SYNOPSIS

A 102 year old woman and a ghost become entwined with a mysterious stone that refuses to stay buried. As they trace its history, they uncover tales of possession, exorcism, and a priest’s failed attempts to silence its power. Through archival footage, documentary materials, and hypnotic imagery, Kontrewers unravels how the stone carries contested histories—of ownership, sovereignty, and gendered oppression. With each revelation, possession emerges not as a curse but as a means of resistance.

INTENTION

In Kontrewers I explore identity, generational trauma, and their representation. I’m particularly interested in the idea of possession—not just in supernatural terms, but as a broader metaphor for power and control. The Latin possessio (from potis—power, and sedere—to sit) suggests a paradoxical form of ownership and being owned. In this context, possession becomes a way to speak about the marginalized: those whose bodies, histories, and subjectivities are shaped by external forces, yet who also find agency in that state of flux. I see possession as a form of coexistence with the unknown and the repressed.

My process is rooted in queering archival and documentary practices—challenging how stories are told and whose voices are heard. In this film, my 102-year-old grandmother becomes a central figure. Her presence is a form of dialogue: with the past, with me, and with the legend of the possessed girl who seeks peace. Through this work, I try to create a space where contradictions coexist, and where the act of possession can become a form of resistance.