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The True Film (2018-) – VR, currently in production Open or Close
synopsis
Film theorist, sociologist and writer Siegfried Kracauer and his wife Elisabeth emigrated from Germany to the United States during World War II. While digitizing their estate, a historian is visited by “Friedel” and “Lili,” the couple‘s restless spirits. They want to prevent important documents from their lifetimes passing into oblivion due to sketchy links in the database.
How does one interpret a person‘s legacy? What is important for posterity? Visitors accompany the historian, Friedel and Lili to New York, Venice, and the Swiss Alps of the 1950s. On these travels they get to know the Kracauers and begin to comprehend the inconsistencies in the records they left behind, while the character of Elisabeth Kracauer makes the misrepresented role of women and wives evident to them.
Visitors‘ personal interests and affinities determine whether the interactive story focuses more on private or public themes; in doing so, visitors take up a position within Kracauer‘s circle of philosopher friends.production
Susanne Guggenberger, Mira Film GmbH, Zürich https://mirafilm.ch/en/the-true-film/
Sönke Kirchhof, INVR.SPACE, Berlin https://invr.space/crew
script & creative director: Christina Zimmermann
art director: Juan Garcia
character development: Oliver Stephan, Sandro Lochau, Alexandro Holler, Shweta Gadkari, Yume Tanaka
motion capture actors: Corinne Soland, Suramira Vos, Jonas Götzinger, Susanne Guggenberger, Stephanie Constantin
motion capture: Valentin Huber (Immersive Arts Space, ZHdK)
level design: Jony Margelist, Timo (INVR.SPACE)
sound: Thomas Baumgartnersupported by Fachausschuss Film/Medienkunst, Basel-Stadt/Baselland, Zürcher Filmstiftung, BAK (Development), Migros Kulturprozent, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg
presentation at IDFA 2020 (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, Forum)
https://www.idfa.nl/en/film/2ec313c7-edaa-4de5-b648-032227106c79/the-true-film/idfa-forumpresentation at GIFF 2021 (Geneva International Film Festival, Digital Market)
https://www.giff.ch/en/film/the-true-film/presentation at Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Mifa 2022
https://www.giff.ch/en/giff-unlimited-mifa/ -
Freeze (2021-2022) - Educational Theatre Project Open or Close
Synopsis
What does climate change have to do with us? Do we have to do anything about climate change? In June 2021, during the Corona pandemic, we filmed a play with pupils from the Rudolf Steiner School Mayenfels, Pratteln, which they had devised, written and rehearsed together with their class teacher and director Peter Meyer.
Production
Christina Zimmermann
Team
director: Peter Meyer
camera: Christina Zimmermann, Benedikt German, Finian Landes
interviews: Dominique Turzer
sound: Thomas Baumgartner
editing: Christina Zimmermannsupported by Kulturelles BL
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Between Lightning and Thunder (2014-) – script development, feature Open or Close
supported by Fachausschuss Film/Medienkunst, Basel-Stadt/Baselland
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Video Installations (2010-2012) Open or Close
The melt is on the left (2012) - music clip, video intervention
Music clip for a site-specific intervention at a multi-site art exhibition (Regionale 13). The video was shown on a shuttle bus crossing the German-Swiss border. A song about the paradoxies of residential restrictions.
crew
lyrics, director, producer, editing: Christina Zimmermann
director of photography: Fatmir Gashi
sound: Florian Niekamp
camera and set assistant: Nina StefankaSwitzerland | music clip | 3 min | FullHD | color | Dolby SR
Shifting ground (2011-2012) - multi-channel video-installation
Experimental investigations of the people’s subjection to climate in Japan. In July and August 2010, together with a dancer from Tokyo we collected clips of the rain and the latent risk of earthquakes. In the light of the natural and human-made disasters in march 2011 and their aftermath the light-heartedness of our performances turns dubious: It mirrors a calm and affirmative attitude towards the waywardness of nature, which through the recent tragic events will probably disappear for a long time.
dancer: Airi Suzuki
actor: Masahiko Suda, Dominique Turzer
concept, director and filming: Christina Zimmermann
translation: Airi Suzuki, Kozue KinoshitaJapan/Germany | multi-channel video installation | FullHD | color | Dolby SR
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Alpha Omega (2008) – documentary Open or Close
Since the 18th century the protestant cemetery is a burial place for non-catholic foreigners. The cemetery is a memorial place, a workplace, a touristic site – and it is also one of the few green spots left in the city. On this heterotopian island of peace amidst the roman traffic noise 70 abandoned cats spend their lives. A day out there reveals more about life than death.
script, director, producer, editor: Christina Zimmermann
director of photography: Stefanie Gaus
sound, translation: Raphaëlle de Germiny
sounddesign: Olaf Hochherz
supported by Bauhaus-University Weimar and Ministery for Building, Regional Development and Traffic of the Free State of Thuringia, Germanydocumentary | 50 min | MiniDV | color | Dolby SR
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Lovesick (2007) – screenplay for puppet animation Open or Close
A painful heart, never drying tears and twisted heads are difficult to treat, but fortunately not incurable...
Idea, design and director: Spela Cadez | Animation: Spela Cadez, Matej Lavrencic, Oliver Throm | Screenplay: Christina Zimmermann | Light: Michael Jörg | Edit: Eli Cortinas Hidalgo | Postproduction: Thomas Schmidl | Music: Mateja Staric | Sound Design: Johanna Herr | Tutors: Prof. Raimund Krumme, Prof. Thomas Bauermeister, Lutz Garmsen | Production: Academy of Media Arts Cologne | Foundation: Filmstiftung NRW
Germany / Slovenia | 2007 | puppet animation | 35 mm | 8:30 min | color | 1:1,85 | 25 FR | Dolby SR
read more and watch the film at https://vimeo.com/30754492
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Long-distance-writing (2004) – short film, fiction Open or Close
A young woman is translating a book and a young telegraphist would like to understand the secret encoded messages he is passing through day by day. Centred around the dark pole of the optical telegraph somewhere in no man's land "Long-distance writing" is a parable about people with difficulties to communicate directly with each other.
cast
Anna: Agnieszka Piwowarska
Johann: Robert Neumann
old telegraphist: Harald Warmbrunn
woman at post office: Veronika Nowag-Jones
land surveyor: Dietrich Schulz
crew
script, director, producer, editing: Christina Zimmermann
director of photography: Dirk Lütter
sound: Achim Strommenger
set design: Susanne Joachim
music: Manuel Schmitt
sound mixing: Ralf Schipkesupported by Filmstiftung NRW and local film funding Saxonia-Anhalt
Germany | 2004 | Short film | fiction | 16 mm | 27 min | color | Dolby SR
watch the film at https://vimeo.com/223511574