In Edward Yang’s film Taipei Story, the eponymous metropolis is more than just a backdrop: it plays a central role. The economic boom of the 1980s noticeably changes the face of the city: new skyscrapers with glass facades spring up, neon signs for foreign corporations illuminate the streets, and the heavy traffic bears witness to the city’s advancing modernization.

Against this urban backdrop unfolds the story of Lung and Chin, a couple who are increasingly losing themselves in this new reality. While Chin, an ambitious assistant, embodies the city’s Western-oriented future, Lung, a former baseball player, clings to traditions and established values. Yang’s precisely composed images show empty, impersonal apartments and reflective windows in which people’s identities seem to blur. Taipei Story is a portrait of a city searching for direction amid its rapid progress, and a reflection on what happens when metropolises change faster than the people who live in them.

Another locally produced cinema short film by Emil Mainzer. Featured in the film at the time was a major trade fair intended to showcase the diligence and ambition of Karlsruhe’s citizens and business community. All to mark the city’s 250th anniversary. Also featured: polio vaccinations, contemporary art for critical reflection, and a new hotel on Rüppurrer Straße. And finally, a bit of medical advice for the whole family: (Karlsruhe) beer always helps.