Spuren von Bewegung vor dem Eis

The film gives brief glimpses into rooms bathed in light. The Bolex camera whirs. Twenty years after the closure of Swiss publishing house Pendo, which was founded in 1971, its story is revealed by way of personification: heir Theresia Weigner and her friend Nicolas, who repeatedly circle, examine and lose sight again of this legacy with all the weight it carries. Here articles of memory are piled high, cared for, stashed away. Remaining stock, no longer hot off the press, but still packaged up for sale, unfinished manuscripts, cover designs, cassettes, office supplies, correspondence and tax documents are all laid out like in a time capsule: books by Margarete Mitscherlich, Dorothee Sölle, Dom Hélder Câmara, Robert Lax or about the Sihl Valley. René Frölke’s film gives a structure to this archive and becomes a simple chamber of wonders. He finds his own annotations within the inner pull exerted by the artefacts and accompanies these stubborn, overwhelmed preservers on their way through their everyday life amid the piles of material. Written elements from the film script also play a part.
At the end of the corridor, jazz music sounds from a small radio. (Madeleine Bernstorff)

René Frölke, born in East Germany in 1978. He has worked as a freelance editor, cinematographer and director for several years. In 2007, he started studying art in Karlsruhe, which he broke off in 2021. As an editor, he was worked with Thomas Heise (including Material), Kristina Konrad (One or Two Questions), Lucia Bauer (Maman Maman Maman) and Max Linz (Asta Upset, Music and Apocalypse). Since 2010, he has directed several films of his own, including Le beau danger and From a Year of Non-Events (co-directed with Ann Carolin Renninger), which both screened at the Berlinale Forum.

Production Ann Carolin Renninger. Production company joon film (Munkbrarup, Germany). Director René Frölke. Screenplay René Frölke, Ann Carolin Renninger. Cinematography René Frölke. Editing René Frölke. Music Tessa Weigner.

Films: 2007: Jour de grève (14 min.). 2008: Ropinsalmi (12 min.). 2010: Führung / Guided Tour (37 min., Forum Expanded 2011), Von der Vermählung des Salamanders mit der grünen Schlange (94 min.). 2012: Jeremy Y. call Bobby O. oder Morgenthau Without Tears (84 min.). 2014: Le beau danger (100 min., Berlinale Forum 2014). 2017: Aus einem Jahr der Nichtereignisse / From a Year of Non-Events. 2024: Spuren von Bewegung vor dem Eis / Traces of Movement before the Ice.

Bonus Material