unit9 presents Sufferrosa, an experimental, interactive web-based movie, combining video, literature, music and the web. A satire of beauty in modern times, looking at what happens when plastic surgery isn’t enough.
The genesis of Sufferrosa occurred much earlier than the production. Marcinkowski developed the idea in his Warsaw kitchen, late in 2000; at the time, he was directing music videos. His intention was to provide a massive, interactive construction that was akin to a cinematic experience. It was not until later in the decade that the delivery technology could catch up with what Marcinkowski wanted to achieve. It wasn't until the early 2000s when Flash became a springboard for online creativity, that Marcinkowski could see how Sufferrosa could be executed. "Suddenly, I saw the first Flash-driven websites: the link between interactivity and the moving image and sound... I was totally amazed. These were simple ideas, but the creativity was so fresh, so brilliant."
The satire on this era’s obsession with youth, Sufferosa – Who is Rosa von Braun? ends differently in each cinema screening. Polish director, writer, editor and designer Dawid Marcinkowski (also part of London’s unit9) has given many live performances at film festivals. The interactive film noir inspired by J.L. Godard’s Alphaville, offers twenty locations, 110 scenes, 25 characters and three alternate endings.
The interactive version of this neo-noir story about beauty, ageing and death works on 4 levels. Viewers act as detective and use a map of characters’ location—including oneself (the detective). Progression of the story is clearly indicated by a pointer-scale of each scene, highlighted by a key word. Additional ‘on-location’ information is also clickable. But upon trying to go back to a previous scene, that scene is no longer the same and consists of a different structure and key words. The mixed media in Sufferosa include video, animation, literature and music (Sonic Youth, et al.).
