The room is a choreographer of sorts. It creates basic frameworks for how we move. In the visual experiment, that is the film Weightless, architecture has taken on an even bigger role, the one of the director.  Two dancers using the floors of a set are working under its tough constraints, but are also left with new breathtaking possibilities of movement. The film is telling a tale of how easily the eye can be deceived and of how important the movement of the body is to the way we percieve our surroundings.  But ”Weightless” is also a tale about the longing of breaking free from a force that will always keep our movements caged, the relentless force of gravity. The set in ”Weightless” is split in two, depicting the everyday environments of the living room and the bedroom.  Two polarities speaking of public and private, awake and asleep, constraint and release. Erika Janunger

The artists’ film ”Weightless” was made in 2007 by Erika Janunger, who plays multiple roles as director, art director, songwriter and lyricist.

This subtle,intelligent film made in 2007 makes a powerful statement on the relationship between our bodies and our modern physical environments. … with an all-female cast, and a sultry female vocal score, it is a visual fusion of the organic (flesh and body) and the inorganic (furniture, fixtures and bedding). A play on the senses, the set is cleverly designed so that what appears to be vertical is actually horizontal. The viewer is baffled by the performers’ seemingly effortless defiance of gravity.

Filmed within the confines of four walls that alternately serve as living room and bedroom, everyday items like lamps, blankets and chairs are turned into a magician’s arsenal of props that, combined with skilful editing and brilliant movement, create a masterful illusion. What makes this illusion so compelling is that it is not an illusion at all but only a tilted camera, a carefully lit and designed set, along with divinely inspired movement – nothing short of real magic – that makes this film so special. Dancers Malin Stattin and Tula Lundkvist move with the skill of athletes and the buoyancy of astronauts. A tour de force for the talented Erika Janunger, who plays multiple roles as director, art director, songwriter and lyricist.
Text by Shantal Parris Riley, Dance on Camera Journal, May 2009