Sechse kommen durch den Herbst 1986

A hike around the GDR without any record ambitions, just the desire to experience something, to challenge themselves, to get to know the country and its people - their own country, their own people - better. Six men, aged between 25 and 40, set off on a hike, curious about everything they will encounter along the way between Cottbus and Zittau - nature, sights, people. The viewer gradually realizes that there is actually a sensation behind this seemingly natural, visibly unspectacular, cheerful process. This is already the 13th stage of the planned hike around the country. Memories of previous stages make the scale clear. The men, who we have already got to know quite well over the five days, manage the daily 25 to 30 kilometers with such ease because they are passionate athletes: Mountaineers in Saxon Switzerland.

I Stayed in Berlin All Summer 1994 ( 5.2)

Nadine is obsessed by a memory linked to a haunting tune she can no longer sing, until she hears someone else singing and everything falls back into place again. A melancholic observation of two young couples having difficulties trusting one another. They are full of skepticism and searching for a purpose in life.

The City 1983 ( 7)

Merlyn Solakhan’s feature documentary The City offers an unusual narrative on Istanbul. Solakhan roams every inch of the city, witnessing separate instances of standing stones, balloons, kites, cars, roads, and neighborhoods with her camera, whilst looking into the city’s nature, yesterday and today. The city from her perspective is intertwined with history. An essay film as well as a documentary, The City is a daring gaze on Istanbul. The movie goes beyond observation to working through and reflecting on the city, with no hesitation in bestowing a new image on it and seeing it in a new light.

WC 1997 ( 7.5)