Emilia Tapprest

Sonzai Zone is a speculative fiction film on intimacy and loneliness after the normalization of ambient communication media. An unlikely encounter between Yún and Souvd takes place in a near-future where social interactions are largely based on the mediation of human presence, known as ‘Sonzai-kan’. Shifting between XR games, Immersion Arcades and spatial home displays, their insidiously orchestrated relationship escalates into extreme idealization. Meanwhile, Souvd’s ex-girlfriend Ntzumi launches into undercover investigation.

Adina, the main character of the series, struggles with the fear that his life is prescribed to mechanically repeat the same patterns over and over again, with an identical succession of hopes, fears, mistakes and redemptions. Is it possible to awaken from this form of sleepwalking and have agency over one’s internal time?