Starts May 14

by Becky T.

It’s only fitting that photographer Michael Ballhaus and director Ciro Cappellari should have compiled a kaleidoscope of Berlin. Ballhaus started his career 30 years ago with Rainer Werner Fassbinder and later made a name for himself in the US, working with Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Robert Redford. Cappellari is 25 years younger, originated in Buenos Aires and studied film in Germany. Both have won international, national, critics’ and festival prizes, including an Academy Award.

Their documentary, which premiered at the 2009 Berlinale, features the city with its unique architecture, people and cultural events. The film covers 20 personalities such as Mayor Klaus Wowereit (and his boy friend), Ercan Ergin (a Turkish shop owner) and Nele Winkler (actress with Down Syndrome). We learn that Berlin has few skyscrapers, one fourth of the population has immigrant roots, and it is basically a big village. The film will be just as interesting when it finally shows on television. Where is the ultimate film about Hamburg? Now, that would be really fascinating!