At the intersection of dystopian fiction, dark comedy, and slow cinema, Paradise follows the story of three workers for the company STYX, a company that predicts upcoming deaths, and then orders the swift and (usually) painless execution of individuals. The world in which the film takes place is one where work seems to govern every aspect of life, and workers seem completely defined by their jobs. Set in a beautiful, minimalist landscape, there are no cities, or even buildings, in this film—the story only follows vehicles: workers delivering packages, land surveyors, and the STYX employees seemingly driving through endless nothingness, endlessly waiting for an unknown event. 

When three STYX employees find out one of them will be exterminated in the upcoming week, they battle with their psyches to accept whoever’s death will come. A film about death, capitalism, and friendship, Paradise shines its lens on an interesting version of science fiction, less science than poetic theory on possible futures, individualism, and the human experience.

—Emily Eddy, Guest Festival Shorts Programmer, MdFF 2021

Content considerations: Depictions of violence

After the screening there will be a live virtual Q&A with tWriter/Director Immanuel Esser moderated by MdFF Artistic Director, Christy LeMaster.