»Thomas’s cat has died.«
»What, again?«

The group of people living together in Unit are a phlegmatic bunch. A clock is ticking, a half-eaten piece of toast with saveloy sausage lays on the table, and some show or other is playing on the TV. The highlight of the day seems to be when they eat together, where one of them reads out the weather report and the news in a monotonous drone: »Sea levels are rising a little faster every year. The increase could be more than double the current predictions by 2100…« Total apathy reigns, even when the group itself is at real risk.

Jury Statement
Anna Ansone’s short films are permeated by a leitmotif that makes her artistic vision clearly visible. Death and loss are the major themes that she resolutely explores. In doing so, she finds surprising images and unusual character constellations.
In Unit she provides a portrait of a strange group of people. She doesn’t need much dialogue to say the things that are essential. Ansone develops her surreal narrative strategy further in her next film, Till Death Do Us Part. She also proves her talent for humour in her graduation film Being Here. Her self-confident dramaturgy is evident from how she plays with time concepts, portrays location almost as a protagonist in its own right, and shows dead people simply assuming the form of the living. Her carefully crafted cinematography demonstrates a strong sense of rhythm and atmosphere.