City Lights
A lovable tramp falls in love with a blind flower seller and goes to great lengths to help her. Slapstick, charming misunderstandings, and tender moments unfold alongside glimpses of bustling city life, all without a single spoken word. Charlie Chaplin wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the film at a time when sound films had already taken over the market. He deliberately chose to make it as a silent film, adding a synchronized musical score and carefully composed sound effects of his own. The production lasted several years and was unusually demanding. Chaplin’s blend of physical comedy and quiet pathos, along with his mastery of visual rhythm and timing, is on full display. The combination of humor and empathy makes the film a timeless classic that continues to move and inspire. Though not a debut, this was the first film we have screened in the Blauer Salon and marks our decennial.
Supporting Film: Medienuniversität der Zukunft – Eröffnung der Hochschule für Gestaltung in Karlsruhe
The Karlsruhe University of Arts opened in Grünwinkel in 1992. The later HfG professor Stephan Krass was there for SWR. When Krass filmed a short report on the opening of the HfG for the culture magazine Bizz in 1992, he probably had no idea that a few years later he would be teaching at the same university himself - which had since moved to the former IWKA factory building.