Life or Death of a City - A filmic Triptych
"Life or Death of a City" (“Über Leben oder Sterben einer Stadt”) is an experimental documentary about the structural change in Brandenburg, Germany (formerly East Germany) based on the example of a city, which is located 80 kilometres south of Berlin, right beside a biosphere reserve called “Spreewald”.
Once also located there was a coal-fired power station, which, at the time it was built, was one of the biggest coal-fired power stations in Europe. With the construction of the power station at the end of the 1950s, the medieval small town was expanded and transformed into an industrial city.
Since the withdrawal of the coal- and energy industry in the aftermath of political transformation in Eastern Europe at the beginning of the 1990s the city has been confronted with a massive population decline, which forced the town community to undergo extensive structural changes – from that time on the city has built itself back and at the same time modernized itself thoroughly. Nowadays, the city is deemed a prime example of the so called “Stadtumbau Ost” (Urban Redevelopment East).
This filmic triptych documents the life of the city after its de-industrialization as well as the effects on the surrounding area caused by the inactive as well as the ongoing coal mining and the subsequent procedures to regenerate and protect these unique natural areas.
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Sascha KloasDirector
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Myriam MusolffProduction Management
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Christian ObermaierSound Design
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Project Title (Original Language):Über Leben oder Sterben einer Stadt - Ein filmisches Triptychon
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Project Type:Documentary, Experimental, Short, Student
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Runtime:19 minutes 35 seconds
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Completion Date:April 11, 2019
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Country of Origin:Germany
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Country of Filming:Germany
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Language:German
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Shooting Format:Digital (C4K)
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Aspect Ratio:19:10
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:Yes - Berlin University of the Arts
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Mov(i)e Activism '20Berlin
Germany
July 15, 2020
Official Selection -
Golden Short Film FestivalRome
Italy
September 26, 2020
Official Selection -
Paris Film FestivalParis
France
April 29, 2021
Nominee "Best Experimental Short" -
Sunday Shorts Film FestivalLondon
United Kingdom
November 1, 2020
Official Selection -
Prague International Indie Film FestivalPrague
Czech Republic
September 18, 2021
Nominee "Best Young Filmmaker" -
International Migration & Enviromental Film FestivalToronto
Canada
October 9, 2021
Official Selection -
Athens International Monthly Art Film FestivalAthens
Greece
November 10, 2021
Winner "Best Poster" -
Festival AngaelicaPasadena
United States
December 20, 2021
Offical Selection -
London International Monthly Film FestivalLondon
United Kingdom
January 20, 2022
Honorable Mention -
Rome Prisma Independent Film AwardsRome
Italy
August 18, 2022
Nominee "Best Experimental Film" -
SENSEI Tokyo FilmFest 2022Tokyo
Japan
December 12, 2022
Winner "Best Film Essay" / Nominee "Best Short Documentary", "Best Documentary Cinematography", "Best Documentary Editing", "Best World Changing Documentary" -
SUBURBINALEGroß-Enzersdorf
Austria
May 3, 2023
Offical Selection -
MAGMA Awards 2023
United States Minor Outlying Islands
August 16, 2023
Nominee "Best Short Documentary", "Best Doc Directing", "Best Doc Cinematography", "Best Doc Editing & Sound Design" -
FilmHaus BerlinBerlin
Germany
April 24, 2023
Winner "Best Film Essay" / Nominee "Best Short Documentary", "Best Doc Directing", "Best Doc Cinematography", "Best Doc Editing & Sound Design" -
LONELY WOLF INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALLondon
United Kingdom
April 21, 2023
Nominee "Best Short Documentary", "Best Doc Directing", "Best Doc Cinematography", "Best Doc Editing & Sound Design" -
Atlantic Bridge Film FestivalAmsterdam
Netherlands
June 3, 2023
Official Selection -
Aphelion Film FestivalRome
Italy
August 15, 2023
Winner "Best International Film", "Best Production Design" -
CLIMAX Critics AwardsMadrid
Spain
May 26, 2023
Winner "Best Documentary Short" -
Cinesis Independent FilmFest
Spain
July 7, 2023
Nominee "Best Student Film" -
New York Tri-State International Film FestivalNew York
United States
August 9, 2023
Official Selection -
PlanetCinema
Spain
November 24, 2023
Winner "Best Documentary Short", "Best Documentary Debut" / Nominee "Best Documentary Directing", "Best Documentary Cinematography", "Best Editing & Sound Design" -
Tokyo International Short Film FestivalTokyo
Japan
October 3, 2023
Official Selection -
NOCTURNA Online Brooklyn Film FestivalBrooklyn
United States
November 27, 2024
Nominee "Best Short Documentary", "Best Documentary Filmmaking" -
Kalakari Film FestDewas
India
July 21, 2024
Official Selection -
YETI FilmFestReykjavik
Iceland
November 25, 2024
Winner "Best Short Documentary"
Sascha Kloas was born and raised in a small town in the east of Germany and moved to Berlin at an early age. He studied visual communication at the Berlin University of the Arts. Since his studies he has been working in various fields of visual communication and has participated in several video and television productions.
With the experimental documentary "Life or Death of a City" – the practical part of his diploma thesis – he completed his studies in the field of visual communication at the Berlin University of the Arts.
Sascha Kloas is responsible for the idea, conception, cinematography and editing of the project "Life or Death of a City".