Tënk's opinion

The Alps. Nowadays there’s hardly a mountain left untouched: the whole region is covered by an almost invisible safety system. Well-camouflaged protective precautions against falling rocks and avalanches are there to ensure accessibility and habitability without fear. Concrete fortifications around isolated farms or sculptural curved walls on the slopes to secure a whole village look conspicuous and almost surreal.
"Safety123" captures these constructions and the work that’s usually done behind the scenes in breathtaking images. Silent sequences show impressively how multi-layered this safety system is: the landscape is ceaselessly surveyed and emergencies are simulated, whether in computer models, test facilities or large-scale disaster exercises. This observational documentary attentively follows the sometimes mysterious-looking activities to portray the human struggle against the forces of nature which are unstoppable despite precision technology.

Luc-Carolin Ziemann
Curator, author and film educator