FORTUNA IM EXIL: Kopfkino im Ost-Passage Theater

In a collaborative performance blending music, visuals, and creative audience participation, we’ll bring to life the cinematic spirit that still lingers in the vaulted ceiling of the Ost-Passage Theater—Leipzig’s oldest movie theater—and treat you to a truly wonderful cinematic experience on Sunday evening. At first glance, “Qualm” in a movie theater isn’t usually a good sign. But when it comes to the Leipzig-based indie jazz and improv group Qualm, it paints a completely different picture. Without any film at all, the sextet’s music—which blends jazz, krautrock, pop, and psychedelic rock—creates an intense mental movie that invites you to consciously escape from everyday life. To complement this, the visual art duo Psychedelic Squeeze uses a wealth of analog technology to create handmade live images and projections that add the visual icing on the cake to the auditory experience. The audience is also invited to get creative themselves during the performance. It’s not a must—just an option. Let yourself be surprised!

QUALM
The six instrumentalists of Qualm came together in Leipzig in 2019 to develop a shared sound from their diverse musical backgrounds. Their pieces emerge from the fusion of composition and improvisation and span jazz, Krautrock, pop, and psychedelic influences. A hallmark of Qualm is their play with contrasts. Catchy motifs meet complex structures and odd time signatures, while dense soundscapes alternate with open, fragmentary passages. Rhythmic breaks and dynamic shifts create music that is both accessible and challenging. The result is a multi-layered, organic sound that tells a story less linearly than it does by evoking states of mind—an acoustic counterpart to the “mental movie” that shapes the performance as a whole.

Sebastian Böhm (trombone)
Christopher Klatt (guitar)
Benjamin Strauch (synthesizer)
Janek P. Dann (double bass)
Hans Krannich (drums)
Henning Behrends (saxophone)

Audio sample: https://soundcloud.com/qualmjazz
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/qualm_leipzig/

PSYCHEDELIC SQUEEZE
Psychedelic Squeeze is a live visual art duo from Leipzig that specializes in creating real-time visuals. Their performances give rise to continuously transforming visual worlds that oscillate between abstraction and psychedelic aesthetics. They work with analog video mixers, cameras, and experimental liquid techniques, which are used and manipulated live on-site. These tactile, sometimes historical methods result in visual compositions with exceptional depth, texture, and unpredictability. The visuals react immediately to the music and evolve in parallel with its dynamics. This creates a closely intertwined interplay of sound and image, making every performance a unique, process-driven experience.

Mercedes Bach & John-Philip Hänelt

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/psychedelicsqueeze/


FORTUNA IM EXIL brings together all IG FORTUNA events that cannot take place at the former Kino der Jugend due to the current ban on entry. You can find the full program and more information here: https://ig-fortuna.de/
Click here to visit their Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/ig_fortuna_kino_der_jugend

The event is part of the OSTLichter neighborhood cultural festival, taking place from September 3 to October 4, 2026. You can find the full program here: https://www.ostlichter-leipzig.de/