Wankostättn

Karl Stojka, leaning on an umbrella, surveys the place where he grew up: the Wankostättn in Vienna, where there was once a large camp for Sinti and Romani. Most of its inhabitants were deported in 1941. Through Stojka's words, an almost annihilated past is brought back to life in a place where it is now barely visible, where the past was built upon with apartment blocks. Stojka points to a letterbox: this is where his caravan once stood. Berger shot the footage in 1997 as part of a film about Karl's sister Ceija. 26 years later, WANKOSTÄTTN combines its protagonist's role as a witness and artist and his bond with the director to create a document of enduring memory. (as)