The Human Hibernation

Erin awakes to find snow still on the ground. He has come out of hibernation too early. While trudging through the snowy forest in search of his sister, he succumbs to the freezing temperatures. The days grow longer; the snow gives way to mud. The others now wake from hibernation, resume their lives, clear the overgrowth from their homes. Now it is Carla who searches for her brother – to no avail. In this film, a world is explored – snuffling, groping – in which the spheres of humans and animals overlap. Something somnambulistic spreads amongst these occurrences between the zoomorphic and anthropomorphic. To come to terms with her loss, Carla begins to question her fellow human beings about their self-evident practice of winter hibernation and shared awaking in spring. Between meditation and science fiction, this atmospheric, striking debut film from Spanish media artist Anna Cornudella Castro achieves an almost wordless equilibrium between animals, plants, and humans – in individual relationships, family structures, and in society. The Human Hibernation activates all the senses of this world, be they oppressive and liberating.