1 A satirical documentary parable about Nothing, filmed over 8 years by 62 cinematographers in 70 countries, scored by cabaret grandmasters Pascal Comelade and the Tiger Lillies and narrated – in simple childlike verse – by Iggy Pop. “IN PRAISE of NOTHING” a whistleblowing documentary parable

(not exactly in prose) wherein Nothing tries to defend its cause.

Long visual intro foreshadowing scenes to come, intercut with ornamented silent-era intertitles, hereafter shown in italic brackets:

[One dAy, Nothing runs away from home, tired of being misunderstood.]

[It crosses 8 mountains and 8 seas...]

[... and arrives in our lost valley.]

Voiceover starts:

Finally, our first date; not sure if I came early or late.

I’ve got so much to tell you but I’m still wondering how; I don’t wanna suck up to you nor make you bow.

5 There has never been a less exciting time [Nothing is greeted by representatives of all sciences and faiths. to be behind a camera, on that I agree, They all try to trick it into a quick deal.]

so let’s set up this game a little bit differently... It’s ok, We will skip talking heads, expert analysis, I’m always one scene ahead in the play. special effects and cultural paralysis. They’re trying to explain life to me No classic twists, no money shots, in numbers and words; no side characters, no subplots; my bet is to show them No saving the world, no noble pretentions, they’re reasoning backwards. – just portraits of you and me in everyday situations – I do appreciate some of their methodology, And a few lines of comments but their motivations are funny, to frame the debate, and so is their mythology.

just to make sure Who created what? Who started first? that you will bite the bait. Who is right? Who is cursed?

Does it matter at all? Will anyone get reimbursed? [Nothing slides down a blank page and descends among us.] There’s already too much to read, too much to see – well beyond anyone’s lifetime capacity.

Who needs another theory? But who am I to say “I” or “we”? Another countdown to veracity? Am I really Nothing or just my ego’s mercenary? Meaning itself is hanging off a cliff, They say I can only be hinted at and never shown, its final demise is a matter of when, not if. unlike any other thing currently unknown. And if everything has been said already, But I am actually there in every shot, there’s no need to add much to this pile of debris. if you bother to find me. This will therefore be If you don’t, my first and last soliloquy. imagine that what you see is what I see.

Or just enjoy the scenery and let your mind roam freely.

And don’t worry, I certainly won’t take it personally.

6 7 [But Nothing bites the idea of an apple.] Your comedy then turns into tragedy and your reservoir of regrets spills over instantly.

Oblivion is indeed part of all things manly, It’s actually raining apples, for anyone to discover. but so is wisdom, to a certain degree. Learn to juggle with them, or run for cover. The choice is therefore yours to make – Knowledge is both the cure and cause of insanity, be a happy fool or a smart mistake. no wonder that it keeps confusing humanity. You can either have it simple and easy Spend your life learning or claim that you’ve chosen deliberately but remember things slightly; a life that’s meaningful Keep brushing your thoughts over one that’s happy. but apply them ever so bluntly I myself would split the winning recipe What a mistake to presume that at a good old rate of 80 to 20. people want to think, constantly and sustainably, One part is – wisdom, when fools the other – stupidity. are in absolute majority. Which one gets the 80 They live long and carefree, ignoring everything is only yours to decree. that’s not basic instinct or physiology.

How else could one endure so much injustice and uncertainty? [Nothing is filing its immigration papers.]

How else not to look boring at a party, trying to prove a point instead of dancing and fucking wildly? What should I keep from my old life? With such an unused brain inside a superbly functional body, What to take from the new? every human looks indeed like a dinosaur parody. Did anyone ever manage Ignorance is your natural default state, to reconcile these two? no matter how you try to justify it or decorate. A promise here, a wall there, But guess what? a spiteful glare, a compassionate stare... It too has an expiration date. Such a journey - At any moment in your bovine litany, and you still get nowhere. you can be struck by a sudden epiphany – 80% nostalgic, a revelation of how things are, 20% euphoric; how they could or should be.

8 9 The heart is urban, but that’s not because I’m cool. the soul bucolic. I was just destined to be Poignantly alcoholic, a different kind of fool. bitchily melancholic;

Kids adapt quick, elders go schizophrenic. [Nothing adjusts its belt.]

