Archive as a Resource

The pressing and increasingly visible problems of our time – the climate catastrophe, the exploitation of the biosphere, the loss of biodiversity, the crisis of democracy – are not new, quite the contrary. For decades, directors and artists have explored these issues through film, in terms of content and form, and/or cooperatively. Many of the films in Arsenal's collection address socio-political problems, exploring themes such as nuclear power, land grabbing, the rights of indigenous peoples, conflicts over resources, the relationship of humans with non-human beings, the possibilities of resistance, alternative forms of living together and economic activity.

With our "Archive as a resource" film and debate program, we want to show a series of documentaries (made between the 1970s and today) in the cinema again and examine their relevance for the present with guests. All the selected films were first screened as part of the Berlinale Forum and remained in Arsenal’s distribution and archive, often with German subtitles. Many of them emerged with or from social and ecological movements, and in turn had an impact on these. Since many of the questions remain unanswered and the struggles continue, we will explore what the function of the films can be in the present, what we can learn and take with us from them? For example, what role have films played in civil movements? To what extent have they had an impact on debates as an active element? And what can we learn from them from the perspective of today's climate activism? Filmmakers and activists Marco Clausen, Mona Feller, Jumana Manna, Sandra Schäfer and Florian Wüst will present individual films and share their experiences in a podium discussion on August 30. (Annette Lingg)

The program is part of Arsenal 60 ff. and made possible by a grant from the Capital Cultural Fund (HKF).