Vita Activa, the short film

A short film about time, work, and the art of sharing

Vita Activa follows ten people who have never met before as they take part in a five-day workshop at STUK, organized by the dance company Hiatus. Coming from different generations and diverse backgrounds, the participants enter a shared space shaped by the choreographic practice of Daniel Linehan where time and being togheter becomes material to explore.

Through exercises drawn from Linehan’s dance research, the group reflects on how we work, rest, and connect. They build trust through motion, stillness, and conversation. Gradually, a sense of community takes root and evolves in a temporary ecosystem where each person offers something of themselves and receives something in return.

At the heart of the workshop lies a simple act of exchange: each participant gives one hour of their time to someone else and receives an hour from another. Gerda teaches Juliette how to bake sourdough bread in her wood-fired oven. In return, Gerda joins Eden for a sensory writing session and crafts a poem about grief. Sophie offers a shiatsu treatment to Ann, opening a quiet space of care and emotion. These encounters reveal how generosity, vulnerability, and shared creation can transform the way we value our time and our talents.

As the workshop unfolds, moments of reflection and experimentation intermingle. The participants slow down, observe, and reconsider what it means to spend time together. On the final day, they gather to exchange “speech deeds”: one-minute offerings in which they articulate what the experience has meant to them, to their lives, and to the world they inhabit.

movie still Vita Activa

movie still Vita Activa

movie still Vita Activa