Love garlic, but can’t show it in public; I know I shouldn’t start my sentences with I, Have better solutions, and they warned me not to ask too much why, but gotta respect the traffic... but I think it’s nice to be an I who asks why - Better know in advance that there are little odds so I will try. that you’ll manage to combine the best of both worlds. I came from God knows where You’re more likely to turn cynical and grumpy but I too now want everything quickly. than to ever feel you belong to your new community. Can’t believe I’m losing my patience, Or else you’ll sacrifice what you are after being used to eternity. for an uncertain new life opportunity. Seems like I’ve caught But staying home is also not a solution, a typical local malady, it doesn’t really help in terms of evolution. some strange sense of entitlement The same goes for travelling, has gotten hold of me. back & forth, here & there - I suddenly feel I deserve more that’s only good for airmiles than I deserved previously and online vanity fair. and I get bothered so easily, So wherever you come from, even my brand new self-image is ashamed of me. wherever you go, I don’t flinch at global misery whatever you hide, but I get disturbed – significantly – whatever you show, by a stray bee zip your ego that invades my privacy. and keep your expectations low. By a fat person that dares I myself never hoped for the best, to walk in front of me. a good life and all the rest, By unsupervised children playing loudly.

10 11 By dishes that don’t wash themselves [We don’t – and Nothing starts to feel rather unwelcome.] instantly.

By a telephone that rings persistently. I feel stalked. I feel like a Stalker. By the size of my best friend’s salary. I wanted to help, but you are boycotting my offer. By the slightest awareness of my own hypocrisy... Confusion, depression, emptiness, delusion, obsession, loneliness... I don’t know how to deal with this, I hope that it’s just temporary. You are wrong to accuse me for every page in your psychiatric history. I almost wish that someone had warned me, Sorry, there’s no shortcut out of purgatory. but I guess that would have spoiled the wisdom of discovery. No V.I.P., no duty-free, no return policy, no money-back guarantee –

Just a few lucky stars [Nothing admits its knowledge of our world and your own personal gravity. used to be exactly opposite to ours.] Cruising altitude is a mirage, the battle rages on, whatever the paysage.

All I knew about love So don’t blame me when things get hard, was from letters that were never sent. all I am doing is letting you play in my backyard.

All I knew about faith And imagine all the rubbish was from scavenging leftovers of dissent. if the gold fish fulfilled your every wish?

All I knew about you Without my guidance through the Zone was from things that you didn’t do. where your dreams come true,

The words you never said. you would actually lose The books you never read. what you loved and knew.

The ideas you never picked up. Hopes should fade when they’re within reach The possibilities you never knew. and waves beware the beauty of the beach...

Now I see I have a lot to catch up. The less you expect, the more you will gain; Don’t you? The more you resist, the less you will complain.

12 13 And again: [The truth is that Nothing is just as confused as we are. but it does manage to grasp human nature.] The less you expect, the more you will gain; The more you resist, the less you will complain.

Take that Live a balanced depression, over your fatalistic disdain. consume your fate;

Do what you’re told to like, don’t be late; [Nothing is starting to get judgemental.] Blend your virtues and sins, insure your rise and fall;

I understand that it is hard to live, Hang on to your future either with or without opinions, and broadcast it all.

alone among billions, on a tiny star surrounded by trillions. [Yet Nothing remains sympathetic to our weaknesses, All your hopes of persisting and transcending and even adopts a few on its own.] end up in anti-climactic forgetting.

All your efforts to leave a mark become at best someone else’s spark. I like sweating; I like doubting; Realizing how small and insignificant you are cannot be compensated by the size of your car, I like cabaret; I like tabouleh; a big tab at the bar, a sexy avatar, I like worn out shoes; I like prison blues; a smashed guitar or one last cigar. I like rakiya, more than wine; All I know is that you are afraid, that your parking is paid, I like beauty;

that you want to get laid, Not necessarily great beauty, and that beyond this medium is fine.

your brain is marmalade. And I have only one thing to say to History:

The question is not how can there be poetry after holocausts,

14 15 but how can there be holocausts I think good and evil can’t exist without each other, after poetry?! and change, even small change,

is what keeps our minds and economies squirt. [Inspired, Nothing tries to adapt, but things don’t go so smoothly.] I have no future, no past, no friends and no money, but I’m paying for your virtues and your attempts to be funny.

