Talk by Dr. Chris Dähne | DJ-Set von Lux Lauterwasser
For tonight's Berlin night, we're welcoming multiple guests to the cinema! Lux Lauterwasser, the DJ duo Jochen Gläser and Johannes Mall, accompany Walter Ruttmann's city symphony live at the turntables. Introducing the film is Prof. Dr. Chris Dähne, research associate at the Department of Art and Architectural History at TU Darmstadt, whose work focuses on the history of architecture and design — and, with it, on the way we see the city, the very theme running through our series "Kino über der Stadt" this semester.
Berlin: Symphony of a Great City
Berlin awakens from its slumber and becomes a legend. 1927, five years before the end of the Weimar Republic: a city in a period of profound change. A kaleidoscope of impressions that paints a vivid picture of this metropolis of four million: from the first light of dawn, when the first commuter trains roll in, to late at night, when the neon signs of movie theaters and dance halls are reflected on the rain-soaked asphalt.
Hustle and bustle and tranquility, poverty and wealth, office workers, flâneurs, and, time and again, buses, streetcars, subways, cars, bicycles, and streams of pedestrians as the beating heart of the metropolitan rhythm: Walter Ruttmann’s classic is a fascinating journey back in time to Berlin 100 years ago and a pioneering work of documentary film. Ruttmann constructed the film around carefully arranged sequences of movement following a symphonic form, whose rhythm hypnotizes the viewer, conveys a sense of speed, and creates a new meaning that transcends the literal representation of the film footage.
Loan of the film print with kind support of Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek.
For the musical accompaniment, we’re bringing Lux Lauterwasser to the theater: a DJ duo that formed while studying design in Pforzheim and has been creating soundscapes together ever since. Jochen Gläser and Johannes Mall blend ambient with Krautrock, post-punk with Neue Deutsche Welle, and cosmic disco with world music. For the film, they’re creating a live vinyl set that reimagines the visuals and sound of the five acts—which record fits which scene is decided live at the turntables. Anyone familiar with the duo is often also familiar with Leerstand, the Pforzheim off-space, or their label LAFMusik.
Supporting Film: Schattenseiten treffen sich
Benjamin Breitkopf’s Schattenseiten treffen sich is a feast for both the ears and the eyes: arthouse meets metal meets classical meets… what, exactly?
Created for Stephan Krass’s poetry film seminar, Schattenseiten treffen sich pays less attention to words and relies entirely on the power of igorrr’s music, as well as a medley of 16mm footage, multiple exposures and colours…
Print from the collection of Kino im Blauen Salon (HfG KA)