The stories of these short films take place in former militarized zones who slowly get reclaimed by nature. Remains tell stories of former lives, long forgotten family stories and a crazy, wild, female ghost in costume. (Filmarchiv Austria / METRO)
GEFÄHRLICHER ORT
(GER 1994, 14 min, b/w, ger. OV, 35mm)
Screenplay, Direction, Cinematography: Elfi Mikesch
with: Leo Wittrien, Annalisa Adami, Benno Ifland, Christoph Schlingensief, Alice Treff.
Elfi Mikesch
1994, 70 min
GER 2024, 86 min
Wünsdorf is a former military base in Brandenburg (Germany), which the Russian army had left in 1994. The First and Second World Wars were planned and executed from here as well as the Cold War. The architect, urban planner and pioneer of ecological urban development Prof. Dr. Ekhart Hahn stands up for a sustainable transformation. During the making of the film, the war breaks out in Ukraine. Russia’s invasion gives the former military site and the film a new meaning.
"I like to mix all genres, play with them, proceeding in a montage-like manner and using very contradicting devices. It is not streamlined and is therefore often labelled experimental film. I prefer transgressions, even within contrasting genres."
Photo: Monika Treut (l.) and Elfi Mikesch (r.)
GER 2011, 97 min
Werner Schroeter, one of the greatest directors of New German Film, finds out that he is terminally ill with cancer in 2006. He is in the midst of staging SCHÖNHEIT DER SCHATTEN, a scenic project on Robert Schumann and Heinrich Heine at Düsseldorf’s Kunsthalle. A race against time begins, determined by hope and apprehension.
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