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Denk ich an Deutschland in der Nacht

If I Think of Germany at Night
Panorama Dokumente 2017
© Arden Film
For DJ Roman Flügel his work is everything and something that he would never compromise. Romuald Karmakar’s new documentary takes a look at five pioneers of electronic music for whom work is their raison d’etre. The film commences with a still life of electronic equipment in which we find ourselves looking for several minutes at a wide shot of cables, consoles, amplifiers, keyboards and ‘controllers’ as Ricardo Villalobos – who was the subject of Karmakar’s 2009 film – will later call the flashing switchboards in the background. In between eloquent thoughts from the musicians in interviews, quiet observations of them at work at their DJ home, and images of sweating masses at raves, a selective image gradually and very quietly emerges of a music scene in transition. Ata describes the current music scene as a vast, densely woven carpet, the end of which is out of sight. It is a scene which, since the 1990s has differentiated and evolved into something far more complex and hard to grasp. Karmakar does not attempt to provide a seamless historical survey, rather he allows his images and his protagonists to speak for themselves.
by Romuald Karmakar
with Ricardo Villalobos, Sonja Moonear, Ata, Roman Flügel, David Moufang/Move D Germany 2017 German, French 105’ Colour Documentary form

With

  • Ricardo Villalobos
  • Sonja Moonear
  • Ata
  • Roman Flügel
  • David Moufang/Move D

Crew

Director Romuald Karmakar
Cinematography Frank Griebe
Editing Robert Thomann, Anne Fabini
Sound Design Matthias Lempert
Assistant Director Martin Zillmann
Producer Andro Steinborn
Co-Producer Stephan Holl
Co-Production Rapid Eye Movies Köln

Produced by

Arden Film

Photos

Romuald Karmakar

Born in Wiesbaden in 1965. His films include both features and documentaries, which have screened at major international film festivals and been presented in several retrospectives. His film The Himmler Project was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art, New York. In 2013, he was one of the artists to represent Germany at the 55th Art Biennale in Venice. In 2017, he participated in documenta 14. He is an elected member of the Academy of Arts Berlin. He lives and works in Berlin.

Filmography (selection)

1984 Candy Girl; short film 1985 Eine Freundschaft in Deutschland (A Friendship In Germany) 1987 Coup De Boule; documentary, IFB Panorama 1988 Hellman Rider; documentary · Gallodrome; documentary 1989 Mappa Master; documentary · Hunde aus Samt und Stahl (Dogs Of Velvet And Steel); documentary 1991 Demontage Ix, Unternehmen Stahlglocke (Demontage Ix – Operation Steelbell); documentary 1992 Warheads; documentary, IFB Forum 1994 Der Tyrann von Turin (The Tyrann Of Torino); documentary 1995 Der Totmacher (The Deathmaker); IFB Neue Deutsche Filme 1998 Das Frankfurter Kreuz (Frankfurt Millennium); IFB Panorama 1999 Manila 2000 Das Himmler-Projekt (The Himmler Project); documentary, IFB Forum 2003 196 Bpm; documentary, IFB Forum 2002 Die Nacht von Yokohama (The Night Of Yokohama); documentary 2004 Die Nacht singt ihre Lieder (Nightsongs); IFB Wettbewerb · Land der Vernichtung (Land Of Annihilation); documentary, IFB Panorama 2005 Between The Devil and the Wide Blue Sea; documentary 2006 Hamburger Lektionen (Hamburg Lectures); documentary, IFB Panorama 2009 Deutschland 09 – 13 Kurze Filme zur Lage der Nation (Germany 09 – 13 Short Films On The State Of The Nation) · Villalobos; documentary 2011 Esel mit Schnee (Donkey With Snow); documentary · Die Herde des Herrn 2012 Angriff auf die Demokratie – Eine Intervention (Intervention); documentary 2013 Panzernashorn (Rhinoceros); documentary · Anticipation; documentary · 8. Mai (8th of May); documentary 2017 Denk ich an Deutschland in der Nacht (If I Think of Germany at Night) 2024 Der unsichtbare Zoo (The Invisible Zoo); documentary

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2024