Tricks for gold is a body of research that was originally developed by dancer and performer Frida Giulia Franceschini into a stage piece and premiered in Berlin in 2020. Franceschini set out to research the spectacular aspects of stage magic and erotic performances, specifically looking at camming. In the film adaptation, Franceschini and Vitelli develop the research by looking at online streaming and the way forms of performance and storytelling emerge in relation to these late-capitalist technologies and their users. The film voyeuristically scrolls through a series of fictionalized “streaming rooms”, rendered through the abstracted aesthetics of the twilight microcosms found in online platforms such as gaming and camming sites. Jumping from one room to the next we listen to the protagonist tell her story, a dreamy and scattered chronicle of a life spent online for the sake of money, and her plan to escape what she calls “the stream”.
Idea, Direction, Performance: Frida Giulia Franceschini
Idea, Direction, Music: Sophie Vitelli
Costume Design: Lea Kieffer
CGI Design: Karl Hedin
Lighting Design: Emilio Cordera Checa
Voice: Dani Brown
Mix and Mastering: Saintpid Studios
Production Assistance: Amanda Martikainen, Sandra Reitmayer
This work was made possible with the support of New Start Kultur, NPN- Nationale Performance Netz, Minister of State for Culture and Media (Germany) and Callie's Berlin.