I Often Think of Hawaii

The Goethe-Institut Ottawa's monthly thematic film series on German cinema at Saint Paul University.

I Often Think of Hawai (Ich denke oft an Hawaii)

Germany (Federal Republic of Germany), 1978
Director: Elfi Mikesch

A directorial debut with an enduring magic: Inspired by the camp aesthetics of the American underground, Elfi Mikesch's experimental documentary "film for every living room" tells the story of her neighbor, 16-year-old Carmen, who lives with her brother Tito and her single mother in an apartment building on the periphery of 1970s West Berlin. Ruth Rossol used to work on an assembly line; now she earns a living for the family as a cleaning lady. The children's father, a Puerto Rican soldier, has long since returned to the USA.

This sensitive, image-poetic portrait of the everyday life and dream world of a teenager is marked by a longing for intensity that also characterizes Mikesch's later films: Real and artificial spaces - they are all part of one reality. - filmarchiv.at

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