This program deals with cinematographic strategies in the 1960s – when in Germany cinema was the new and the one, but not only, tool to create a new society. Powerful, beautiful, engaging – cinema was the way. Kluge taught, together with Edgar Reitz, in the academy in Ulm, the successor of the Bauhaus Academy in Weimar. A story of its own – only 24 students, only 15 finishing the curriculum; still the ones that came out of these studies had cinema in their vein, until today: Ula Stöckl, Claudia von Aleman among few others. At the same time the ideas of cinema / distribution collectives to engage an audience from the margins of cinema evolved. Inspired by Jonas Mekas’ filmmakers’ cooperative, in New York, a filmmakers’ cooperative was founded in Hamburg and London. Hamburg became the center for avant-garde filmmakers who presented their works in a new film festival. Full of egos and anarchistic energy. Politics entered cinema in 1968 in an intellectual way – Haroun Farocki was the one, pushing the borders forward – and in a very sensual way – with Roland Klick.

Without audience no need to make cinema! So, engage the audience ; )

Curated by Maike Mia Höhne