Discomfort and Corporeality: Documentary as Method in the Cinema of Ulrich Seidl

Authors

  • Thalita Cruz Bastos Cruz Bastos Universidade Anhembi Morumbi

Abstract

This article examines the filmography of Ulrich Seidl, highlighting documentary not only as a genre but as a method that blurs boundaries with fiction and enables the irruption of the real within his narratives. The body is a central element of his aesthetic and political practice, functioning as a surface where social, cultural, and historical tensions related to migration, religion, and sexuality in contemporary Europe are inscribed. Discomfort, a recurring mark in his work, operates as a critical strategy capable of mobilizing affects, stressing ethical limits, and provoking reflections on the hegemonic values of Western society. Thus, corporeality in Seidl’s cinema emerges as a space of resistance and a force for thought in contemporary filmmaking.

Published

2026-03-31

Issue

No. 39 (2026): O REAL COMO MÉTODO: DIÁLOGOS ENTRE O DOCUMENTÁRIO E A TEORIA DE CINEASTAS | La realidad como método: diálogos entre el documental y la Teoría de los cineastas | Reality as Method: Dialogues between Documentary and Filmmakers’ theory | La réalité comme méthode : dialogues entre théorie du documentaire et la Théorie des cinéastes

Section

DOSSIER TEMÁTICO | Dossier temático | Thematic dossier | Dossier thématique

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