Berlin JWD

After a four-part cycle based on Theodor Fontane’s Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg ("Ramblings through Brandenburg") (Oderland, Rhinland, Spreeland, Havelland), Bernhard Sallmann turns to urban landscapes for his latest documentary BERLIN JWD (G 2022) - more precisely, he explores the area between the Ringbahn in Berlin and the city limits. At the end of the 19th century, the area was a destination "janz weit draußen" (“very far away”) for the "proletarian masses”. Now, there is nature, industrial zones, construction sites, historical buildings, newer buildings, and many indications of upheaval. The viewer’s eyes can take a delightful “stroll” through the observations, photographed precisely with a fixed camera and during the course of the changing seasons, while the ears hear the sound of the places. Sometimes people appear in the picture. Though there is no dialogue, this is not a silent Berlin film. The fact that names such as Spree-Teltow Pyramid, Arkenberge, Dichtervillen describe quite ordinary places is also very much Berlin. (Birgit Kohler)