Study Of A Fight

2022. Documentary. 15 min

Premiered at CPH:DOX 2022

Part of The New York Times Op-Docs series 2023

Two lovers are asked to repeat the same argument over and over. Will revisiting the same words reveal a new meaning? 

A couple - both professional actors - explore some of their own relationship conflicts through a scripted scene. In the scene they bicker over a trivial issue, but like in any couples’ argument there is an underlying negotiation about their future together. How they act and react could either bring them closer or widen the divide between them.  

Couples often return to the same arguments. By exploring the argument as a scene, the actors are allowed to express the same words repeatedly, while tweaking their intentionality, aggressiveness or compassion. In between takes, a space is created for the couple to reflect on their own conflicts and argumentative habits, without being in the heated emotions of an actual fight.

Based on the director’s own experiences with relationships, this film is a study of a man and a woman in a verbal fight. It asks whether a fight is only destructive, or if it can lead to a new understanding. The film hopes to offer perspective on what a fight consists of, how to break our patterns and, above all, how to see interpersonal conflicts in a more honest light.

Shot on set at Teaterøen, Copenhagen.

Made with support from Filmworkshop KBH & Blankbåndsmidlerne.