Films by Carina Mergens

2023, 118 min
by Regina Schilling

At 34, Igor Levit is an exceptional artist in the world of classical music. A young rebel, who - at the piano - transforms into a mature musician. At age nine he arrived in Germany, a Jewish immigrant of Russian descent. Having an opinion and publicly expressing it, is not a choice, it is a survival strategy. The film follows the artist over two years as Levit explores his “life after Beethoven“, as he searches for his next challenge, his identity as an artist. We observe him recording new pieces, his intense immersion into the music, his collaborations with conductors, orchestras and recording artists, his warm embrace of the audiences. And then Covid hits. Having booked 180 concerts all over the world, just to see them being cancelled, Levit is among the first to adapt, establishing a musical lifeline between him and his community on Instagram and twitter. And by doing so he discovers a new freedom, away from the constraints of touring, publishing and marketing.Over the course of two years the film accompanies the artist while he navigates between a traditional career in the classics, his need for activism and an uncertain path as a musician who connects and inspires. [GFQ 4 2022]

2023, 83 min
by Philipp Jedicke

Vienna, the former music capital of Europe, has become increasingly relevant again. With the wry approach that is typical of this city, the young underground music scene there romanticizes the raw and rabid. Hedonist and nihilist at the same time, the young Viennese artists embody the opposite of self-optimization. They are unadjusted, eccentric characters – and they are filling concert halls not only in Austria, but also in Germany and Switzerland. VIENNA CALLING starts with the aim of being a music documentary. But increasingly, the true protagonist emerges as the city of Vienna itself. Like a flâneur, the camera saunters by day and night through the lanes, bars and casual joints of Vienna, taking diversions, becoming lost only to find its way again. The strolling rhythm is instigated by the music, performed by Viennese artists and their famous charm or "Schmäh". Part documentary, part staged, interwoven with musical performances, the project gradually reveals itself as a mosaic of eccentricity. VIENNA CALLING digs deep into the catacombs of Viennese culture far from the mainstream. With its many performances and semi-fictional scenes, VIENNA CALLING is not a music documentary in the classic sense of the word, but rather a docu-musical. The film provides a stage for Viennese artists like the Turkish-Austrian duo EsRAP, who are first generation immigrants, non-binary rap artist Kerosin95, radical feminist authors Stefanie Sargnagel and Lydia Haider, songwriters Voodoo Ju?rgens and Der Nino aus Wien, and many more. VIENNA CALLING is a poetic approximation to the underground scene of an old European metropolis that experiences the current cultural changes and conflicts of our time. Viennese artists take the room they need for their art in a city that becomes increasingly gentrified. VIENNA CALLING is an homage to daring artists, it is about the hardships of creating art and art's need for space and independence.With: Voodoo Jürgens, Nino Aus Wien, EsRap, Gutlauninger, Kerosin95, Buntspecht a.o.

2021, 89 min
by Laurentia Genske, Robin Humboldt

Two Syrian sisters, on the verge of adulthood and trans *, are looking to find their way in their new home-country Germany. This film not only tells the moving story of a family that sticks together despite all hardships, but also poses the question of one's own identity. A coming-of-age documentary about the search for one's individual place in society.

Germany, Austria 2019, 83 min
by Gesa Hollerbach

The last school has shut its doors, every other house is empty, there are only rapeseed fields as far as the eye can see. The last holdovers in the country are faced with the decision: stay or go?  "All for the Countryside" traces a host of societal phenomena that are caused by changing dynamics in rural areas and follows four individuals over the course of several years, each of whom give unexpected impulses to life on the countryside. The quartet consists of a mayor who's stuck between the front lines when parents resort to illegal protest classes to prevent the closing of the local middle school; a farmer who enters the political sector and tries to exercise political pressure in the EU parliament against the practice of land concentration in Europe; and an astronomer who together with a local restaurant owner fights for the protection of our natural skies by attempting to obtain UNESCO status for an unknown village. While each of the quartet has completely different backgrounds, they are united in their strong belief in the power of the individual and the courage to enter uncharted territory with their actions. The film dives deep into their personal microcosms and shows what can be done to prevent the eradication of the European countryside. The story is a profoundly European one, as all across Europe people living in the countryside are faced with similar challenges

Germany 2018, 88 min
by Melanie Andernach, Andreas Köhler

The Shaash family is spread out all over the world. The civil war in Somalia forced them into exile. Suddenly, the oldest family member, Imra (88), must leave her exile in Ethiopia. The rest of the family has to find a fast solution. But where should she go? And where can she go? Some where where other family members have already found a new home and a new future? Based on these questions, a transnational family drama unfolds, one in which a family tries everything and fails to find a new home for Imra. In the end, her only choice is to return to war-torn Somalia. GLOBAL FAMILY offers insight into the fate of the many people who have had to leave their homeland – for whatever reasons. They hope for a life together with their families, but have to live separated from one another, spread out all over the world.

France, Germany 2018, 82 min
by Philipp Jedicke

Chilly Gonzales is a Grammy-winning composer, virtuoso pianist and entertainer. Criss-crossing between rap, electro and solo piano music, he became the outrageous pop performer who invited himself to the ivory tower of classical music. Change seems to be the only constant in Gonzales‘ journey. The cinematic documentary Shut Up And Play The Piano follows Gonzales from his native Canada to late 90‘s underground Berlin, and via Paris to the world‘s great philharmonic halls. The playfulness of his character is mirrored in the look of the film. Reality and fiction blur together as we embark on a trip through Chilly Gonzales‘ world.with: Peaches, Leslie Feist, Sibylle Berg, Jarvis Cocker, Joe Flory, Adam Traynor, Paul PM aka Mr. Maloke (Puppetmastaz), Raik Hölzel, Raz Ohara, Renaud Letang, Kleber Valim, Lena Buhl, Cornelius MeisterBerlinale catalogue:'One of these days I will shut up and play the piano’ is how the chorus goes in the song which provides the title of this cinematic portrait of eclectic musician Chilly Gonzales. In fact, after making a name for himself as a brazen electro-rapper, this Canadian, whose real name is Jason Charles Beck, really did reinvent himself as a creator of quiet sounds on the piano. In 2003, this self-styled maverick loudly declared himself president of Berlin’s underground music scene, only to conquer bourgeois concert halls shortly afterwards with his tranquil album, ‘Solo Piano’. An extended conversation between him and writer Sibylle Berg is the thread that runs through the film. No holds are barred as they get down to the business of question and answer, and each of them gives as good as they get. In his directing debut, Philipp Jedicke displays a lightness of touch as he blends archive material with playfully dramatised scenes and interviews with the musician’s contemporaries such as Peaches, Leslie Feist and Jarvis Cocker. Rounded off by Gonzales’ energetic performances, the film allows us to discover a hard-working entertainer who never fails to surprise.