2020
BY HANS CHRISTIAN POST
ProduCtion: POST BEHRENS PROD., Timeprints
63 Min.
Dresden has in recent years grown both famous and infamous. Famous for its attempt to meticulously reconstruct its once bombed-out historical center and bring the colorful baroque settings of the 18th century back to life. Infamous for the right-wing-surge that has since 2015 swept the city and made it a center of far-right activity in Germany and Europe.
One the one hand, the city exemplifies the ‘blooming landscapes’ that everyone hoped the German reunification in 1990 would bring about. On the other hand, it seems to testify to all the things that have gone wrong in Germany, Europe, and the world since that time.
Every Monday evening, the two realities clash dramatically, as the right-wing Pegida movement takes to the picturesque squares and streets to rally against foreigners, refugees, politicians, and the media. And although a majority in the population deplores the development, they are clueless as to what can be done against it. If only the right-wing movement would stop misusing the historical settings and silently vanish by itself.
But do the two realities oppose each other? Or are they rather interrelated? Has the attempt to architecturally reproduce what was lost in 1945 been instrumental in bringing back the political ghosts of that very same era?
Through interviews with stakeholders, urban planners, politicians and critics, Where·to With History? looks into the possible connections between architecture and politics in Dresden. It shows how architecture has indeed helped pave the way for the current right-wing-surge. But more generally, it depicts a city caught up in painful dilemmas and blind alleys in its ongoing attempt to overcome a destructive and ideologically charged past that just won’t go away.
FESTIVALS:
2020
Budapest Architecture Film Days – Budapest, Hungary
Move Cine Arte – Brazil
Move Cine Arte – Venice, Italy
Hellerau, Europäisches Zentrum der Künste – Dresden, Germany
CAFx – Copenhagen Architecture Festival, Denmark
AFFR – Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam, the Netherlands
MIASTO – Wroclaw, Poland
Cinema Urbana – Brazil
ArchFilmLund – Lund, Sweden
Cinetekton – Mexico
Urban Eye Film Festival – Bucharest, Romania
Istanbul International Architecture and Urban Films Festival – Turkey (1st Prize Winner)
2021
Johannstadt.de (in cooperation with DNN) – Germany
SF Urban Film Fest – San Francisco, USA
Kino Coffee – Washington DC, USA
Architecture, Design, Art Film Festival – Palm Springs, USA
American Documentary and Animation Film Festival – Palm Springs, USA
FilmOptico – Barcelona, Spain
Upcoming
Epos Art Film Festival – Tel Aviv, Israel
The Future Archives Film Series – Washington D.C., USA
Online-screenings by newspapers and magazines
Sächsische Zeitung – Germany
Television
dk4 (January 13th 2021, February 26th 2021, April 25th 2021)
