Cecilia Stenbom

Rules of Engagement

Rules of Engagement is a film about belongingness as a human motivating force. Three stories, all set in the everyday, capture experiences of this phenomena; Jack, the outcast, is attending a family gathering, Robin is trying to integrate into a new social group and Nadia is failing to blend in amongst conservative work colleagues.

REMAKE

REMAKE is based on collected descriptions of interiors part of wider cinematic narratives, re-interpreted as new fictions.

In Waiting

In Waiting looks at the unbearable anxiety of waiting for potential lifechanging medical results. Set inside a hospital waiting room the film follows JOHN from entering the hospital until the time time he is called as well as the actions, conversations and interactions between him and other patients waiting to be seen.

SYSTEM

SYSTEM is a film about anxieties, irrational behaviour and the quest for control in a non-domestic space. Set entirely inside a shopping centre, the film follows the interactions between two sisters; one anxious about her personal safety, the other concerned with the invisible threat of infection. The sterile atmosphere of the environment quickly becomes menacing as the women’s personal safety systems begin to fail.

The Case

The Case investigates how crime fiction preys and perpetuates anxiety in a culture of fear whilst being a constant source of entertainment within popular culture. The Case examines the fine line between justified safety measures and peoples’ irrational fears for personal safety.

Bad News

Three strangers converge at a management training day focused upon Leadership, Accountability, and Empathy. Their task: fire a colleague. In the semi-improvisational piece BAD NEWS, three actors assume professional personas to engage with a (real) corporate actor-facilitator whom they have never met before. In the film - as in real life, behind closed doors - applied theatre techniques originally designed to give individuals and communities a sense of agency are redirected to serve HR.