I am great at managing time I slid into a lake which was perfectly quiet, and I can always jump in when someone forgets their line. but they kicked me out because all the lakes are now private. Team work is my specialty – I forged a bicycle path across a new scenery the greater the challenge, the more you can count on me. but I crashed miserably when I tried to do it hands free. I’m willing to relocate I decided to travel light much more than you can anticipate but I ran out of clean underwear the very first night. and I will outdate I endured pain in front of my buddies, even your youngest candidate. but the girl went for the one with more monies. I’m persistent, resistant, I reminded friends of things that were free, always available; but they turned each of them into a profitable industry. Malleable, sellable, I wanted to help people anonymously, never failable - but the cops shot at me. I even know how the world will end and... I tried to do everything everything else that you couldn’t have planned. and then something

and then anything [Deemed overqualified for any other work, but it’s hard to succeed Nothing tries cinema.] when you are Nothing.

And... non-action! [Yet Nothing feels too proud to go on welfare.] What’s happening?! I thought I prepared everything!

I think I am the ideal candidate for this job because... Single parents, puppies, handkerchief administrators; I feel like a contemporary of all the great minds in history and a resident of the most photogenic places on earth;

16 17 military technology I meditated for 62 years instead of camera operators... but not a tourist would tip.

Nipples, romance, I tried not to care about the competition; southern France; but ends-of-months made me flip.

Merchandise, popcorn, I shared all my possessions product implants... until the white men said stop,

Superheroes, role models, I empathized with nature, hybrid legends; but birds and bugs ate my crop.

Prequels, sequels, I lived up to what I believed in, bonus dividends... until I broke bad.

Transsexual pairs I spent all my life doing good, of current affairs; then I became mad.

Select-the-victim options for best audience shares – [For reasons not apprehendable to Man, What else would Nothing keeps talking in rhyme, all the time.] keep you thrilled?

Talking pulp as I kill or get killed? Not to be or to be? Where is the middle of absurdity? Reappearing, as a man, after a long 360-pan? If... is a space, why... is time. Printing the takeaway on your Coca-Cola can? When you are happy or dead, neither is worth a dime.

If pictures create memories, [No replies.] what does a surplus of pictures create?

The future of shopping will not be to buy, but to eliminate. I stole a tomato from a field in Italy and it still tasted like shit. When your kids want something more than a full stomach In prison I tamed an ant but nobody could see it. take away something they already have, then give it back.

18 19 The most elegant gesture of the human body Ok, I agree. is the act of refraining from action. Maybe it’s just me.

The most elegant gesture of the human mind Maybe I’m just a sarcastic old fuck is avoiding distraction. and life is as sweet as you would like it to be.

What do you mean – I shouldn’t talk, shouldn’t formalize? [Soon after, of course, Shouldn’t suggest answers, Nothing falls in love.] shouldn’t verbalize?

Words fail by default. Your information overload is certainly not my fault. Throw me a glove, cry me a dove,

earthly love Long sequence parodying slow cinema. is impossible love.

Particles and anti-particles keep cancelling each other, why would then men & women bother? Too easy. Can’t live with each other, Insist on any animal or tree can’t do without, and get philosophy? cool off Make any shot too lengthy or burn out. and get poetry? Your children will sell you for a faster telephone, Fit your screenplay on a napkin your parents for the right to be alone, and claim humility?! your partner for a new hormone.

Film simple people uncritically You like strawberry, and redeem modernity?? she likes quantumberry.

Fuck that, baby. She wants to marry, We’re beyond that. you want Tom & Jerry.

Maybe. Faithful or not, always an idiot.

The casting rarely matches the plot. More long, irresistible shots of trees, animals and noble savages.

20 21 [Promiscuity draws international attention. People would love to try your dream Americans spend a fortune trying to buy Nothing.] but only at their own steam.

Work to live, not live to work; press pause, smell the cork. “Listen, we know you’re right, but we can’t let you win. There’s nothing scary on a blank wall, nor in living life without a lucrative goal. Come work for us and become the ultimate sin. And talking about fear - you’re the ones who should play the main role. Our policy is simple: Decide & conquer. At the rate at which you suck everything in, you are this planet’s black hole. We don’t even hide it, we are raw power.

