In the organizer's words:

LIGHTS OF THE STREET

Special screening on Monday, 02.02., 19:30, GLORIA

Talk with filmmaker Anna Friedrich after the screening (digitally streamed)

D 2024 | Director: Anna Friedrich | 86 min. | FSK tba
Documentary film

"Lights of the Road" begins with a longing look at the empty country road that meanders into the distance like a river. Preoccupied with the question of where nomadic people in Germany find a sense of security, I begin a journey along their paths and stories.

I accompany four seminomadic women and provide insights into their ways of life. Magdalena, a journeywoman, plans to return home after almost four years of wandering to settle down as a farmer. Will she find peace in settling down after this journey full of freedom? Johanna, an activist, lives in a converted van and constantly moves between several caravan sites. She sees her "cart" as her step towards bourgeoisie. The film explores her feeling of security in constant motion. I also accompany the almost invisible community of Yenish women in Germany on my journey. Some move from place to place seasonally, as they always have, while others have settled down completely. I meet the family of Elwera, a former high-wire artist, and her granddaughter Ghislaine. They are trying to keep life going at markets and fairs. Their past experiences have led them to live a clandestine existence. In "The Vagabond's Garden", they appear in front of the camera for the first time and their incipient political struggle for recognition in this country becomes visible.

Based on my own longings for freedom, the film sheds light on the utopian potential of the nomadic. Poetic reflections and street explorations paint a picture of wanderers that is largely unknown to our consciousness. The transit sites I visit illustrate this vanishing way of life.
In a country where sedentariness is the norm, a plea is made for the recognition that nomadic lifestyles deserve. As I explore where these wanderers find comfort, I ponder the future of these lifestyles. Can a "life on the move" with minimal possessions offer a promising model for our present?

Price information:

regular: € 10,- | reduced: € 8,- (Reduction: Guild pass, students, pupils, senior citizens over 65, severely disabled pass, social pass)