Germany, France, Togo 2023, 96 min
by Jürgen Ellinghaus
Shortly before the First World War, the German 'Africa explorer' and film director Hans Schomburgk embarked on an unprecedented film expedition to West Africa to shoot adventure and documentary films in the exotic setting in the north of the then German colony of Togo. To this day, his films remain virtually unknown in Africa. Guided by the report of the actress Meg Gehrts, we travel more than a century later with a mobile cinema to original locations of Schomburgk's film adventures. Together with Togolese viewers, we question the film images regarding their historical background and the effects of colonialism. What do they reveal, what do they conceal about Togoland, which at the time was praised as the 'model colony' of the German Empire? And how will we have to deal with colonial film footage in the future?Original languages: Ife, French, Tem, Mina, Bassar, Kabiyé, Anufo, Dagbani, sign language (ASL), Konkomba. Available with German, English, French narration and Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic subtitles.