Your job will be to generate fear [Asians try to clone Nothing.] so that demand always beats supply at the end of the year.

In the meantime, we’ll bullet-proof the boutique, assimilate all critique, “Listen, you’re one of us and you’ve always been. spread freedom with our armed forces, trade entertainment for natural resources We were the first to treat you as our next of kin. and blackmail the world with paper value until the last patch of our lies becomes true.” Numbers always work out to our advantage, never mind our limited sleeping mileage. To this I replied with the following defence: We make up one half of the planet, just wait ‘til we all discover the internet. Thank you, dear friends, you are my favorite clients, We have 99 ideograms for Nothing and 69 holograms for vagina, even the Emperor’s new clothes are now Made in China. but in your Disneyland of the free, allow me to disagree - Let us mass-produce you with our 12D printers, with special pricing for early-bird hipsters. You are too fat to fit my glass menagerie. Too late now to erase the ego – now it must be pleased or face vertigo.” What you are imposing on your subjects is a wrong therapy – charging them for the placebo that is money. To this I replied with the following defence: Ok the pills and thrills and frills, but life shouldn’t be printed on fake dollar bills.

22 23 Thank you, numerous friends, [Arabs try to tame Nothing.] I owe you my licence.

I understand my position is central to your being “Listen, you know that we are right, no need to wait for the thousand and first night. but you know that on an absolute level I neither oppose nor support anything. We invented coffee, clean shave and algebra and even what would later become your camera. I appreciate the elegance of your calligraphy, the spirituality of your tea ceremony, We also saved the classical knowledge of Antiquity and gave prominent importance to the notion of virginity. the negative space in your painting, your meditations on the verge of fainting, We’ve been both cursed and blessed by nature, this always results in an unpredictable mixture. your practical tips about breathing, your casual flirting with non-being... There’s no money now that we cannot spend; our goal is to create life out of sand. But with all due respect to your might, Welcome to our big old-fashioned family, just because you can do everything you’ll be treated as our newest common luxury.” doesn’t mean that you are right. To this I replied What you need, I think, with the following defence: is to practice Kama Sutra Thank you, honorable friends, in a version that’s a bit more I admire your persistence. platonic. Conjure me from a lamp, Unite with the cosmos anytime you need my stamp. in any single pixel History has not treated you gently but sustain your lust but you are also stretching time vigorously. against every daily tickle. You gained my sympathy by surviving in harsh conditions, Learn to let go off your omnipotence; but kinda disappointed me with your current positions. take seriously your vow of balance. Feel free to advertise your alchemy, And if other powers want to make you sway, but don’t take anyone else’s for blasphemy. don’t worry: I don’t think you should impose your point of view, Bruce Lee is alive - neither upon the desert nor upon the likes of you. and he’s on his way. Everything is always relative when it comes to dress code; but eye contact should remain a legitimate communication mode.

24 25 People won’t accept fasting, unless you call it detox; Dozens of alleged winners and no proclaimed losers, promises of heaven are already clogging up their mailbox. seems like you’re jumping into very tight trousers.

I wish you happy existential battles I didn’t really get your proposal in your sand and gold castles. but I see your frustrations,

For anything else, God have mercy, futility should be the subject but the final bill of your next strikes and demonstrations. is on me. Condemned to be free but fearing the freedom of others;

[Europeans are still discussing what to do with Nothing.] imitating obnoxiously your enemies and mothers...

Your noble arrogance doesn’t do it for me; “Listen, let’s first agree only tourists can be fooled by your complex of superiority. that we need to set up a special committee. Each nation can be proud of fragments of its history, Such a critical development but none of its entirety, deserves outmost consideration, and even fewer should claim it requires the consent of our entire any monopoly on morality. dysfunctional confederation. Your reluctance to assimilate me We must establish a proper explanatory framework is in fact a key syndrome of your drudgery. for this question, Adopt me otherwise our policy will remain or become your own failed colony. just a vain suggestion.

In our view, you are lacking imperfection, but we can solve this with an ambiguous diplomatic [The rest of world is desperately cheering for Nothing.] formulation.

