Sommerspiele
Sommerspiele is a cinematic exploration of history and memory, centred on the life and work of German avant-garde dancer and artist Valeska Gert, within the context of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.
Set against the backdrop of Nazi architecture and echoing Gert’s use of the grotesque, the film exposes the failures of collective memory. Blending autobiography, historical fact, and art-historical reference and speculation, Sommerspiele embraces the potential of performance and cinema to evoke poetic and political empathy beyond time. Through a transnational and feminist lens on both past and present, the film reflects on the resurgence of fascism.
The performance is part of Figures of Fascism and Antifascist Solidarity. Click here for the full programme.
• Eszter Salamon is an artist and performer. She lives and works in Berlin and Paris. She is currently a PhD candidate at the National Academy of the Arts in Oslo. Since 2001, she has created solo works, large-scale performances, films, and performative and film installations, which have been presented in performing arts venues and museums worldwide. Her multidisciplinary work lies at the intersection of bodily movement, voice, text, music, the moving image, and documentary and fiction.
director Eszter Salamon | voice and performance Eszter Salamon | director of photography Marie Zahir | editing and story advisor Minze Tummescheit | colour grading and special effects Arne Hector | sound design and mixing Christian Obermaier | assistant director João Carvalho | additional images Ashton C. Green, Minze Tummescheit | assistant camera Viola Zichy, Loup Deflandre, Greta Markurt Gaffer Eli Börnicke, Janne Ebel, Katja Rivas Pinzón, Elisa Daniel | sound recordist Manuela Schininà, Donata Schmidt-Werthern, Marina Funck, Arne Hector | electrician Ashton C. Green, Elisa Daniel, Harebell Suzuki, Nikita Znak, Mica Dans, Victoria Bergmann, Sol Astolfi, Héctor Calderon | drone operator Andrea Schmidt, Anne Misselwitz | set assistant Javier Blanco, Santiago Doljanin, Marilou Fiévet Best Boy Arne Weiß | catering Matthias Halke, Mašiko | post-production supervisor Minze Tummescheit Foley Artist Carsten Richter Foley | mixer Hanse Warns Foley | editor Helene Seidl | vocal coach Johanna Peine | camera and sound equipment flockefilm GmbH, Florian Brückner, Maier Bros., Camelot | broadcast services Foley Stage Studio Warns | vocals recording Mariia Mias at Viktoria Studios Berlin | postproduction Studio cinéma copains | production Botschaft GbR / Alexandra Wellensiek, Studio ES / Elodie Perrin, Institute of Speculative Narration and Embodiment | production manager João Carvalho | production assistant Héctor Calderon, Laura Gönczy, Sonja Schreiber, May Dugast | supported by the NATIONAL PERFORMANCE NETWORK - STEPPING OUT, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media within the framework of the initiative NEUSTART KULTUR. Assistance Program for Dance, KHiO - Oslo National University of the Arts | funded by Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Community, the Regional Directory of Cultural Affairs of Paris – Ministry of Culture and Communication, French Ministry for Culture - DGCA (Direction Générale de la Création Artistique) | research residency at Mille Plateaux, La Rochelle | special thanks to Verwaltung Olympiapark Berlin, Sommerbad Olympiastadion, Waldbühne Berlin / Ananda Siegling, Akademie der Künste, Svea Immel, Christoph Fey / Von Have Fey Rechtsanwälte, Bojana Cvejić, Lívia Páldi, Franziska Kollinger, Agnes Kern, Paola Yacoub Song „Vorbei“ (Rolf Marbot / Bert Reisfeld / Mauprey AJ) © Meridian Editions. Courtesy of Edition Marbot GmbH
— The Reappearances series relates in various ways to the following works by Valeska Gert: Humoreske (1916), Modedame (1917), Pause (1920), Kupplerin (1920), Laster (1920), Orgasmus (1922), Clown (1922), Versammlung (1931), Schlummerlied (1950s), and Grüsse aus dem Mumienkeller (1926), as well as anecdotes and thoughts articulated in her autobiographical book Ich bin eine Hexe. Kaleidoskop meines Lebens (1968). Some of the performative elements in the film were developed after a series of works called The Valeska Gert Monuments: the sound installation Love Letters to Valeska Gert (2016) by Eszter Salamon, as well as the performances The Valeska Gert Museum (2017), and The Valeska Gert Monument (2017), both created in collaboration with artist and performer Boglárka Börcsök.
