This fragmented film deals with themes such as addiction, escapism, and social failure.
At the center of the film are two figures: an animated unicorn that gradually mutilates itself in order to obtain a fictional substance, and the “Atze”, who moves through music video sequences, TikTok clips, and live-action footage. While the unicorn increasingly loses control over itself, the Atze navigates spaces of distraction, escapism, and self-staging.

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A humorous techno track, TikTok dances, and visual overstimulation stand in strong contrast to the growing darkness of the animated sequences. The text-on-screen elements repeatedly interrupt the film and confront the audience by posing questions about perception and social responsibility.

Towards the end of the film, the unicorn and the Atze encounter each other—without it ever becoming clear whether they were separate to begin with.

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In this film, I play with the audience’s tendency to distract itself and to passively consume images, and I invite viewers to position themselves in relation to what they are seeing. In the process, either the audience will fail in its moral expectations, or the film will fail in its expectations of the audience. Personally, I hope it is the film that fails.

Franziskus Bries​