ANGRIFF AUF DIE DEMOKRATIE – EINE INTERVENTION

On December 18, 2011, a memorable agit-matinee took place at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HdKdW) in Berlin: Ten German intellectuals from different disciplines took to the stage for ten minutes each to talk about aspects of the euro crisis miasma and how this very real threat could, should, ought to be countered. The director Romuald Karmakar himself was one of the ten; in keeping with his art, he did not speak but showed a short film. The event was recorded by the HdKdW and 3sat. From this material, Karmakar edited Angriff auf die Demokratie – Eine Intervention, concentrating on the essentials, the speakers and their presentations simply and clearly, just as we are accustomed to from his feature films (including Der Totmacher, 1995; Die Nacht singt ihre Lieder, 2004) and his documentaries (including Das Himmler-Projekt, 2000; Land der Vernichtung, 2004; Villalobos, 2010). The film gets to the heart of the political demands of this Berlin morning. Resistance means taking your time; resistance means insisting; resistance needs a real, physical community: presence - that has to be created, and that is one of the things the film is there for. This is about the “pólis”, radically.