This week’s edition of Small Films is dedicated to Swiss director Jela Hasler’s On Solid Ground. For 12 minutes, we follow Eli, a lonely young woman trying to get through a hot summer day in the city despite being affected by what seems trivial to us. It’s about a woman who can’t take any microaggression or patronizing gesture. She’ll try to get out of the perturbing city, but it could get worse on her way out.
This short film starts with a peaceful view of the river underwater and ends with a pissed-off song from the Swiss punk band Pest Control. It’s a visual and sonic expression of how she feels throughout the day. It is a transgressive take on a woman dealing with chauvinism all day. The brilliance of this film is also in the more subtle details and hints that it gives you about the character’s mental state.
Jela Hasler is a filmmaker with a documentary and experimental cinema background. Her work has been featured at festivals like Locarno, IDFA, Hot Docs, etc. Über Wassler (On Solid Ground) is her first fictional film and was premiered at Semaine de la Critique Cannes 2021. Les Nouvelles Eves was released the same year. A film she co-directed with 5 more women. I don’t doubt it would add context to On Solid Ground and one day will be easily accessible for us in America.
In the meantime, show this to every sexist dude you know so they can see how much of a pain in the ass they are. You can see it by clicking here.
