Unrest tells the story of a young watchmaker, Josephine, working in a factory in 19th-century Switzerland. Her work focuses on creating the unrest, or the balance wheel that oscillates inside the heart of a mechanical watch. 

What evolves is a growing labor collective, organizing workers and raising funds for strikes where she meets Russian traveler Pyotr Kropotkin, who would eventually become an anarchist and philosopher.

Schäublin’s geometric, perfectly balanced visuals reinforce the singularly contemplative nature of his project: this is a film about time – its tyranny as well as its comforts – and how it impacts our work, our pleasures, and the processes that shape history. New York, Toronto and Berlin Film Festivals (Best Director Award). In Swiss-German, French and Russian with English subtitles.  

“Critic’s Pick! A marvelously crisp film that restores this moment of historic upheaval to immediacy.”  –Amy Nicholson, The New York Times