This screening is part of Filmfest Aachen 2025

Born in Flames

USA, 1983, 80 min, Lizzie Borden, English

The Beginning of the End, or the End of the Beginning? This year, our focus is Resistance - and what comes after it: Dystopia. Our two curated sections, Fragments of Resistance and Abseits: Dystopia, are bridged by one pivotal film: Born in Flames. Lizzie Borden's visionary work imagines a world ten years after a peaceful socialist revolution. But what happens after the revolution, when the banners are gone and the system claims to be just? The film shows us what remains: patriarchy, economic inequality, the continued oppression of women, queer and trans people. Freedom is promised, but not delivered.

The beginning of the end - or the end of the beginning? This year, our focus is on resistance - and on what comes after: dystopia. Our two curated sections, Fragments of Resistance and ABSEITS: Dystopia, are linked by a central film: Born in Flames. Lizzie Borden's visionary work sketches a world ten years after a peaceful socialist revolution. But what happens after the revolution, when the flags have been furled and the system declares itself just? The film shows what remains: Patriarchy, economic inequality, the continued oppression of women, queers and trans people. Freedom is promised - but not delivered.

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