In this week’s video selection, C41 presents SISYPHE by SERVICES GÉNÉRAUX, an experimental short film that reflects on free will, repetition, and the architecture of control. Conceived as part of the Parisian studio’s annual personal project, an initiative that allows founders Antoine and Valentin to go beyond commissioned briefs, the film moves fluidly between visual art, fashion, and music to construct an austere and symbolic universe.

Inspired by the ancient Greek myth of Sisyphus, the man condemned to eternally roll a boulder uphill, SISYPHE revisits the story through a contemporary lens. The film echoes the existentialist philosophy of Albert Camus, who saw Sisyphus as a metaphor for modern existence. Here, the protagonist is not simply punished; he becomes a mirror of contemporary life, trapped in cycles of effort, ambition, and collapse.

The narrative structure follows Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, tracing a cyclical ascent from survival to self-realization. Each stage appears momentarily attainable before disintegrating, bringing the figure back to the beginning. The repetition appears both oppressive and hypnotic, questioning the possibility of constructing meaning within inevitability.

Para One’s music underscores the film’s meditative rhythm, composed in close dialogue with the editing. Craig Green’s costumes act as sculptural armatures: architectural forms that transform the body into a locus of resistance and moderation. Shot in Brittany, the film blends special effects and digital techniques to create a minimalist landscape suspended between past and future.

At its core, SISYPHE questions autonomy, even addressing the choice of one’s own death as a radical assertion of control. “SISYPHE isn’t about punishment or failure,” explains co-director Antoine. “It’s about control.”

To celebrate the release, Services Généraux will host intimate viewing parties in New York and Paris, inviting audiences to engage with repetition, and perhaps, reclaim it as an act of will.