikova was born in St. Petersburg in 1989 and emigrated to Germany at the age of seven. In 2013, she graduated from Hildesheim University, with a Bachelor's degree in Cultural Studies, the major field of her studies being photography and theater. Since October 2013 she has been studying film directing at Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf in Potsdam. Her graduation film Weeping Willows premiered at the Moscow Jewish Film Festival and was screened at various international festivals. In 2016 she was a member of the Debut Film Jury of the Festival of East European Cinema Cottbus and in 2021 was part of the ZFF Academy at Zurich Film Festival. Natalia is a member of the Jewish artists’ network Dagesh. We Might As Well Be Dead is her feature debut.