Humanization by Giulio Musi Joins the Auteur Cinema Archive. A meditative, minimalist journey through grief, perception, and the fragile construction of reality.

The Auteur Cinema Archive proudly welcomes Humanization (Sweden) by Giulio Musi, a hauntingly introspective and visually arresting film that masterfully uses the language of slow cinema to explore the aftermath of trauma, the search for meaning, and the instability of perception.

Shot in stark black and white, Humanization follows Anna, a grieving mother numbed by the loss of her child. After surviving a suicide attempt, she wakes up in a nursing home where she drifts through an ambiguous reality, forming fragile connections with a nurse and a young boy. As she attempts to rebuild her sense of purpose, the boundary between reality and imagination becomes increasingly elusive.

Through deliberate pacing, minimalist dialogue, and a controlled aesthetic, Musi transforms absence into atmosphere. His subtle manipulation of space, sound, and silence pulls the viewer into Anna’s dissociative state, where grief morphs into surreal introspection. The result is a film that is as unsettling as it is hypnotic.

Curator Kris De Meester on the inclusion:

“Giulio Musi’s Humanization is a masterclass in atmosphere building through minimalist means. It embodies everything we value in slow cinema—restraint, stillness, and emotional depth. The grief is not shouted but whispered in every frame. This film doesn’t offer comfort; it offers contemplation. That’s what makes it so powerful.”

Echoing the works of Béla Tarr or Chantal Akerman, Humanization challenges the viewer to surrender to a slower rhythm of storytelling—one that prioritizes emotional resonance over exposition. It's a poetic inquiry into what it means to exist after loss, and whether constructed meanings are any less valid than objective truths.

With this addition, the Auteur Cinema Archive continues to celebrate bold, singular visions in contemporary auteur filmmaking—films that risk discomfort to deliver emotional and philosophical authenticity. Humanization is not just a film; it’s a quietly devastating experience.

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