Ehrenamtstag: Bollwerk & Kurzfilme

In the organizer's words:

Bollwerk and other short films

Matinée on Whit Sunday, 24.05., 11:30 am as part of the Volunteer Day campaign weeks

in cooperation with the Coordination Office for Civic Engagement in Heidelberg and the Heidelberg Volunteer Agency

We will be showing the documentary BOLLWERK, which follows three protagonists* in their work in the small Saxon town of Wurzen and gives an up-close and authentic account of efforts to promote democracy and the relevance of civic engagement.

Other Heidelberg associations will present themselves and the many opportunities for involvement in Heidelberg.

Bulwark

D 2025 | Director: Jakob Wehner | 60 min. | FSK 6 | Documentary film

Right-wing and conservative movements are gaining strength throughout Europe. Germany is also confronted with the great success of a right-wing populist party, which is classified in several federal states as definitely right-wing extremist. While protests are forming in the left-leaning cities and many people are quickly coming together, democracy work in other regions is facing its own challenges. Especially in the rural areas of eastern Germany, actors and activists who are committed to opposing right-wing extremism repeatedly have to deal with headwinds in social networks and on the streets. This ranges from insults and hostility to physical attacks and death threats "It's easier to shout Nazis out where there are no Nazis", as the Chemnitz band Kraftklub once sang. But how easy is it to shout "Nazis out" where they actually appear?

In "Bollwerk", three protagonists are accompanied in their work in the small Saxon town of Wurzen. In interviews, they describe the challenges, struggles and opportunities of political work in the provinces. "Bollwerk" tells of efforts for democracy, small East German towns and the relevance of civic engagement.

After the film, Sonja Bernitt (Bündnis Kein Schritt nach Rechts) will report on the situation in Heidelberg.