HEIMSPIEL<\/a> Film festival to TRANSIT FILMFEST. Behind this decision lies the aspiration to recognise and acknowledge the potential of transformation, diversity, transition and instability as a desirable social situation. TRANSIT as UTOPIA: a concept which was to be celebrated for the first time in the November 2020 festival edition.
Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 turned this concept into a bitter reality \u2013 not in the form of transformation, but as an abrupt breach; not in the sense of change, but as an INTERMISSION \u2013 a long pause with all its strange and deadly accompanying symptoms. Where might this lead? After the pandemic, will change and instability still be a feasible, healthy societal model? Will panic about the loss of the status quo, combined with the loss of personal \u2018freedom\u2019, force us back to a form of regressive \u2018stability\u2019 without solidarity, in which there is no room for the ways many people lives their lives? Or does the crisis actually contain an opportunity for reconsideration and authentic solidarity?
These paradoxes are reflected in the name of our forthcoming festival: TRANSIT20: INTERMISSION_UTOPIA. Combined, these three concepts embody diverse, contradictory forces that we will be analysing in this year\u2019s Festival Intermezzo. That\u2019s why this year\u2019s programme will be extended to include space for discourse, dialogue, thinking and knowledge. There is much to discuss in 2020, not only about cinema and films, but about their place and function in the new world which is busy taking shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCinema as Utopia<\/strong><\/strong>
A closed room with heavy fabrics, closely packed seats and a breath-taking atmosphere. Cinema, said Pedro Almod\u00f3var, can fill the loneliness and emptiness in our lives. What could be better than coming together to be carried away to other worlds by the thrill of a movie? Heide Schl\u00fcpmann once called cinema a space for utopia and emancipation in which, in early cinema, women first became visible in civil society. But what is to become of this once ideal place which some were already viewing as anachronistic, even before the pandemic? The institution of art house cinema has been lost to a wide audience, and it wasn\u2019t the lockdown that did it. Will the virus, in close collaboration with home cinema and streaming services, deal the coup de gr\u00e2ce to this cultural risk group? Does post-pandemic cinema even stand a chance?
That depends on how we interpret and wish to use it, with all its venerable promises. Cinema is much more than a public extension of the home sofa. Cinema is a place of longing which has something to offer us, not only as a place of immersion, emotion and reflection, but as a hybrid social space for communication and an ongoing exchange about film, history and society.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLooking ahead to form and programme \u2013 what we want<\/strong><\/strong>
TRANSIT FILMFEST doesn\u2019t plan to translate the existing festival structure into a purely online version. But we are very aware that big events may not be able to go ahead, even in autumn. Even if it would be possible to host one from an epidemiological and legal point of view, we don\u2019t want to run the festival in the usual way \u2013 and part of that is because of cinema\u2019s economic situation, the extremity of which demands a radical, meaningful and creative response, both practically \u2013 depending on the changing situation \u2013 and in terms of content.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHistorical film series RETRO_UTOPIA<\/em><\/strong><\/strong>
As part of a series of films, we will be looking back on known and lesser-known visions of human coexistence, alternative and diverse lived environments, and future social forms. Aside from cinematic presentation, we are especially interested in questions about the relationship between the contemporary context of cinematic world-designs and their actual significance for the here and now: which utopian and dystopian promises are discussed in film? How have these categories changed, along with the dimensions of wanting, dreaming and desiring \u2013 and, not infrequently, taking action? Is there reciprocity between the medium and society, and can conclusions be drawn from it? We want to look back so that, after this long pause, we can look forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWeekend edition CINEMA_UTOPIA<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/strong>
Instead of a week-long festival of highlights, this year will see a weekend edition. In terms of the programme, we have our eye on contemporary films that tackle the concepts of utopia and dystopia in the broadest possible sense, and research them immersively and\/or informatively in all their emotional, metaphorical, philosophical and socio-political manifestations. And, last but not least, we want our content to show solidarity with the many oppressed voices (not only those of the USA) and help in our own way to improve existing circumstances. We want to be a voice for change.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPanel discussion FORUM_UTOPIA<\/em><\/strong><\/strong>
As part of a series of discussions, we want to include filmmakers, theorists, activists, scientists and other people who are responding to the new reality in which we now live and to which we ourselves must now respond, and not only because of the coronavirus crisis. Can film, cinema and film festivals play a part in this? How can we, as part of a diverse and complex whole, fight for as fair a TRANSIT as possible into a better future? We have to talk.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDigital supporting programme and online screenings<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/strong>
New formats, formal and aesthetic openings into the digital world, virtual Q&As with filmmakers and industry representatives, articles and conversations about our time, about cinema, and of course about films \u2013 all this will complete this year\u2019s festival programme. We are also working on additional online screenings to help counteract the hygiene regulations and potential limits on visitor numbers that may still exist in autumn.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAll in all, we are remaining true to our credo: nothing is set in stone, everything is in Transit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Transit Filmfest Regensburg A volunteer team of students of media studies and film-enthusiastic members of H\u00f6r und Schau e. V. presents a best-of of the German and international cinema year beyond the usual programme. The content focus is on innovative, authoritative and controversial productions, while the festival itself remains formally open. If the word Transit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":11467,"parent":1384,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":""},"coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"https:\/\/www.transit-filmfest.de\/archiv\/en\/blog\/author\/stefanie\/","display_name":"Stefanie Gstettner"},"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 6 years ago","modified":"Updated 6 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on 18. April 2020","modified":"Updated on 7. August 2020"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on 18. April 2020 13:12","modified":"Updated on 7. August 2020 08:20"},"featured_img_caption":"","featured_img":"https:\/\/www.transit-filmfest.de\/archiv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/teamfoto_website_balken.jpg","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transit-filmfest.de\/archiv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7857"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transit-filmfest.de\/archiv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transit-filmfest.de\/archiv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transit-filmfest.de\/archiv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transit-filmfest.de\/archiv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7857"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.transit-filmfest.de\/archiv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11425,"href":"https:\/\/www.transit-filmfest.de\/archiv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7857\/revisions\/11425"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transit-filmfest.de\/archiv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1384"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transit-filmfest.de\/archiv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transit-filmfest.de\/archiv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}