A Sense of Warmth

In A Sense of Warmth the invisible protagonist Mindy tells us her story—the insecurities and disillusionment of a 33-year old that yearns for "meaningfulness" to escape the exploitative digital working environment. Her flight to take a job on an island in a sustainable ornithologist community that observes migratory birds comes as a liberation with a cruel twist. On the visual level we just see how different birds are freed from nets and get ringed. These recordings could also have been taken from an educational ornithological film—if the sun did not shine so seductively.

Johne's work is a film of subtly complex nature bringing together the experience of today's escapist generation and the poetic reflection on coming to terms with the haunting legacy of the former GDR (East Germany), in which Johne had grown up.

Mindy's journey becomes a metaphor of a utopic quest for an "authentic life." Her intimate and haunting account reveals an experience that transforms from the idyllic to apocalyptic, balancing between the multiple levels of reality.