Where She is At

Realized in 2001, this quiet and subtle drama focuses on a neglected open-air leisure center by the sea near Oslo, Norway. Part of a project designed for the benefit of the inhabitants of Oslo in the 1930s, (by Ole Lind Schistad and Eyvind Mostue in 1934), and one of the few remaining pieces of functionalist architecture in Oslo. In a sharp contrast to the ideals of the thirties about health and well being, the center was in 2001 under demolition order since the state was not willing to pay for its upkeep. Enhanced by its loop form, the narrative structure of the film centres on a hesitating young woman who ponders the act of whether to jump from the high diving board and on the minimal reactions of the other sunbathing visitors around. Public and private spheres are probed and intermingled by the camera’s intervention, turning the protagonist inward, along with the audience toward her own thoughts. Partly staged with actors, and partly interacting with the functions of the place, as well as with the people who today uses it, the film draws together the public concern of the baths’ fate and the inner struggle of the girl’s hesitation.