Synopsis

T as Tennis shows two people playing tennis on an abandoned school yard in Berlin. As the playing almost effortlessly evolves, the viewer takes part in an metaphorical conversation on collaboration and alternative usages of the city.

Tennis was the linguistic association that French philosopher Gilles Deleuze and his interlocutor Claire Parnet made with the letter T. This film, too, is a conversation—or an abstraction of one—and, alongside it, a brief treatise on film itself, which naturally depicts a tennis match until the observer—and cameraman—enters the frame, the camera then pans back to one of the players, until it returns to the familiar normal perspective. The city is Berlin, with its now-often-depicted wastelands. The film explores the potential practical value of this city, its usability against itself. But as with old documentaries, this city no longer exists.

On the difference between exchange value and use valueils

The use value is the potential usability of a thing. It can vary between individuals and depends on the user. Thus, the use value of a cigarette for a smoker and a non smoker is very different. The exchange value is the equivalent of the price on the market. If the total exchange value of a thing collapses, such as of a city, its land and houses, although it has no value on the market, there nevertheless remains its use value.