Our goal is that everyone feels they have gained something, but that we, of course, remain on top of everything.” “Listen, we have nothing to offer you, we just do what we are told to. To this I replied with the following defence: Paper-wall democracy and profits for the few, Thank you, old friends, they convince you grindingly that it’s good for you. cheers to your eloquence. Sometimes, if we are particularly good, You speak most fluently, they clean our files and gentrify our mood. but your verbal masturbation fails me.

26 27 They insist we’re not screwed Don’t even bother to challenge their prejudice, when they hybridize our food even acknowledging it would make you their accomplice.

and dismiss our proud beliefs Over time they will choose weaker nuts to crack, as a mere historical interlude. resist radically –

Deep inside we know and never turn back. we’re not so autistic,

but our reply to this is either agnostic or fatalistic. [A Russian poet then came to the edge of the world and spat at Nothing.] We feel that we know you and that we can trust you - please advise us, what should we do?”

To this I replied That was actually... nice, with the following stance: thanks twice.

Well, global friends, Now I see the power of your brand it is time to make amends. and that it is actually possible to make a stand.

Never mind the size of your shoes, Skip auditions, if you want to win, you must not lose. dodge tuitions;

If you don’t sacrifice yourself, Ignore definitions, no one will, praise intuitions;

kicking history between the legs Discard permissions, requires no special skill. shortcut ignitions;

We’re all intelligent in different ways, Invoke contradictions, embrace oppositions. there are infinite possibilities to get out of this maze. And do keep your receipts.

Defend your territory, One day I will really wash both mental and physical, all this scum off the streets.

all it takes is a few authentic, From now on, non-CIA heroes to set the example. every thought must be tight.

If that’s not exactly you, It will be 20 tautologies here’s what else you could do: and 30 euphemisms every night.

Don’t give them what they want to hear, Myth-busting for the shy & quiet; just ignore them when they come near. an instant new post-ideological diet.

28 29 A smart cold digital heart; [as usual, nothing's warnings get little attention.] empathy - only à la carte.

You’re talking to me? You’re talking to me?! Time is shrinking, the angels are drinking, Is it me you're talking to?? the Gods stopped playing punishment and crime.

[Here’s a Nothing that would not take it anymore.] Tom Waits is retiring, deadlines are expiring,

for no one God is very quick these days, the bells chime. but I too have my ways ~ No matter how you feel touché, No more shooting stars! all I say will one day be cliché. All dogs now chasing cars! No matter how sleazy, Reading material removed from toilets! we will always look up to the bourgeoisie. Mobile phones escaping your pockets! And the wind of the north, Middle buttons falling off your shirt! freezes my snort. Medical nurses forbidden to flirt! And the wind from the south, Sitcom catharses for midlife crises! blows sand in my mouth. Unsolvable online logical exercises! And the wind from the west, Parental sacrifice utterly ignored! failed the drug test. Altruism branded a weakness of the board! And the wind from the east, Passports stamped on the empty page! I caught but I missed. Cowardly castration when you feel the rage!

Pandemic narcissism - the new romantic chic! Free internet – with ads on every click! [Desperate, Nothing starts a blog on tactical pauses during sexual intercourse.] Death threats for attempts at corporate slack! A thousand Lamborghinis in heaven, if you report the attack!

No Little Prince will save you These were actually just notes from my diary, on this planet or the next, but someone took them very explicitly.

I will twist your best quotes ‘Curved geometry remains a mystery, and use them out of context. unless you study the matter a bit more deeply ~

30 31 The intensity of the celebration is directly proportional Getting filthy rich on apparitions of Nothing; to the period of abstinence and stimulation ~ coining notoriously: ‘Why something instead of... anything?’

