All Inclusive is in a sense a small short film: a ten-minute short observational study of mass tourism aboard a so-called all-inclusive cruise ship, without dialogue. Director Corina Schwingruber Ilić and photographer Nikola Ilić capture life on the gigantic boat in more or less static tableaux, while the sound consists of the music played in the various situations, or the hum of the hordes enjoying their holiday.
The film shows the tourists as they sunbathe on the deck, eat from the buffets, view the spectacular stage shows, and dance at the disco. There is of course also entertainment and activities provided for the children. Gender stereotypically, a sequence shows all the young boys dressed up as captains, followed by the girls wearing princess costumes. In one of the few scenes that do not include tightly packed groups of people, we witness a couple being portrayed by the boat’s photographer in a Titanic-like setting, presumably more inspired by the romantic side of James Cameron’s film than by the historical ship’s encounter with the iceberg.
Crowded holiday life
All Inclusive is a humorous and slightly absurd depiction of a form of mass tourism where the experience of staying at the floating hotel is the goal in itself, not the destination of the journey. At the same time, the film is a sharp and precise commentary on our time’s mass consumption and entertainment, with the crowded holiday life as a compressed image of society as a whole. Everyone is supposed to take part in the luxurious life – even though it may very well steer towards the iceberg, on a more metaphorical level.
All Inclusive has been shown at a number of festivals, including #IDFA, #Viennale and Message to Man festival in St. Petersburg.
Translated from the original via NY TID
