On Falling

Aurora, a young Portuguese migrant worker, tries to find support and dignity in her monotonous, inhuman job in a Scottish distribution center. With a continuously beeping scanner, she crosses the endless hallways, lit by fluorescent light, haunted by unannounced drug tests, impossible quota and patronizing supervisors. She mainly stands alone, until she sometimes finds warmth in unexpected contacts with colleagues and roommates, who are migrants like her. It’s not only about the work routine, but also about the urge for real closeness.

ON FALLING exposes the suffocating rhythm of a system in which algorithms dictate the tempo and dreams have no place. Still, there are signs of humanity: little moments of happiness and a stubborn hope for a way out. A humane look on a job that slowly sucks you dry.

Director Laura Carreira, a Portuguese filmmaker in Edinburgh, delivers with ON FALLING her feature film debut. The film was produced by Sixteen Films, the production company of Ken Loach, and won the Silver Shell for Best Directing in San Sebastían. After screenings at TIFF and recognition in London and San Sebastían, Carreira positions herself as a sharp, empathic new voice in the tradition of British labour film. Joana Santos contributes to the film with a subdued, spot-on and heartbreaking performance.

The comparison with Loach’s SORRY WE MISSED YOU obtrudes: both films show the human expense of the comfort we take for granted. Carreira makes it tangible and intimate — less pamflet, more skin: you feel the fatigue, the silence and the need for contact.