Leben gegen die Zeit. Die Sorben - Slawen in Deutschland
Race Against Time. The Sorbs - Slavs in Germany
Having dedicated earlier works to the wealth of Sorbian culture, as passed on from generation to generation, Konrad Herrmann turned his attentions here to a forthright analysis of the existentialist threats faced by the minority, a decision that proved controversial amongst the Sorbs themselves – it was attempted to prevent the film from being screened. In the process he openly addressed what his earlier footage had merely hinted at: the central role of church, family and village traditions in Sorbian society, as well as the threat posed to its existence by the spillover effects of coal mining and a general lack of post-reunification prospects. A central element of Herrmann's analysis is the coexistence of two peoples, and the “aggressive dominance” of the Germans.
An observation repeated over the centuries that finds confirmation (not only) in current-day Bautzen: “The majority of Germans find it difficult to coexist with other nationalities.” Herrmann asked questions that, instead of being resolved over time, have if anything only intensified. GL
DVD | Farbe / colour
Wolf Oschlies, Konrad Herrmann
Ulrich Wrede, Jürgen Partzsch
MDR, BR
Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk
Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts
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04275 Leipzig
Germany
Tel.: +49.341.30 00
publikumsservice@mdr.de
www.mdr.de
Konrad Herrmann - born 1948 in Bautzen, Germany. He studied directing at the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen “Konrad Wolf”, GDR, and switched from East German state television to the DEFA Documentary Film Studio in 1986. Since 1994 Herrmann has been working as a freelance director and author. He is also founder of the HerrmannFilm production company Berlin.
RUBLAK – LEGENDA WÓ WUMĚRJANEM KRAJU (1983)
ALLTAG DER TRÄUME (1986, short, exp)
LIEB GEORG (1988, doc)
DIE ANGST UND DIE MACHT (1989, doc)
HONECKERS ZERMONIENMEISTER (1991, doc)
LEBEN GEGEN DIE ZEIT (1993, doc, Cottbus 2016)
SIEG ÜBER DEN HASS (1995, doc, Cottbus 2016)
EIN ALTROCKER IN AMT UND WÜRDEN (1998, doc)
IM UNRUHESTAND (2004, doc)
