Joachim Rothe

I Stayed in Berlin All Summer

Nadine is obsessed by a memory linked to a haunting tune she can no longer sing, until she hears someone else singing and everything falls back into place again. A melancholic observation of two young couples having difficulties trusting one another. They are full of skepticism and searching for a purpose in life.

Gefangene des Meeres

Documentary film about the adventurous professional life of sponge divers on the Greek Aegean island of Kalymnos. Their existence has been called into question since the entire sponge population became unusable due to fungal infestation in the fall of 1986, for which the fishermen blame the Chernobyl disaster.

The City

Merlyn Solakhan’s feature documentary The City offers an unusual narrative on Istanbul. Solakhan roams every inch of the city, witnessing separate instances of standing stones, balloons, kites, cars, roads, and neighborhoods with her camera, whilst looking into the city’s nature, yesterday and today. The city from her perspective is intertwined with history. An essay film as well as a documentary, The City is a daring gaze on Istanbul. The movie goes beyond observation to working through and reflecting on the city, with no hesitation in bestowing a new image on it and seeing it in a new light.