Klassenverhältnisse am Bodensee

There was a time when some spoke quite naturally of the working class and the ruling class, of the upper, middle and lower classes, of the bourgeoisie, petty bourgeoisie and lumpenproletariat. In the family of the artist Ariane Andereggen, almost everyone believed in social advancement through hard work and politeness. In the video essay KLASSENVERHÄLTNISSE AM BODENSEE (CH/G 2022), made with Ted Gaier, Andereggen returns to Ermatingen, the Swiss village on Lake Constance where she grew up. Setting out from childhood and youth memories, conversations with former classmates about their professional development, stories told by relatives and research into the once industrialized region, which was shaped significantly by migration, she queries the connections between people's self-image and their social origins in off-screen comments. These are accompanied by an arresting soundtrack and a montage of archive footage in Super 8 or video format, computer-generated images, and excerpts from Andereggen's own performances. (Birgit Kohler)