A waiting hall in Belfast, a deserted village in Syria, an old factory in Immenhausen: places are not only markers on the map, but also coordinates of memory. This is where stories of life and moments of upheaval, farewell and new beginnings come together. In the search for historical events and their traces in the present, we see a roller-skate ride in Tiananmen Square, a picnic on the European border and a trip to New York under the omen of the pandemic: each place of remembrance is political and personal at the same time.
A drive through abandoned fields and empty streets, through a village without people. What happens with their memories when nobody is left to remember? A cinematic essay about the aftermath of war, the standstill of time and the traces of life.… >>>
A trip to New York in February 2020, a few weeks before the borders were closed. The director documents her exploratory tour through the streets of the metropolis with a Super 8 camera. What is to come is already casting its shadows, manifesting itself in the coarse-grained images and revealing the ruptures in society.… >>>
A day trip from Dublin to Belfast. It is the day of the Brexit. An open border whose openness is questioned, determined by rules, terms and interpretations. How comparable is the relationship between countries to that between two people? How do we balance proximity and distance? What does it mean when the paths separate?… >>>
In Sopran, on the Hungarian-Austrian border, celebrations are underway for the thirty-year anniversary of the Pan-European Picnic, a peaceful demonstration which was accompanied by the temporary opening of the border and which announced the fall of the iron curtain. Somewhat ironically, it is Viktor Orbán – the politician better known for the building of fences as for their demolition – who accepts Angela Merkel’s thanks. The filmmaker, with field-based research, sets out in search of traces and organizes a picnic at the border fence.… >>>
A large office block in Kurt-Schumacher-Strasse in Kassel. It remains unnoticed by most passers-by. But for others, it is where entire fates are decided.… >>>
A trip into the depths of the image.… >>>
The Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing (Tiananmen Square): Between groups of tourists, past security officers, a woman rides pirouettes in her roller skates. On 4. June 1989 an emerging democracy movement driven by students and workers ended in bloodshed. In a State in which new ideas are always dangerous, calls for political and social reform are suppressed. Freedom of expression is in jeopardy online and everywhere. It requires a continuous testing of boundaries. The approaching, deflection and bypassing of these unwritten rules manifests itself in a symbolic dance on eight wheels against the backdrop of the Forbidden City.… >>>
In 1960 an aspiring author and a future film director retrace the trails of Franz Kafka – in a village where he often visited his sister, and where he wrote “Das Schloss.” They search for inspiration for a screenplay but are unsuccessful. Later, one of the two friends becomes a famous director in the US. The other becomes state president. In 2019 a film team tries out its luck in that same village.… >>>
The “HAUS in“ was a subcultural common in Kassel’s Nordstadt. A place that seemed to belong to everyone and nobody. A place for experimental and uncommercial culture. The do-it-yourself idea here meant that, when possible, everyone did what they wanted to do and everyone took equal responsibility. A change in ownership, however, brought an end to the project. The memories of parties, punk and subversion live on to this day.… >>>
The former glassworks in Süßmuth, north of Kassel. Here, on the old factory grounds, artists and creative people lived and worked for over twenty years. For some in the neighborhood it was considered an eyesore, for others it was a free space for alternative designs of life. However, parts are facing demolition and the studios have to be vacated. The filmmaker, who himself spent time here, portrays this unique place and its residents. A snapshot that is about more than mere nostalgia, and a homage to artistic work in old age.… >>>