Browse films

Demi-Demons

Martin Gerigk
Germany, 2024, 17 min.


Includes nudity.

AIFF Award Winner:
Best Experimental Short

Demi-Demons is an essay film about the contradictions of contemporary existence, which separate us from our natural instincts, opening abysses within us. The glorification of the hermaphrodite, the hedonism of virtual realities, the search for new levels of physical attraction and forms of higher consciousness, ambivalence towards sexual reproduction, these abysses embody the existential struggles inherent in navigating the terrain between instinct and enlightenment in a rapidly evolving world. Demi-Demons is made and animated from vintage photos and collages, creating a surreal and thought-provoking atmosphere.

Director's Statement

Demi-Demons is an experimental film essay exploring the abyss created when we stray from innate instincts. It examines the glorification of the hermaphrodite as a symbol of unity beyond gender binaries, reflecting both empowerment and confusion. As desire evolves, individuals challenge norms, embracing unconventional intimacy yet facing vulnerability. A quest for higher consciousness further detaches people from reality, while digital escapism blurs real and virtual pleasures. These shifts fuel ambivalence about parenthood, reshaping identity and relationships. Crafted from vintage photos and collages, Demi-Demons creates a surreal, thought-provoking atmosphere, questioning the consequences of distancing from human nature.

Category: Experimental, Festival Alum, Award Winner.

More in Experimental

  • Oblivara - Beauty to Oblivion

    Oblivara - Beauty to Oblivion

    Bart Santello
    United States, 2026, 8 min.

    Human memories trapped on 8mm film emulsion are subject the ravages of time, revealing the nature of life's impermanence and a recognition of mortality. In... more ›

  • Spheres

    Spheres

    Martin Gerigk
    Germany, 2026, 6 min.

    Spheres is an homage to life, a poetic essay that drifts through a series of expanding spheres, each revealing a different layer of our shared reality, from... more ›

  • Magdalena Hausen: Frozen Time

    Magdalena Hausen: Frozen Time

    Yannis Karpouzis
    Germany, 2025, 25 min.

    German photographer Magdalena Hausen crosses post-war political history of Europe in her quest to make a photograph of the wind. An experimental film about... more ›