IN PRODUCTION

I AM NOT MY BODY / IK BEN MIJN LICHAAM NIET

The idea for I Am Not My Body emerged when filmmaker Vanesa Abajo Pérez created a short film about her aunt, who had suddenly become terminally ill. She filmed her aunt's house and immortalised her through a poem her aunt wrote. This creative collaboration helped them both to deal with the situation of grief. The film was a success at festivals internationally, and Vanesa realised that a wider audience of ill people could benefit from a project like this. She then decided to develop a similar project on a larger scale.

I Am Not My Body is a multimedia documentary that portrays life-threateningly ill people and immortalises them in their surrounding reality. The core question of this film poem is whether we are able to let go of the classic story about death to create an innovative, more meaningful narrative. The project blurs the dividing line between life and death and approaches the threat of approaching death as a surrealistic experience.

The project consists of several parts that together tell a larger story but also stand on their own: a documentary, a physical/digital installation, and a digital poetry book. The project was first presented and exhibited in 2021 at the Dutch Funeral Museum Tot Zover in Amsterdam. It was also featured during Documenta Fifteen at the Museum für Sepulkralkultur in Kassel in 2022, at Schlosstheater Moers in 2023, and at Niederrheinisches Freilichtmuseum in 2024. The poetry book, the final piece of the project, is scheduled for release in September 2025.

Partners
Stichting DOEN
Amsterdam Fund for the Arts
Dutch Foundation for Literature
Mediafonds
Stimuleringsfons Rouw
Bardo Hopsice
Studio WZZZT
Mooie Dingen
The Ninth Continent
Ingeborg Douwes centrum