Films by Petra Lisson

Germany 2021, 98 min
by Daniela Abke

Paris, Belleville: a neighbourhood that epitomises migration, music and struggle. At the corner of Rue des Envierges echoes of the Paris Commune of 1871 resonate, as neighbours and strangers alike sing old French popular songs together at Le Vieux Belleville, one of the city's last remaining café musettes. An ensemble of truly emblematic characters pays tribute to the French revolutionary spirit - echoes of a bygone era perhaps, yet radically fresh. with Joseph Pantaleo, Lucio Urtubia, Minelle Guy, Riton la Manivelle, Robert Bober, S.C. Turne

Germany 2015, 93 min
by Andrea Roggon

Helge Schneider is one of the most extraordinary German artists: Jazz musician, entertainer, film director, actor and clown. His exceptional talent is his improvisational skill. This is where he shows his bubbling creativity. “I make the everyday grey colorful,” is what he says about himself. In his world, the fantastic coexists with the everyday and it is difficult to define the boundaries between reality and fiction. Even in his communication with his audiences, this element of disguise is used, humorously conveying his attitude toward the world. But how does Helge Schneider react to a filmmaker who approaches him to make a portrait about him when he doesn’t like for people to know too much about him?

Germany 2010, 87 min
by Andrea Roggon

Faces, sounds and voices from Havana. Off-screen and with complete honesty, Cubans tell us about their idea of freedom. "It is a lie I have repeated so often, I have started to believe it: I am free." They are very well aware of the restrictions placed on them as human beings: "I can do whatever I want, but only within a clearly defined context, place and time." Public enemy number one is Yoani Sánchez, a female blogger who exposes the nature of the system in her articles. Her aim with her blog, Generación Y, is to overcome her apathy and silence. "Freedom is the freedom to scream in public that you are not free," she says. Many desperate Cubans have braved the hazardous crossing to the United States. But in the words of poet Konstantinos P. Kavafis you will always be walking the streets of Havana wherever you go - you can't shake off the past.