Following the rebuilding of post-war Western Germany after 1945, the film series Come in, friends, the house is yours! reflects on the opportunities and linits of democratic learning, thinking and acting under market-economy conditions. Künstlerhaus Stuttgart presents two modified programs that was curated by Florian Wüst from Kinemathek Karlsruhe. Modern urban design, civil self-help and education form thematic priorities of the historical re-education films, documentaries and animated films.

Curated by Florian Wüst. Cooperation partner: Kinemathek Karlsruhe.

Short film program: Selbst ist der Mensch
Introduced by Florian Wüst
May 14, 2009, 7 pm

New Town
John Halas & Joy Batchelor, UK 1948, 8′

After 1945, England built numerous new housing estates to reduce the overcrowding in big cities and to create substitute for houses and apartments that were damaged or destroyed during the war. The animated film New Town by John Halas and Joy Batchelor is about the average citizen Charly. Charly contrasts the unhealthy life and work in the old industrial metropolis with the new functional cities: open green areas, diverse housing estates and community centers form the basis of modern life circumstances.

Lender: British Film Institute, London

Jedermann ein Fußgänger
Willi Prager, Producer: Zeit im Film, BRD 1950, 13′

Increasing traffic in Western German cities became a problem in the 1950s, the number of accidents surged dramatically. The re-education film Jedermann ein Fußgänger shows that it’s not only a job of the police to master the situation – it also requires ordinary citizens to be attentive and responsible. The films shows a session of Stuttgart’s traffic parliament, where car drivers, pedestrians, residents, tradespeople and communal representatives come together to “discuss problems, hear opinions and find the best solution for everyone”. The film suggests concrete measures – straightening of streets, installation of mirrors at critical crossroads, etc. – and shows democratic processes regarding public concerns.

Lender: Kinemathek Hamburg

Und was meinen Sie dazu?
Eva Kroll, Producer: Zeit im Film, BRD 1950, 18′

A loudspeaker van drives across Marburg inviting people to a discussion about gender equality. It’s a discussion about a new mindset – not comparable to a market argument on the quality of offered fish. There are rules that are supposed to keep the discussion going. The aim of a discussion is to examine all sides of the problem so that everyone can form an opinion. In order to give an introduction on the techniques of discussing, Eva Kroll participated in a training for discussion leaders at House Schwalbach in Taunus. Different to the principle of the Führer during the Nazi regime, the remembrance of the religious conversations of Marburg (1529)  proves the discussion culture in German history.

Lender: Kinemathek Hamburg

Das Haus am Dornröschenweg
Hans F. Hermann, Producer: Zeit im Film, BRD 1958, 21′

The house in Dornröschenweg connects the topics democratic education and private homes. Paul Möller, main character of the film, goes to court over a building licence for an estate in the suburbs of Hamburg that was declined by the authorities. He eventually wins and is allowed to build. A conversation with a man, a migrant from the GDR, gives a twist to the story: The man doesn’t believe in the success of the trial which illustrates the intention of the film: Creating faith in the principle that everyone is equal in front of the law and that everyone is free to go to court against the state.

Lender: Bundesarchiv – Filmarchiv, Berlin

Mit beiden Füßen auf der Erde
Loriot, Commissioner: DIE WAAGE, BRD 1959, 3′

The association DIE WAAGE. Gemeinschaft zur Förderung des sozialen Ausgleichs e.V. existed from 1952 to 1965 and represented an informal circle of companies that advocated for social market economy and the bourgeois majority in the elections for German Parliament. The last film of WAAGE Mit beiden Füßen auf der Erde (1959) was written by Loriot.

Lender: Foundation Rheinisch-Westfälisches Economic Archive Cologne

Porträt einer Bewährung
Alexander Kluge, BRD 1964, 13′

Porträt einer Bewährung recounts the live story of former police head constable Karl Müller-Segeberg who was born in 1900 and dutifully served under six administrations until an fateful incident happened during an official act. Unintentionally, a shot unloaded and as a consequence, Müller-Segeberg was pensioned against his will. Alexander Kluge’s film is an authentic portrait of a deeply obedient person. The film was awarded the main price at the Western German Short Film Days at Oberhausen in 1965.

Lender: Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin

Short film program: Jugend von morgen
Introduced by Florian Wüst
Thursday, May 28, 2009, 7 pm

Aus der Spielkiste
Gerhard Grindel, BRD 1955, 9′

Aus der Spielkiste shows the opening of a playbox by the Red Cross Berlin. Donated toys are repaired and lended to children whose parents can’t afford buying new toys. The administration of the charitable organization is done by children which fosters personal development, responsibility and the awareness to treat common property carefully.

Lender: Federal Archive – Film Archive, Berlin

Aufsätze
Peter Nestler, BRD 1963, 10′

Peter Nestler created a documentary on the school routine of children in in the Swiss mountains. Students recite own essays describing their way to school, their classes or the looks of their teachers. Each recital is different, each child tries to keep a balance between Swiss German and standard German.

Lender: Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin

Ferien vom Alltag
Johannes Lüdke, Producer: Zeit im Film, BRD 1951, 15′

An introvert baker asks „What do I do?“ (with the afternoon, vacation, life) and Ferien vom Alltag gives an answer. It is a community college excursion to Bavaria, that teaches its participants a democratic mindset, international understanding and a sense for aesthetics. The main characters and the audience have the same learning objective: creating social capacity to act.

Lender: Federal Archive – Film Archive, Berlin

Lehrerstützpunkt
Klemens Becker, Werner Nitzschke, Andreas Mücke, Lienhard Wawrzyn, BRD 1975, 26′

In the 1970s, 15 integrated comprehensive schools were established in West-Berlin, huge concrete buildings based on the same model. Classes 7-10 are located in so-called middle level centers, each of them housing 1500 students and 120 teachers. Sick leaves of teachers are very common in these schools. The film Lehrerstützpunkt that was produced at German Film and Television Academy Berlin shows the daily routine of an ordinary teacher, from waking up to leaving for school. During breakfast, the teacher has nightmare-like visions and considers staying home at his Lehrerstützpunkt.

Lender: Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin

Het Leesplankje (The Reading Lesson)
Johan van der Keuken, NL 1973, 10′

At Dutch primary schools, students learn reading by using combinations of words and images. In Johan van der Keukens short film Het Leesplankje, these images printed on small cards are gradually being replaced with current events. The filmmaker presents his political world view:  “Within a very small space I attempted as far as possible to separate the sequential nature of the images and their meanings. By using short takes I was able to get as far as Salvador Allende’s speech and scenes of Pinochet assuming power in Chile. Then we return again to the beginning, but the whole memorising process is now destroyed.” (Johan van der Keuken)

Lender: Idéale Audience International, Paris

Proper Education
Eric Prydz, SE 2006, 4′

In late 2006, Eric Prydz released his single Proper Education based on a sample of Pink Floyds Another Brick in the Wall (1979). For the first time ever, Pink Floyd had allowed a remix of one of their songs. The Swedish house DJ turned the classic into more than just a remix: The video clip shows that especially students and youths can safe the planet that is currently threatened by climate change.

Copyright: Ministry of Sound