In a world filled with hissing pipes, fluorescent lights, and swarming shrimp, Theo finds solace in the silence of a laboratory. As a shrimp breeder with a vivid imagination, she prefers the company of animals over people. But when she and her colleagues begin rehearsing speeches for an international conference about a violent technique that turns female shrimp into blind reproduction machines, her carefully constructed inner world begins to unravel. While taking care of her sister’s child, Theo starts to question her own place within the systems that surround her. Maturation Station is a feminist, absurdist short film about the fluid boundary between work and private life, care and reproduction.

CREDITS

Cast: Karlijn Sileghem, Melissa Mabesoone, Lou Vanrafelghem, Arend Pinoy, Aminata Demba, Elien Ronse, Seppe Decubber

Written & Directed by Melissa Mabesoone Cinematography: Anaïs Charbeur Image editing: Inneke Van Waeyenberghe & Melissa Mabesoone Sound recording: Nina de Vroome Light: Jonathan Illegems Sound design: weheardifferent , Thomas Loos Music: Benne Dousselaere & Melissa Mabesoone Musical score: Benne Dousselaere Color grading: Lennert De Taeye

Produced by Melissa Mabesoone & au bureau

With the support of: Netwerk Aalst, Kunstencentrum Buda, workspacebrussels, STUK, de Vlaamse Overheid, Apap Feminist Futures - a project co-funded by the European Union, Sabam

Special thanks to: de Brakke Grond, BLUEGent

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