FILMGESPRÄCH: Peng. Von Augenblick und Ewigkeit

In the presence of the protagonist Peter Engelhardt and the filmmakers Hartmut Seifert and Katja Schupp, followed by a film discussion.

Peter Engelhardt - aptly named "PENG" - has dedicated his entire life to good design: as a renowned designer as well as a collector of everything that makes up everyday life in the 50s, 60s and 70s ... The well-known and the nameless, the precious and the superfluous, the special and the everyday. The Engelhardt collection once comprised over 30,000 objects. But the more Peter collected, the more space he needed - and the less money he had. The last stop for the time being: a dilapidated industrial wasteland near Bingen, rainwater and theft the biggest enemies. The preservation of the collection - or rather the fight against its destruction - in the old mine in Waldalgesheim became the 78-year-old's life's work. Most people would despair in the face of this situation. Not PENG. One minute he was calling the debt collection agency, the next he was at a flea market buying a 50-year-old mannequin with his last penny. One minute he was complaining about a theft, the next he was devoting himself to his "transformations" - his feminine side. A moment ago he was scooping water out of the vats because it was raining through the roof in his depot, but a little later he is planting flowers with his 96-year-old mother. At first, Peter appears to be a quirky eccentric who offends many people. But when, at the end of the film, his oldest and best friend Monique answers all the many questions that have built up, the viewer stands smiling in front of his own (pre)judgments and (hopefully) throws them overboard. In this way, the film is also a parable about our ability as people and as a society to deal with those who are different from others. As we get to know Peter better, he gradually becomes the person he is: creative designer, artist, friend - and son at the side of his cheerful mother, whose hand he holds when she finally dies at almost a hundred. And leaves him a house, the clearing of which pushes him to his limits. As the emcee of a world in decline, Peter Engelhardt steers his PENG spaceship through time, a teacher of how to deal positively with the challenges of life, everyday life and old age. Like a captain with his ship, he would rather go down than even dare to jump off - convinced to the last minute that miracles are possible.

Germany 2025, A film by Hartmut Seifert and Katja Schupp