The pauses between the notes is what earned me the most votes ~ [Despising itself more and more, Your preferences, they are like mine, Nothing tries at least to be useful.] I heard it through the grapevine ~

Me. You. Library. Now? Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!’ Indulgence is very cheap these days, but I’ve always preferred my own ways:

Recycling the energy of fallen enthusiasts; [But all it took for Nothing’s popularity to explode Licking the wounds of broken iconoclasts; was one explicit selfie.] Granting sinners essential silence; Nothing’s quintessential selfie shot. Fine-tuning your work-and-family balance;

Extending then shortening waiting times; Teaching people tricks for queuing in lines; [Success, though, comes at a price.] Making them lose what they would later find; Helping them see before they go blind;

Being famous and bitter is worse Discouraging kids from surplus toys; than becoming revolutionary litter. Abolishing logos and violent joys;

I got trapped in my own curse; Insuring talents against jury decisions; I kept bullshitting, but it filled my purse. Macheting the jungle to clear space for their visions;

Vomiting my rhymes, as the agents advised. Turning philosophical when people ask for direction; Enough now? - we got prized. Crisis-managing death to near-perfection;

Starring in docu-soaps about fallen prophets; Pointing inside your playboy gaze; baptizing galaxies, comets and rockets. enamoring you, without the self-praise;

Debating on glasses half-empty or full; Making you check twice before you click SEND; making graveyards epitomes of cool. Stopping movies 10 minutes before they end;

Giving silent motivational speeches; Mixing up price tags of riches and – bleaching sand on polluted beaches.

Claiming copyright on creativity in general, on zero and infinity and all things ephemeral.

32 33 [Too late. The industry has got Nothing by the balls.] A big day today, mathematics are finally swinging my way! Mocks journalistic questions: I have proven to myself that my opposite is possible, and that the two are actually compatible.

“Mr. Nothing! Everything and Nothing converge in a vanishing point, Mr. Nothing!” which is itself another starting point...

“Can you describe a perfectly empty room?” How’s that for a borderline checkpoint?! “Is old too old?” Philosophers, priests, scientists, astronauts, “Do you have a personal opinion I challenge you to a duel down in the footnotes. on top of the corporate one?” You ‘saved’ the world so many times it has grown immune, “You claim you came into being like everyone else - by love restoring it right is costing me a fortune. or misunderstanding. What did you mean by ‘love’?” If this will make your lives more bearable, “You refuse to answer where you are coming from and even I can officially proclaim that whether you exist at all. Can we call you an ‘ontological nationalist’?” quality passion “What do you think of the phrase: curiosity ‘We will sleep together one day, but not tonight?’” consciousness and chocolate crises “We’re making a festival of silence – will you come?” are NOT sustainable. “Could you confirm that there’s Nothing after death?” I will also stop subsidizing “Is cheap humor the biggest threat to humanity?” forgetting “Do you have a tattoo?” lying crying betting petting [At the height of its popularity, Nothing decides to step down.] fleeing

and any other ‘necessary being’.

Ho, ho, ho! I further renounce on the idea of my own contingency So, so, so! and on the contingency of reality itself.

It’s hunting season on the albatross - If you don’t know what that means, lucky you, Time for me to toss my cross! you’re one happy little self.

34 35 [Nothing is practicing its farewell speech.] Was this my or your biography?

I wish I could forget again what you know and re-learn what you don’t Thank you for your hospitality, ladies and gentlemen, but the fog of experience has blurred that battlefront. I have to go now, though I have no other plan. A perfect man is inefficient; A faulty Nothing is insufficient. I have learned so much from you over this weekend that I couldn’t have hoped for more, I see now that I don’t fit neither here nor there, nor for that matter – anywhere. please excuse me now, I have other worlds to explore. A baroque minimalist; a cynical optimist; More than anything, I will miss a gentle sadist; an approximate perfectionist – my first piss and our last kiss. pick any contradiction from the list...

That’s it now. If I have tried to run away from myself, I have failed. No-thing pho-ne ho-me. If I came to pose on your cross, I’m leaving you as I came, I never got nailed. without a big splash, But I have no regrets whatsoever taking with me a single thing and no further plan –unstained– for I have been both Nothing, and that is... and for awhile, a Man. and that is... I tried manhood, my moustache. now you try nothingness,

embrace it daily like a trendy new fitness. [But Nothing finds no home to go back to, so it pretends to have a few more things to say.]

Did I just dream that I am you or did you imagine that you are me?

