WELT WEIT WOLFEN
The three towns of Wolfen, Rochester in the USA and Shostka in Ukraine could not be more different – and yet they are linked by a common history of industrial color film production. They all experienced the golden age of analogue film, but also share experiences of deindustrialization, unemployment and the search for new perspectives. The festival traces these special connections with a program of research and performances. After opening speeches by Dr. Lutz Nitsche, Head of the Board of the German Federal Cultural Foundation, Dr. Sebastian Putz, State Secretary for Culture in Saxony-Anhalt, and Thomas Krüger, President of the Federal Agency for Civic Education, artist Maryna Makarenko’s performance GREEN RIVERS TONGUE-TIED takes us into a world of myths, rumours and mysteries surrounding the film factory in Shostka.
GREEN RIVERS TONGUE-TIED [OF GREEN RIVERS AND SPEECHLESSNESS]
Makarenko, who comes from Shostka herself, combines the history of the factory in her performance with personal stories from women in her family. Both her grandmother and her mother once worked here. The artist is particularly interested in the health risks to which female bodies were exposed as a result of factory work.
FROM DARKNESS A MORNING GLORY
Oscar Olivo, Amy Trompetter and Elsa Saade also deal with the serious environmental influences of film production – albeit in Rochester, USA. The hometown of Kodakchrome was considered one of the most polluted in the USA. The puppet performance by the two American theater makers will also deal with the stories of the workers at Kodak, which are characterized by upheaval.
Other projects dealing with the special connections and shared experiences of Wolfen, Rochester and Schostka will be presented by photographer Tobias Zielony, artists Nataly Hulikova, Alison Shea and Frieda Westphalen and theater director Dima Levytskyi.
