THE BUBBLE

By Valerie BLANKENBYL

CATPICS - as PROD

Documentary - Completed 2021


Festivals
& Awards

Visions du Réel 2020
SWISS FILMS Previews
Visions du Réel 2021
Compétition Internationale Longs Métrages
Thessaloniki IFF 2021
International competition
DOC NYC 2021
International Competition
    • Year of production
    • 2021
    • Genres
    • Documentary
    • Countries
    • SWITZERLAND, AUSTRIA
    • Languages
    • ENGLISH
    • Budget
    • N/A
    • Duration
    • 91 mn
    • Director(s)
    • Valerie BLANKENBYL
    • Producer(s)
    • Dario SCHOCH (CATPICS)
    • Synopsis
    • 54 golf courses, 70 swimming pools, countless leisure facilities and clubs, however, only one children’s playground. If you take a closer look, “The Villages“ seem like one huge playground for the elderly–a Disneyland for 130,000 retirees. Happy Hour starts at 11 a.m. Belly dancing, synchronised swimming, or karaoke–the Silver Agers enjoy their retirement here. They say this place adds ten years to your life. “We know we live in a bubble,” says retired Toni with a smile, “but it’s a nice bubble.” Located in sun- ny Florida, “The Villages” is the world’s largest retirement community, where you are never reminded of how old you are. After all, when everybody is old, age doesn’t exist. There are no cemeteries that could disturb this impression, and when the ambulance arrives, the siren is turned off. With a clear eye, yet sensitively narrated, the film takes us to a utopian-looking resort community, in which not only everyone is the same age but also has the same mindset: mostly white and Trump supporting. Through magnif- icent images, this artificial world is set in contrast with the surrounding beautiful and wild nature, which is steadily displaced by the growing “villages”. A film that invites reflection on an increasingly divided society.