36 37 [The takeaway, if any.] Understanding, finally, my epitaph and legacy:

STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF NOTHING Actually, there’s no real conclusion to what I had to say; AND EVERYTHING THAT COULD BE. It’s more about what went through your mind along the way. I’m not sure if there’s a Japanese word for this. I give you back now There probably must be. the mystery of life,

I’ll be fine with the angel’s share and my first wife. [Nothing gets so carried away that it doesn’t notice the majestic monument in its honor that we never built, with a caption that we And falling asleep in cinemas, never wrote:] on books and under trees;

Hypnotizing traffic cops into waiving your fees. [TO NOTHING, THE HUMAN RACE IN GRATITUDE.]

Helping bicycle passengers keep that smile on their face;

Making kids accelerate the last few steps to your embrace.

Adding echoes and reverbs to your inner gospel choirs;

Feeling nostalgic of Buenos Aires even in Buenos Aires.

Watching storms through the window of your eye; walking barefoot, learning how to cry.

And provoking life, in detail and in full; hiding in your pocket, like a Swiss-army tool.

Discarding warnings that principles are irresponsible; speaking in verse just to prove that it’s possible.

Indulging in art without trying to be smart,

Rhyming, for example, ‘fart’ and ‘fresh start’. © Boris Mitić, 2017

38 39 Written and directed by Boris Mitić

Narrated by Iggy Pop

Music by Pascal Comelade, The Tiger Lillies

Additional music Hang Massive, Anouar Brahem

Guest musicians Aimilia Varanaki – violin Ole Tholen – sax Justin Remfrey – double bass Timothy Remfrey – drums

Sound mix Ivan Uzelac, Martin Semenčić

Re-recording mixer Bruno Tarrière

Additional music mix Timm Brockmann

Filmed by Sebastian Alfie Mohammed Hashem Boris Poljak David Batty Miloš Jaćimović Maja Rašić Nedžad Begović Olivier Jourdain Ranajit Ray Attila Boa Goran Jović Francesco Scarel Roman Bondarchuk Talal Khoury Eugen Schlegel Dušan Brković Jessica Kingdon Rui Silveira Alicia Cano Justin Kramer Aleksey Solodunov Director's statement Rodolfo Castillo-Morales Niklas Kullstrom Andrijana Stojković “I wanted to make a cinematic equivalent to the Sorin Drăgoi Edmond Laccon Dmitriy Stoykov best satirical book ever, Erasmus’ 1513 humanistic Amlan Dutta Branko Lazić Katerina Suvorova classic “In Praise of Folly”, in which Folly goes Aleksandr Elkan Vitaly Mansky Oleksandr Techinski around the world arguing that it is smarter to be Eleftherios Fylaktos Zoran Marinović Riho Vastrik mad than to be smart, 500 years later, it is Nothing Eduard Georgadze Jovana Milanko Ana Maria Vijdea who gets the main role.” Michael Glawogger Boris Mitić Anna Zaboeva Siniša Glogoški Chris Moon Teco Wong Ed Godsell Lucian Muntean Marino Grgurev Chingiz Narynov

