ALLES ANDERE ZEIGT DIE ZEIT

During the fall of 1989 DEFA documentary filmmaker Voigt, together with his co-director Gerd Kroske, cameraman Sebastian Richter and a heavy load of 35mm equipment, plunged into the “revolutionary” events that, at the time, no one was able to predict the outcome of. The result was the film LEIPZIG IN AUTUMN, a work which formed the basis for the now five-part Leipzig cycle. LAST YEAR TITANIC (1991), FAITH LOVE HOPE (1994) and BIG WIDE WORLD (1997) revolve around a collection of individuals who, with varying degrees of intensity, form the focus of each chapter. Sven, who lives near Wuppertal, oscillates freely between extreme left and right views. Isabell, on the other hand, has learned to barricade herself behind a bourgeois wall of respectability. Renate is only to be seen in older footage: the one-time editor took her life in 2001. The overall picture of these “heroes” is sobering and yet even in this part of his chronicle the director manages to avoid a tone of lament over missed opportunities and abandoned hopes. The resulting work is neither an investigation, nor does it engage in moral or political judgements. CL