Facts & fakes with Peter Berling, Erich Komrowksy, Hermes Phettberg, Helge Schneider, Georg Schramm and Lilo Wanders. Freedom for the Consonants! means a radical overhaul of the spelling reform. Borderline Cases of Damage Control deals with the insurance cover of at-risk aeroplanes. And from present-day practice: Car racing in the framework of the Olympics, the problems relating to the protection of US presidents, German troops in the Himalayas, security duties for the G8 summit, resistance work against the German occupiers in Poland and finally, Christoph Schlingensief's version of 'Hamlet' and Christian Stueckl's interpretation of 'Peer Gynt'. "It is a fact that fantasy exists. However, it is fantasy that pure facts exist."
The films
Freedom for the Consonants! - With Peter Berling - First broadcast: September 20, 2004, dctp on RTL - There is public debate as to whether we should return to the old German orthography established by the Duden dictionary in 1991, or insist on applying the new rules set down in the German spelling reform. This is too limited. The orthographic expert Fritz Kleiber claims that the spelling reform does not go far enough. More freedom for the consonants! Equal rights for lesser used letters such as X, Y and Z!
The Car is your Second Skin - With Helge Schneider - First broadcast: September 2, 2007, dctp on RTL - For those who take part in motor racing, it is incomprehensible that, for example, horse riding is a medal sport at the Olympics, but for racing drivers, who take substantially greater risks and who do not take performance-enhancing drugs, this is not possible. There is a need for regulation here. For the driver, who pursues his career with such passion, the car is like a "second skin".
The Safety of the President - With Peter Berling - First broadcast: September 23, 2007, dctp on SAT 1 - How does one protect a US president? How dangerous is the situation when, for example, the president holds a speech in Tbilisi which could provoke Georgia's Russian neighbours? How do security personnel react when an explosive device is found in the vicinity of the president? Vice-Admiral John Jedd, Pentagon, on the dangers faced on the anti-terror front.
"I Confess!" Day-Trip Shopping Excursion - With Erich Komorowsky - First broadcast: October 19, 1992, dctp on RTL - An officer of the Stasi (East German secret police) on a special mission ("OibE") reveals all about his experiences during the crisis of October and November 1989, as the state he was assigned to keep under surveillance fell apart. At that time, he was on a shopping excursion from Munich to Salzburg, which cost him 29.95 marks. Once there, he received a gift and could experience the unexpected.
"With all the Wealth of my Needs" - With Hermes Phettberg - First broadcast: September 13, 1999, dctp on RTL - Hermes Phettberg, born October 5, 1952 in Hollabrunn, Austria, was the assistant vicar with the archdiocese of Vienna until 1981 when he was discharged due to his (alleged) nocturnal visits to gay men's toilets. He writes for the Vienna newspaper "Falter" and enjoyed great success on Austrian television with PHETTBERGS NETTE LEIT SHOW. In his column "preaching service" he deals with the needs and joys of human existence.
Man is the Soft Target - With Georg Schramm - First broadcast: January 20, 2008, dctp on SAT 1 - The German Army is today active in Africa, the Hindu Kush and in the Balkans. How do the troops respond to the new challenges? What does Clausewitz have to say about it? Lieutenant Colonel Sanftleben (Georg Schramm) on the fundamental questions and experience value in dealing with troops and the public.
Borderline Cases of Damage Control - With Peter Berling - First broadcast: July 23, 2006, dctp on RTL - Falling debris from space poses a danger to aircraft for which valid insurance policies have been taken out. Such cases as this are, among others, the focus of interest for insurance specialist Ralph-Igor Mueller-Reitwein. What is the value of a leg lost in an accident? How much is a head worth? Is the compensation calculation affected according to whether the accident victim is rich or poor?
"The Screeching Sound of Power as Soon as it Puts on the Brakes" - With music by Goatlord - First broadcast: November 9, 1992, dctp on SAT 1 - Images from the Versailles summit in 1982 and from the summit at the Munich Residence in 1992: The leaders and their men. Also, images from the "hot August" of 1977 and the "stormy February" of 1973: In all these cases, state power pulls hard on the brakes so that they screech.
The Deterrent - With Helge Schneider - First broadcast: July 29, 2007, dctp on RTL - The G8 Summit in Heiligendamm presented the security organizers with immense problems. The seaward boundary posed a particular risk. Hans-Erich Bügelsack, experienced combat swimmer off the coast of Heiligendamm, reports on the job.
True Love on the Front - With Lilo Wanders - First broadcast: September 10, 2001, dctp on RTL - Lilo Wanders as Countess Orlovska in the Polish resistance in 1944. She kills German officers after having given these young men pleasure in the final hours of their lives. Lilo Wanders also appears as a stage artiste from Saxony at the front theatre near Smolensk. In the misery of war, the only source of comfort was jolly entertainment.
The Holding of Skulls is not My Thing! - With Christoph Schlingensief - First broadcast: December 16, 2001, dctp on SAT 1 - In his production of "Hamlet" at the Zurich Schauspielhaus, Christoph Schlingensief played the role of Fortinbras. This commander has the shortest text in the piece, and his sole function is to resolve the chaos at the end of the tragedy and to assume leadership of Denmark. Schlingensief caused a sensation by casting breakaway right-wing extremists in the play.
Who Am "I"? Peer Gynt - With Christian Stückl, Barbara Romaner, Andreas Tobias, Maximilian Brückner and the Jungen Riederinger Musikanten - First broadcast: May 25, 2008, dctp on SAT 1 - The play of the century, "Peer Gynt" by Henrik Ibsen, in the Munich Volkstheater. A young person in search of his "I": Peer Gynt. We see him at the lonely farm, from where he comes and to where he returns as a slave trader in Morocco, as Emperor in an asylum in Egypt, clutching a plank in the high seas. Three women accompany his life story.
Deutschland / Germany 1992-2008 - Directed and written by: Alexander Kluge - Cinematography by: Heribert Kansy, Walter Lennertz, Werner Lüring, Thomas Willke - Edited by: Kajetan Forstner, Andreas Kern - Contributors: Roland Forstner, Erich Harandt, Michael Kurz, Alexander Weil, Toni Werner - Produced by: Kairos-Film, München - Sound engineering by: Gunther Bittmann, Ernst Schillert
DVD features (2-disc DVD)
DVD 1
- Freiheit für die Konsonanten! 2004, 15'
- Das Fahrzeug ist die zweite Haut 2007, 15'
- Die Sicherheit des Präsidenten 2007, 15'
- "Ich bekenne!" / Die Kaffeefahrt 1992, 24'
- "Mit allem Reichtum meiner Nöte" 1999, 24'
- Das Weichziel ist der Mensch 2008, 45'
- 8page booklet with essay by Rainer Stollmann
DVD 2
- Grenzfälle der Schadensregulierung 2006, 24'
- "Das Quietschen der Macht, wenn sie die Bremsen zieht" 1992, 18'
- Der Abschrecker 2007, 15'
- Wa(h)re Liebe im Fronteinsatz 2001, 11'
- Das Halten von Totenschädeln liegt mir nicht! 2001, 45'
- Wer bin "ICH"? / Peer Gynt 2008, 19'
- Essays by Georg Seesslen and Rainer Stollmann and book by Alexander Kluge as ROM features
DVD edited by: Filmmuseum München and Goethe-Institut, funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation
DVD authoring: Ralph Schermbach
DVD supervision: Stefan Droessler
First Edition November 2008
