Anna / Blue Boy / Ten Meter Tower

Anna

Anna is remembering stories from her childhood that were told so often that they became a self-description. Anna as a fat child in ballet class, Anna with a family friend in Venice, Anna as a teenager in the disco. These memories are part of an identity that is defined by the fat body, by the implanted thought of being wrong. How do you get rid of such images?
Anna is the third hybrid short film by werkgruppe2, which is developed and realized together with performer Katharina Bill. The texts were taken verbatim from interviews with fat women.

Director's Note:
The fact that fat people are discriminated against in our society is a well-known and obvious truth. What I did not realise, however, is how much I am trapped in perspectives, body images and stereotypes and how I contribute to the stigmatisation of fat people through careless phrases and actions. To question my attitude, it was essential to listen to the stories of fat women and to have an intensive exchange with the fat performer Katharina Bill. This process was challenging, shameful and important.

Blue Boy

Young men from all over the world have been meeting at the Blue Boy Bar in Berlin for forty years. According to their website, this is where the city‘s lonely hearts, business people and tourists go. One after another, several young men take a seat at the bar, look into the camera and listen to themselves. A contract has been settled, the terms are read aloud. It allows the filmmaker to use the interviews as he sees fit. The men are paid for it. The men tell the filmmaker about their job, they are sex workers. As we observe them, a multitude of questions arise. Their eyes are like a mirror of our society. (Berlin International Film Festival)

Ten Meter Tower

A ten meter diving tower. People who have never been up there before have to choose whether to jump or climb down. The situation itself highlights a dilemma: to weigh the instinctive fear of taking the step out against the humiliation of having to climb down. Ten Meter Tower is an entertaining study of the human in a vulnerable position.