Two Films by Gideon Bachmann from his documentary series »Umsturz?«
In the presence of and with an introduction by director
Thu, October 30, 2014 6:30 pm CET
- Location
- Lecture Hall
In his films Gideon Bachmann provides a very personal view of his environment. He created a social-critical picture of his time based, for the most part, on stories drawn from his personal experience. In his endeavor to make films in which cinema film is itself thematized, he travelled through several countries (USA, Israel, The Lebanon, Italy), where cinema historically and artistically affects important neuralgic points of society.
Gideon Bachman: »Limits of Political Moviemaking or may a political film produce a political effect?«
This text was published as a working paper during the preparation of the documentary series »Umsturz?« (excerpt):
"I no longer think film can have a political effect, it cannot be a Molotov cocktail. It cannot convince the unconvinced. But it can do one thing: it can make those who are already on our side feel less lonely. The human being, by nature, is not a lonely fighter. We are not heroes on fast horses, not Great Alexanders who alone conquer, we are not really solitary prophets on mountain tops. We need each other. And in order to hold a belief, we need to know that this belief is not ours alone. And that is what political films can do for us: give us the feeling that we are not alone out there in the storm. That somebody shares our views. Film can provide solidarity."
The full text as a pdf document for free download at the end of this page.
Gideon Bachmann
is a German-born filmmaker and radio commentator who grew up in the USA. He returned to Germany in 2004, where he directs the acoustographical voice collection »VOX HUMANA – The Voice Bank« within the ZKM. In America he co-founded the movement »Underground Cinema« following graduation from the film academy (directed by Hans Richter at New York City College) at the same time as Jonas Mekas and Shirley Clarke.
Bachmann’s articles have been published in over 100 newspapers and journals, and his films have been awarded at numerous film festivals. »PROTEST – What For?« was awarded the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival.