PREFACE TO THE FESTIVAL CATALOGUE
“Back to the cinema” – last year, only 15 days prior to the planned opening of the 37th Kassel Dokfest, the optimism expressed in this festival slogan was hampered by a second lockdown. Nevertheless, with DokfestStreams and Dokfest-Channels, we were able to make a large part of the program accessible for a nationwide audience. Having learned from this experience, we decided, early in the planning stage of the current festival, to create a hybrid offering for as many of the sections as possible. The big cinema screen, the encounter between audience, filmmakers and artists, and personal exchange are still to remain at the heart of the festival. Accompanying this, video-streaming will be offered, which, although unable to transport the full Dokfest-experience, will supplement the festival, enabling participation for everyone; for those who cannot come and for those who weren’t able to obtain tickets due to the limited cinema capacities.
A festival that is entirely streamed, as was the case in the last edition of Dokfest, is, as a rule, a one-way-street of communication marred with emotional flaws. This experience led to a review, where questions were posed which significantly influenced the current festival’s appearance: What did we experience in the time of the pandemic? And what shifts of reality were we confronted with? Which conflicts have become clearer? What chances now emerge? And what bonds with the past can help us to identify handling strategies? An obvious connection to the past can be found with the period of “Tulipomania” (1633–1637). This first large-scale economic crisis in modern Western economic history was brought on by tulips and the associated speculative bubble, and was caused by a then unknown virus. Tulips were imported into Europe from the Middle East in the 15th century. The Netherlands emerged as a center for tulip cultivation. The valuable and most sought-after tulip at that time, the Semper Augustus, was paid for with a sum that was equivalent to that of a house. The flower was captured and immortalized by numerous painters. The Semper Augustus was particularly prized because of its white-red pattern which – as we now know – was caused by the Tulip Breaking Virus. Virologist Karin Mölling explains on spektrum.de: “Because these viruses lead to unforeseeable and non-repeatable patterns, one could not simply cultivate or order a Semper Augustus. The demand was larger than the market – thus the prices rose. In my opinion, viruses were the trigger for the financial crisis.” Ultimately, the “most beautiful” tulips were not reproducible and hence were essentially worthless.
In the complex situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to look ahead with optimism. On the one hand, we chose the tulip as a symbol for positive aura and beauty. On the other hand, the example of Tulipomania offers an opportunity to consider change in society brought about by crisis. Interesting parallels to the current situation can be drawn. The stock exchange prices reached new peaks during the COVID-19 crisis, and speculation, particularly in the case of Bitcoin, took on a new form. Other sectors suffer from the crisis. The Netherlands stopped 80 percent of their tulip production because of the sudden decline in demand. Climate change and global networking will speed up the mutation and spread of viruses throughout the world. Plants can serve as indicators for these changes. Tulips react to environmental factors and viruses with so-called Gene Silencing, the shutting down of genes. The genome of tulips is ten times larger than that of humans, and even today there is no scientific explanation for precisely why it is that color genes are shut down.
Tulips react sensitively to their environment and to other physical changes, and, similarly, films can be seen as an indicator of our realities, regardless of whether an experimental, an artistic or a documentary approach is taken. Many of the 220 films and 22 installations view our society from their own perspective and, by approaching our reality, they attempt to formulate new questions and to challenge existing answers.
Some works are directly related to the appearance of this year’s festival. Anna Ridler, in her installation MOSAIC VIRUS, draws direct comparisons to present-day speculation in cryptocurrency. Financial conduct – otherwise invisible – is represented with the image of three tulips, whose development is steered by the price of the bitcoin. Her film asks, amongst other things, about the value of nature. The festival’s appearance was also inspired by an episode of the film FEAST. Here, Biologist Katerina Sereti explains how viruses are transmitted in the world of tulips and analyzes the protective mechanisms the flower can develop in response. Our key visual shows a variety of tulips and not only the afore mentioned Semper Augustus. This stands for the diversity of Kassel Dokfest, which comprises: the Hessian University Film Day; a partnership with documenta fifteen; the Dokfest-Forum; the newly restructured junges dokfest; DokfestGeneration; the workshop symposium interfiction; A Wall is a Screen and many other events, which, together, yield a colorful bouquet of formats and possibilities.
For 40 years, Filmladen Kassel e.V. – the institution responsible for Kassel Dokfest – has offered the public diverse programming, that has, so far, incorporated over 8,500 films and roughly 60,000 screenings seen by some 1.5 million viewers. The City of Kassel sponsors Kassel Dokfest substantially. Thanks to the significant increase in funding offered this year for Filmladen and its cinema work, the registered association, which up until now has been predominantly voluntary, can continue along its forged path and can be professionalized. In this way, the association can be passed on to younger generations.
Credit also goes to the HessenFilm and Medien GmbH. This year, the organization is supporting Dokfest with a significantly larger sum, allowing us to, among other things, better honor our staff. Moreover, they now carry the additional “Media” in their name and, having understood the signs of the times, support the innovative platform Cinemalovers throughout Hesse. Cinemalovers describes itself as “a solidarity-based VoD-platform for cinemas of Germany” and, since September 2021, has presented the films of our festival cinemas BALi, Filmladen, Gloria and (for the first time) the online selection of Kassel Dokfest.
We are especially grateful for the creative and good cooperation with documenta fifteen and the artist collective ruangrupa. Thus, among other things, the Hessian University Film Day, the special exhibition “Débordements – Überläufe” as well as the award ceremony will find their home at ruruHaus this year. The program “Conjugating the Magnetic Past: Subversive Film at Kassel Dokfest, Vol. 1”, selected and moderated by Subversive Film, enables a direct bridge to be built.
Our warmest thanks go to all our promoters, sponsors, partners, and supporters, as well as to the many donators, who, with their respective contributions, all make Kassel Dokfest possible. We also want to thank all the filmmakers, artists, and speakers, who, with their contributions and thematic diversity, create a multiplex medial experience. Special thanks go to the entire team. The group photo brings together part of our core team in the greenhouse of Kassel’s Wilhelmshöhe. Over 200 staff members in total ensure that, for all of us, this year’s Dokfest will be a success.
The exhibition and cinema rooms are, due to various hygiene concepts, quite safe places for our audience members. Most events are, in compliance with the so-called “3G” guidelines, open for those who are either vaccinated, have recovered, or have been tested. Due to the available space, the festival opening and the rooms of DokfestConnection are only open to those who are vaccinated or have recovered. The rules lend themselves excellently to discussion since the Coronavirus, or other viruses, will probably be a part of our world for some time to come.
We wish all visitors and ourselves a safe, an enjoyable, and a fulfilling and exciting 38th Kassel Dokfest.