Film still from “Der Schatten” by Tina Bikic showing a dancer in motion, wearing a white mask and costume.

Film still from “Der Schatten” by Tina Bikic showing a dancer standing upright with a mask, body partially illuminated.

Der Schatten (2021, HD Video, 5'51")

Language: English

A poetical digital story by Tina Bikic

Credits

Filmed, Written, Narrated and Edited by Tina Bikic

Cast

In the role of narrator's double

Chiara Ameglio

Choreography

From the dance piece Ave Monstrum by Chiara Ameglio

Sound design

Diego Dioguardi, Chiara Ameglio

Costume design

Marco Bonadei, Chiara Ameglio

Lighting design

Roberta Faiolo

Music

Franz Schubert, Der Wanderer (D.489)

Producer

Mediagrammi e.V.

Space

Filmed at: Ufer Studios, Berlin

Co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.

DER SCHATTEN

ABOUT

About

Der Schatten is a poetical digital story that explores the overcoming of the shadow through the dual perspective of a poetic narrator and a character shaped through movement. The concept of the shadow is based on the psychological theory of Carl Gustav Jung, according to which the shadow represents the repressed, unconscious part of the personality, those aspects of ourselves we do not accept or do not wish to see. Accepting the shadow does not mean identifying with it, but rather becoming more whole through awareness and integration of these unconscious contents.

Methods

In Der Schatten, I focus on the inner process of confronting the shadow. The dance performance functions not as choreography for display but as a metaphor for inner work, a shadow play in motion. Through movement, the character becomes a poetic embodiment of a psychological state. Interpreted through dance, she is not a dancer per se, but a projection or extension of the narrator.

The very structure of the film reflects the narrator’s split voice and inner conflict. This is where the shadow work begins and where the story finds its shape, through a divided voice: the voice of the character and the voice of the shadow. The narrator thus becomes voice and thought, while the character signifies movement and action. The film introduces a vocal duality, where the narrator participates in an inner dialogue between what is spoken and what is felt. These two narrative layers were constructed in the editing process, revealing an internal conversation between the desire for purity, a kind of human ideal of perfection, and the acceptance of the shadow as an integral part of the self.

Reflection

In the context of this poetic work, the shadow becomes a space for inner dialogue and transformation. In Der Schatten, movement not only illustrates narrator's voice but also it argues with it, contradicts it, and reveals it. Through movement, the character attempts what narrator's voice struggles to express: to face the shadow and overcome it. This duality became the central structure of the film. Both narrator and her double are entangled in tones, tensions, and voices, ultimately witnessing how the shadow transformed into a pure image within the space of imagination.

2.3 Non-linear narratives

2.5 Poetics of space: Constructing imaginary worlds on the screen

2.8 Tone, music and atmosphere

2.9 Rhythm: Writing, narrating, editing