In summer 2011 I started to produce the third "Recyclers" in Berlin, the city where I live. The worldpremiere of "Berlin Recyclers" will take place at Berlinale Generation 2012!
SCENES
Techno
The techno-music from the first scene was played by outdoor-DJs in a park, in Kreuzberg, at „Karneval der Kulturen“. The golden room, where my techno-beat-machine performs, is a little gap in a wall in Kreuzberg, where the street-art and animation artist BLU has his famous mural. The techno-beat-machines exploding is caused by a loud thunder clap recorded this summer.
Tattoo-Skeleton
The music from this scene is by Mark Mulholland and Stefan Sander, recorded live as they played at the closing party of "East Of Eden International Bookshop". The bookshop had to close down after 10 years of existence, due to a rent increase. Berlin had a lot of creative places that have disappeared. To reflect these changes I created a dinosaur that starts to dance and finally collapses.This scene is dedicated to "East Of Eden International Bookshop".
Street-Organ-Music
Organ grinders are becoming rare in Berlin. I was lucky to meet Ede, who played his street organ at Stralauer Allee next to the East-Side Gallery. He was just forced to leave his regular playing spot in the Nikolaiviertel as student residents were complaining about the "noise". He was very upset. The background from this scene is a plug fixture from RAW in Friedrichshain, it has been removed in the meantime. This scene is dedicated to Ede and his art.
Nazi-Out-Scene
The demonstration-chants of this scene were recorded at an Antifa-demonstration starting from Boxhagener Platz and ending in Lichtenberg.
Punk
I have never realized the huge amount of hazelnut trees in Berlin before. The ripe nuts were constantly falling onto the streets or parked cars. I recorded these sounds and created a punk figure, who gets hit by a falling nut. The music was recorded at the same Antifa-demonstration like in the scene before.
Swallow-Scene
There is a lot of wildlife in Berlin, especially birds. I recorded sounds of swallows on the roof of my house. They were flying very close to me and quickly turned off. I was reminded by Hitchcocks "The Birds" and this inspired me to create a plant that gets attacked by birds and finally strikes back. No birds were harmed in this scene, the shadow of the attacking birds are constructed with a chestnut, feathers and a shuttlecock.
Cobblestone-Monster
The sound of hammering cobblestones is very typical for Berlin. I discovered a tiny graffiti sign in a backyard in Kreuzberg and added teeth and eyes to it. This monster waits for by-passers to beat with his cobblestones. The big chance finally appears: an insect jumps in front of him and gets hammered. The feet of the insect are constructed with disposable dental-floss gadgets, the most frequently found item in the streets of Berlin, beside beer-caps!
In-Betweens
The "in-between" shot at Kottbusser Brücke shows the portraits of Fatima Hussein Babi and Jabbar Salavan. This is an amnesty-international-campaign created by the streetart-collective "Mentalgassi". You can hardly see the pictures, they get visible from a specific angle while passing by.
http://50jahre.amnesty.de/aktuelles/2011/12/02/auch-ohne-magie-das-unsichtbare-sichtbar-machen.html
The "in-between" shot at Kottbusser Brücke shows the portraits of Fatima Hussein Babi and Jabbar Salavan. This is an amnesty-international-campaign created by the streetart-collective "Mentalgassi". You can hardly see the pictures, they get visible from a specific angle while passing by.
http://50jahre.amnesty.de/aktuelles/2011/12/02/auch-ohne-magie-das-unsichtbare-sichtbar-machen.html
The last "in-between" shows a street-art puppet at Oberbaumbrücke. It is there since August 2011. I have just found out about the artist: www.milo-project.com. Very impressive.
CREDITS
Animation · 6:02 min · Stereo · 16:9 HD/digiBeta
Direction | Animation | Sound: Nikki Schuster
Mixing: Sebastian Müller
Financing: Land OÖ & own resources
Distrubution: sixpackfilm Vienna
Distrubution: sixpackfilm Vienna
© Nikki Schuster, DE/AT 2012
SYNOPSIS
Berlin - techno, cobblestones and a lot of graffiti. „Berlin Recyclers“ portraits the cultural, social and urban fabrics of this city by means of experimental animation. The viewer is guided to urban hideouts where little creatures dwell. These are digitally composed with collected trash and typical local products. The clatter of the limbs of these creatures interacts with the soundscapes of Berlin.
FESTIVALS
2012 Berlinale „Generation“, (Germany)
2012 Crossing Europe, Linz (Austria)
2012 Plein la bobine, La Bourboule (France)
2012 Athens Video Art Festival (Greece)
2012 Kyoto International Children's Film Festival (Japan)
2012 Balkanima (RS)
2012 CARTÓN - Festival Int. de Cortos de Animación La Tribu (ARG)
2012 Festival du nouveau cinema Montreal (CA)
2012 Animatou Film Festival (CH)
2012 TINDIRINDIS International Animation Festival (LT)
2012 Gezici Festival (TR)
2012 TOFUZI, Batumi (GE)
2012 Anima Mundi (BRA)
2012 Leeds International Filmfestival (UK)
2012 River Film Festival Padua (IT)
2012 DokumentArt Neubrandenburg/Szczecin (DE/PL)
2012 Olympia International Filmfestival Athens (GR)
2012 Interfilm Berlin (GR)
2012 Animated Dreams Tallin (EE)
2012 Animateka (SI)
2013 Rotterdam International Film Festival (DE)
2013 Internationale Shortfilm Festival Oberhausen (DE)
2013 Festival Internacional de Cortometrages Peru (PE)
2013 Festival Internacional Séquence court-métrage Toulouse (FR)
2013 International Children's Film Festival Kiki (CR)
2013 Filmfest Münster (DE)
2013 Open Air Filmfest Weiterstadt (DE)
2013 Filmfestival Münster (DE)
2012 Crossing Europe, Linz (Austria)
2012 Plein la bobine, La Bourboule (France)
2012 Athens Video Art Festival (Greece)
2012 Kyoto International Children's Film Festival (Japan)
2012 Balkanima (RS)
2012 CARTÓN - Festival Int. de Cortos de Animación La Tribu (ARG)
2012 Festival du nouveau cinema Montreal (CA)
2012 Animatou Film Festival (CH)
2012 TINDIRINDIS International Animation Festival (LT)
2012 Gezici Festival (TR)
2012 TOFUZI, Batumi (GE)
2012 Anima Mundi (BRA)
2012 Leeds International Filmfestival (UK)
2012 River Film Festival Padua (IT)
2012 DokumentArt Neubrandenburg/Szczecin (DE/PL)
2012 Olympia International Filmfestival Athens (GR)
2012 Interfilm Berlin (GR)
2012 Animated Dreams Tallin (EE)
2012 Animateka (SI)
2013 Rotterdam International Film Festival (DE)
2013 Internationale Shortfilm Festival Oberhausen (DE)
2013 Festival Internacional de Cortometrages Peru (PE)
2013 Festival Internacional Séquence court-métrage Toulouse (FR)
2013 International Children's Film Festival Kiki (CR)
2013 Filmfest Münster (DE)
2013 Open Air Filmfest Weiterstadt (DE)
2013 Filmfestival Münster (DE)
