Fri 14 | 8pm | space B

Subverting Leviathan

The new democratic movements also seem to come with a reemergence of public space in the sense of life in the street. Even if some governments use all their powers to suppress changes, urban movements seem to give public space a new meaning. With a focal point on the largest city of Turkey, the program brings together different short films discussing urban changes concerning Istanbul, Damascus, Tel Aviv, Illichevsk (Ukraine), Belfast and Germany.

Urban Research is a special film program during the Berlin International Directors Lounge concerned with urban themes curated by Klaus W. Eisenlohr.

For years the urban landscape has been under rapid change. Due to the increased economic pressure and shift towards mono-functional uses of the city, public space more and more vanishes.

The newly awakened interest in old city centers, which is a rather positive development, has also created new demands in conjunction with the deregulations of national and municipal city tasks: the city has mainly become an object for real estate investment.

On the other hand, new waves for urban movements towards a democratic renewal have appeared. A redetermination of public place may have come across, a new protest culture against the complete commercialization of the city has spread in places. Be it called neoliberal, new labor, social democratic, political-islam or post-Maoism, you name I. The radical loss of democratic political influences concerning urban development seems to have found a counter force in a rediscovery of the political space. The above sometimes extreme changes in the urban are also being reflected in creative art and film, or may even find their unique expression in the arts.

Nisrine  Boukhari SY  A letter between two cities / Damascus – Vienna 06:35  2013

Sharon Horodi/ Cheb Kammerer DE Black Stains 10:00 2007 IA

Maria Gonchar UA Creative Cities of Ukraine 11:23 2013

Sirin Bahar Demirel TR Living with Leviathan 11:00 2013

artizinconnu TR The City and The Memory 08:40 2013

Sylvia Winkler/ Stephan Köperl DE Alexandra Open 02:00 2009

Gertrud Schulte Westenberg/ Matthias Coers DE Mietrebellen –Widerstand gegen den Ausverkauf der Stadt excerpt: 09:40 2014 IA

short intermission

Bingöl Elmas TR Hey Neighbor! 44:45 2014 WP

pictured: Urban Research Program Flyer.

TRT 56 min + 44 min

WP World premiere
EP European premiere
GP German premiere
IA in attendance