How to be a perfect human is a short documentary essay using choreographed body language to visualize collected experiences from the covid19 lockdown. Through the main character the film depicts how the covid19 restrictions have affected our daily routines, such as how to wash our hands, sanitize personal items and what to wear, as well as how we relate to others in private and public spaces.

Inspired by Jørgen Leth’s sociological approach in the short film The Perfect Human (1967), the film questions how and what it means to be a perfect human in the uncertain times of a pandemic.

DIRECTORS’ NOTE:

The idea, concept and direction of the film is made by us as an artist duo. I, Maia Elisabeth Sørensen (Denmark) am a choreographer and dance filmmaker with experience in dance films, art installations and documentaries. Kristina Daurova (Russia) is a documentary and dance filmmaker. Since we both have similar backgrounds and fields of interest we’ve decided to join forces in a new research connected to covid-19 in order to reflect through a cinematographic frame on the current situation we are living in and how it influences our bodies. 
Our artistic interest concerns the study of movement: the daily routines gestures, typical movements that can characterize an individual, body language etc. And the fact is that the current situation around covid-19 has already influenced our daily movement. The way our bodies get used to the new regulations, how the regulations quickly adjust our daily routines and how we relate to others grab our attention as artists.

With the reference to Jørgen Leth’s short film The Perfect Human we are questioning, how and what it means to be a perfect human now? And the biggest inner question is of course will we ever go back to ‘normal life’? We assume the answers will come only after a few years.
The topic of the film is universal. As we all are facing the same reality at the moment. Everyone has to follow the recently introduced protocol of social behavior in order to survive, stay healthy and protect each other. During our research, which has been done during the lockdown in Amsterdam (March-May 2020), we’ve been interviewing people in the countries with strict lockdown (Switzerland, Russia, Denmark, Austria, USA), collecting our own experience in order to build the narrative of the film in a way that stays close to reality.