Peter

Peter recounts the meeting between protagonist and filmmaker through the observation of pleasurable self-surrender, as well as beforehand and afterward. How does the presence of the camera between one’s own four walls influence the feeling of one’s own sensuality?  

Before he starts masturbating, Peter sits in front of his laptop, scrolling with divided attention. “What do you want from me?” he asks, his face turned towards the screen, as Jan Soldat’s silhouette becomes visible in a reflection on the glass of a picture frame. The question refers to their pre-production meeting: nipple play, undressing in front of the mirror. Peter sighs loudly, as if he had to do housework, closes his laptop, and stands at attention. First, the furniture is rearranged while the camera waits on its tripod. Then it starts: the second beginning of the film. Is the walk from the bathroom to the front hallway already part of the official private performance? Certainly, the moments afterward are, when he strokes his nipples with his eyes closed and the next static shot moves closer to the protagonist’s face. Peter handles sex toys and indulges in the physical and sensory fascinations. The short montage isn’t about reaching an orgiastic or narrative climax, but about Peter’s encounter with himself. “The fact that you were watching meant something. But I wasn’t doing it for you," he summarizes, back in a T-shirt, jeans, and with his hearing aid in front of the kitchen counter – visibly more lively than before. Peter has surprised himself: the feeling of shame was absent. Living out his own sexuality in front of the camera: a positive experience. (Bianca Jasmina Rauch)

Translation: John Wojtowicz