Asking questions about faith, death, surrender and loss, The Listening is built around Maria Rossiwall, a 23-year-old woman who decided to heal herself from Tuberculosis through the practice of Christian Science. Combing through old stills and footage of Maria, the filmmaker tries desperately to re-animate her image.
The Listening is structured by the six bardos states (stages of life and death), described by the Tibetan Book of the Dead. The Word 'bardo' is translated as the in-between; and the piece rests and moves in a state of in-between.
The Listening is about possibility, as numerous identities and storylines are proposed to make sense of Maria's death. Using rhythmic, prayer-like and repetitive structures, The Listening takes its viewers through a search and a mourning process.