Gesäuse!

And this is what happened in Austria recently:
For days now it has been raining permanently night and day and snowing 100 m higher …
I am here in the wetlands haha part of a small family-like minifestival (called »Enchanted Garden«) giving a workshop. All was supposed to happen outside in the huge natural park called »Gesäuse« but all is now happening inside … feeling sorry for the festival but people are in a good mood (we’re talking about 15 people, not more, it’s really nice and tiny).
How can I translate »Gesäuse«? Something making a whispering sound like the running water of the river, of the falling rain, of the wind in the leaves …
We’re filming in a small group, just 6 people and me, developing in a soup of what nature gives us. Cheers!
You can see some results here on YouTube!

Sentimental Punk

Yesterday evening there was a very special event here in Berlin in my neighbourhood:

“Sentimental Punk#70: Ach Leben! (der frühling kommt!)
Digging into Dagie Brunderts Super8 archive”

TWO Soundtracks. ONE film selection

Live music / a compilation of my films:

Rosi Förster – Vocals, electronics
Lena Wenta – Polyphonic clarinet & synth symbiosis
Munsha – Deconstructed cello, extended vocal procedures & hybrid hosting

#Kotti-Shop_TvTv is a station between the digital space and the physical urban space in the block forecourt of the New Kreuzberg Center at Kottbusser Tor.
Sentimental Punk is a non-commercial research gathering based on gema free live improvisations. https://kotti-shop.net/kotti-shop-tvtv/


(Photo: Bernd Brundert)

It was like a compilation of some of my very experimental films edited to a 20 minutes piece being accompanied by improvised experimental live music! Twice! Weird and funny and great! The film was projected inside out onto the window and you could see only the shadows of the musicians!

This part of Kreuzberg is famous, dirty, multiculti, loud, fantastic, I love it. Used to live pretty close for many years.

“The NKZ (Neues Kreuzberger Zentrum) was built between 1969 and 1974, although the demolition and dismantling of the previous buildings took a long time and the actual construction work essentially took place from 1972 to 1974. With eat-in kitchens and balconies for each flat, the quality was well above that of most of the existing buildings in the neighbourhood. The building block bridges Adalbertstrasse.

However, the new tenants at Kottbusser Tor soon moved out – mainly due to the close residential proximity and the accommodation designated as social housing – and commercial spaces became vacant. The technical quality of the building was also inadequate in parts. This led to increasing crime and slumming.

In 1988, the multi-storey car park in Dresdener Strasse was converted into a children’s day care centre, and the concrete staircase for the commercial porches on Adalbertstrasse was subsequently replaced by a more delicate steel staircase. The entrances to the buildings were renovated and converted so that only residents could enter, and lifts were replaced. Despite this, rents have remained relatively low to this day.

Neighbourhood management introduced at the beginning of the 21st century achieved a gradual revitalisation of the NKZ. As an outward sign of the change, the building complex was given the new name Zentrum Kreuzberg in 2000, which was mounted as a neon sign on the concrete bridge over Adalbertstraße. All flats have now been let, including the remaining multi-storey car park, and there are waiting lists for interested parties.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)” (Wiki)

Sentimental Punk:

“Since 2015 Sentimental Punk presents its research on structural & avant-garde female filmmakers and invites Sound Artists to create soundscapes for the presented works.

Free entry. Donations are welcome.

The Sentimental Punk – Senses 2024 Series is funded by Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion.

It was a pleasure!! Thank you Dafne for inviting me to this experiment!


(Photo: Bernd Brundert)