Notes from Brussels - English subtitled
Documentary about three ambitious women in different stages of their lives who pursue their European dream whilst facing the high work pressure of the Brussels institutions.
NOTES FROM BRUSSELS follows three women working behind the scenes of European politics: a young French political assistant in the European Parliament, a Polish trade journalist and a German top EU official. Just like the film’s director and narrator the women moved to Brussels at the onset of their careers, longing to contribute to Europe. But whereas the director left this setting after a burnout, these women stayed.
Filmed between 2017 and 2021, we experience how time in the Brussels bubble impacts the women’s lives. As they internalize a European mindset and adapt to the intense work rhythm, we wonder: to what extent can the women heed their inner voice calling them to slow down and to not estrange from their roots? Along the way the director realizes how she herself has become an outsider to this world she once belonged to. She recognizes elements in the women’s struggles that in her case triggered her to go over the edge in sleepless nights.
The women’s stories are set against the background of rising Euroscepticism in France; Poland drifting away from the European ideals and the lingering EU migration crisis. As a result, the documentary also reminds us how our European values are threatened by the rise of authoritarianism and how fragile European cooperation sometimes is, themes that take on a new significance in the light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.