Jakob arrives at the Institute Benjamenta (run by brother and sister Johannes and Lisa Benjamenta) to learn to become a servant. With seven other men, he studies under Lisa: absurd lessons of movement, drawing circles, and servility. He asks for a better room. No other students arrive and none leave for employment. Johannes is unhappy, imperious, and detached from the school's operation. Lisa is beautiful, at first tightly controlled, then on the verge of breakdown. There's a whiff of incest. Jakob is drawn to Lisa, and perhaps she to him. As winter sets in, she becomes catatonic. Things get worse; Johannes notes that all this has happened since Jakob came. Is there any cause and effect?
You can now watch Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life online on the following streaming providers in the United States.
| Directing | Stephen Quay | Director |
| Directing | Timothy Quay | Director |
| Writing | Stephen Quay | Writer |
| Writing | Timothy Quay | Writer |
| Writing | Alan Passes | Writer |
| Camera | Nicholas D. Knowland | Director of Photography |
| Editing | Larry Sider | Editor |
| Production | Irene Lamb | Casting |
| Art | Jennifer Kernke | Production Design |
| Art | Alison Riva | Art Direction |
| Costume & Make-Up | Nicky Gillibrand | Costume Design |
| Production | Gina Carter | Production Manager |
| Crew | Dave Crownshaw | Special Effects |
| Production | Karl Baumgartner | Producer |
| Production | Keith Griffiths | Producer |
| Production | Janine Marmot | Producer |
| Production | Katsue Tomiyama | Producer |
| Sound | Lech Jankowski | Original Music Composer |
| Directing | Weiser Quay | Co-Director |
| Costume & Make-Up | Caroline Clements | Makeup Artist |
| Costume & Make-Up | Suzie Zamit | Makeup Artist |
