15 years and no answer

"Somehow human" is how the male protagonist describes his dream of an official life, with "normal work" and a "normal home." He now lives (and probably has for several years) in a small, sparsely furnished room, most likely in a home for refugees, and is not allowed to work or move freely. He tells of the awkward feeling, the "embarrassing" situation of not being able to decide anything for himself, living with the uncertainty of an unsecured residency status and having to wait. The title reveals that this waiting has already gone on for fifteen years, a scandalous example of the failure of the Austrian asylum administration.
The tightness and poignancy of the video underscores the story´s personal, and in part intimate perspective. We hear the voice of the narrator—who speaks, incidentally, the best Austrian German—traffic noise, and set acoustic pieces from the group home. We see various close-ups of the room, including a few private items, such as yellowed family photos; narrow corridors, barred windows, and some views. These are of railway grounds, train tracks, hence, images that (could) represent movement, progress, and transit. The sound and picture levels synchronize again and again, are linked uncomfortably, directly, and indirectly: The restricting shots of the young asylum seeker´s living environment correspond with the permanent fear of deportation and biographic standstill of which he speaks. After fifteen years of torturous waiting, there is no tolerance for, or understanding of this situation. Remaining are the simplest, smallest, and most normal wishes: those of a life worthy of a human, an existence. (Eva Simmler)
Translation: Lisa Rosenblatt