Synopsis
“Scherbenland” tells the story of a band whose first album began with the question, “Why do I feel so lousy?”—and of a city that was transformed by their songs. In the early 1970s, Kreuzberg became a testing ground for a counterculture. With songs like “Macht kaputt, was euch kaputt macht,” “Alles verändert sich,” and “Der Traum ist aus,” Ton Steine Scherben gave a voice to a generation. Their music accompanied squatting, political struggles, and the search for a different way of life.
The film traces the legacy of that era and asks: What remains of that spirit of renewal? And what happens when the anthems of "Scherbenland" meet the songs of today? In today’s Berlin, “Scherbenland” encounters musicians whose songs tell stories of life in the neighborhood—including the rap trio RAPK and singer-songwriter Maike Rosa Vogel. Their music draws inspiration from the everyday life of a district caught between myth, gentrification, and a new cultural energy. A film about music and poetry as forms of resistance—then and now. And about whether both still have the power to change a city.
