From the anarchist Tolstoy College on a U.S. campus in the 1960s, and the political struggles of guest workers in the Federal Republic of Germany a decade or two later, to the subsequent revolution in 1989 – many political struggles against authoritarian conditions were courageously waged, many failed, and yet made a difference. The program pays tribute to them, speculates and thereby transforms our view of the past into a view of the future. (Theresa George)
GROWING UP ABSURD is assembled from interviews conducted remotely with key members of the Tolstoy College community that speak to the ethos and history of the college, from its founding in 1969 to its dissolution in 1985. At once a sweeping portrayal of the college’s meeting places and the state of the campus today, GROWING UP ABSURD layers memories and traces of history to convey the lived experiences of its participants.… >>>
- Director: Ben Balcom, Julie Niemi
BOND was made in close cooperation with the “Jugendforum Gröpelingen”, an open and politically active youth advisory board in Bremen. The setting of the film, the district of Gröpelingen, as a former location of the AG Weser Werft, is characterized by industry, labor and migration. Here the artist accompanies a group of young people on their search in state and private archives. They search for traces of their parents’ and grandparents’ generation and the local history of solidarity and empowerment. Images of intercultural protests, wild strikes and school squats in the 70s and 80s become film backdrops and props in BOND. They serve as a starting point for the young people to explore their history and their current positioning within society.
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Premiere:
World Premiere
Nominated:
Goldener Key
- Director: Anna Witt mit dem Jugendforum Gröpelingen
Based on her own childhood experiences from before 1990, the artist Anna Zett has assembled video and audio material from the “GDR Opposition Archive” in Berlin into an intense and poetic short thriller. Between picture and sound the film stirs up memories of violence and resistance that are difficult to access today, while at the same time opening up a space for emotional and political resonance, recovering reality in the moment of transformation.… >>>
Nominated:
Goldener Key