40 41 Filmed in Special thanks Albania, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia, Brazil, Orkhan Agazadeh, Isabel Arrate, Darya Averchenko, Predrag Bambić, Alice Bardan, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Louay Basha, Darya Bassel, Simone Baumann, Andrea Bellini, Gabor Bene, Khalil Ecuador, England, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Greece, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, Benkirane, Igor Bezinović, Lazar Bodroža, Attila Boltresz, Chris Bowman, Martichka India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kirghizstan, Bozhilova, Bernd Buder, Manuela Buono, Darija Buzaković, Jack & Soojin Cahill, Ximena Lebanon, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Caminos, Cesar Charlone, Alastair Cole, Danny Cudd, Marko Cvetković, Rita Czapo- Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Sweet, Gianmarco D’Agostino, Marie Débat, Olga Delane, Ally Derks, Nevena Desivojević, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Scotland, Serbia, Senegal, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, Tamara Djermanović, Olja Djukanović, Agron Domi, Lorenzo Esposito, Natalie Estève, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, Ukraine, Uruguay, USA Brand Ferro, Pablo Ferro, Nebojša Bogdanović, Milena Forero, Tina Funk, Johannes Gierlinger, Jenny Gil, Ingvil Giske, Andrea Glawogger, Gavrilo Glogovac, Régine Online brainstorming platform Gorgerat, Elisabeth Grand, Emmanuel Gras, Antonella Grieco, Alessandro Gropplero, Danko Zloporubović Abir Hashem, Igor Hashimi, Sonia Henrici, Andreas Heusser, Vladana Ilić, Torfinn Iversen, Peter Jaeger, Sami Jahnukainen, Vanja Jambrović, Nikola Janković, Martyn Editing Jacques, Boban Jevtić, Sophie Jolly, Vladimir Jovičić, Ziad Kalthoum, Bojan Kanjera, Boris Mitić Hanka Kastelicova, Elvira Kaurin, Nurit Kedar, Tibor Keser, Ali Khechen, Min-Chul Kim, James Kirby, Marcin Knyziak, Mladen Kovačević, Dejan Nikolaj Kraljačić, Alain Color grading Lahana, Sabine Lange, Charles Le Bas, Petr Lom, Aleksandar Ljubojević, Zoe Lukov, Théophile Rausch, Raphaël Frauenfelder, Tomislav Vujnović Nilotpal Majumdar, Maša Marković, Pier Marton, Alma Merabet, Henry McGroggan, Noé Mendelle, Nemanja Mosurović, Mitić/Trbojević, Ekta Mittal, Gry Mortensen, Irene Assistant director Nduta Kimuli, Marko Njegić, Florencio Nocetti, Maria Ochoa Sierra, Lt. Jody Ordeneaux, Vedran Senjanović Mads Østber-Wagner, Joseph Park, Jean Perret, Martina Petrović, Milena Z. Petrović, Mira Petrović, Ira Prica, Aleksandar Protić, Iva Radivojević, Nevena Radojević, Mona Production assistants Rai, Ognjen Rakčević, Sanja Ravlić, Régine Régal, Jon Reiss, Dario Ristić, Domagoj Marija Stojnić, Giulia Olivieri Rubić, Marina Russo, Sayantan Sarkar, Sophie Seashell, Petra Seliškar, Supriyo Sen, Hacienda Senjanović, Yulia Serdukova, Oliver Sertić, Rada Šešić, Elizabeth Sheldon, Co-producers Nebojša Slijepčević, Sylvie Smets, Matteo Solaro, Veronica Souto, Igor StankoviĆ, Miško Boris Mitić, Fabrizio Polpettini, Pierre Malachin Stevanović, Andrijana Stojković, Audrius Stonys, Nick Tarbitt, Martijn Te Pas, Jani Thiltges, Paul Thiltges, Séverine Thuet, Igor Toholj, Agnès Tricot, Xavière Tsaï, Mila Presented at Turajlić, Biljana Tutorov, Milan Tvrdišić, Nataša Urban, Milan Varadinović, Nenad Vasić, When East Meets West 2012 Harry Vaughn, Patrick Viret, Melanie De Vocht, Paola Vojnović, Dragan Von Petrović, IDF Project Market 2014 Mladen Vusurović, Katja Wildermuth, Monika Willi, Peter Wirthensohn, Beatrix Wood, ZagrebDoxPro 2015 Edward Yoo, Isabelle Zaborowski, Marija Završki, Idun Zillmann Pitching du Réel 2015 Last Stop Trieste 2017 (HBO Europe Award)

Poster art Produced by Dribbling Pictures (Belgrade), Anti-Absurd (Zagreb) & La Bête (Paris) Lovro Artuković, Tošo Borković, Alejandra Román co-production, in association with Arte FRANCE La Lucarne (Rasha Salti/Alex Szalat), RTS-SSR (Irène Challand), SVT (Emelie Persson), YLE (Sari Volanen), KRO-NCRV Libretto design (Laetitia Schoofs), TVC (Jordi Ambros), RTRS (Branko Lazić) Ovidiu Hrin, Alex Iliescu Supported by the Serbian Film Center, the Croatian Audiovisual Center, CNC, Technical facilities Creative Europe MEDIA Program, IDFA Bertha Fund, Procirep-Angoa, The Center of Kaldrma, Byzart, Danit Web (Belgrade), Vizije SFT, Dart Lab (Zagreb), Synopsis: Contemporary Art of Geneva, HEAD Genève and Faena Art (Timișoara), Studio 64 (Berlin), Elite Music Studio (Miami), Les Films du Périscope, Solo & co (Paris) www.nothing.exposed

42 43 “This is like something from the Renaissance or something.”

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