THE AFRICAN TWIN TOWERS
Christoph Schlingensief,
D 2005-2009
Lost in Namibia - a documentary about Christoph Schlingensief's last, unfinished film - commented by himself.
10 years after his last film, Christoph Schlingenisef wants to give it one more shot: the location for "The African Twin Towers" is Lüderitz, Namibia, the German South-West African colony.
The script is about Richard Wagner, about 9/11, about Hagen von Tronje, about Hereros alive and dead, about ghosts of the past and the present.
It is abandoned at day 2.
What follows are 25 days showing Christoph Schlingensief at his artistic and image-generating best, gushing with ideas and concepts, attempting to find the right form of filmic expression after a decade in theatre, performance arts and visual arts.
This film documents the full shooting period and is interspersed with actual footage of the never completed film, many of it shot by Christoph Schlingensief himself. Christoph Schlingensief's voice over, recorded in Berlin 3 years later when he was already diagnosed with cancer, tries to assimilate what really happened on those eventful 27 days that ultimately redefined his artistic vision.
Awards and Festivals
- Berlinale 2008, Forum Expanded
- Graz, 2. Oktober. - 26. Oktober 2008: The African Twin Towers wird auf dem Festival neuer Kunst "Steirischer Herbst" in der Neuen Galerie Graz gezeigt.
- The African Twin Towers - Starlift to Heaven - Mixed Media Installation von Christoph Schlingensief im Hebbel am Ufer Theater in Berlin: 1. bis 16. November 2008.
