Sinfonie der Kleinstadt / Symphony Of A Small Town

A young Pakistani is being instructed to wash and cut hair in a hairdressing salon. A woman from Afghanistan learns to operate the sewing machines, showing skill. A young woman from Eritrea gets an introduction into payroll accounting in a city office.

Having in mind Walter Ruttmann's silent classic "Symphony of A Big City" from 1927 the filmmakers Faroqhi & Peretz create a short documentary narration of integration and solidarity in modern time Germany.

The images show work processes in various small businesses and training centers in the periphery around the big city of Berlin, a poor region that suffers from poverty and a lack of skilled apprentices.
The filmmakers have initiated visits by residents of a refugee hostel at local businesses and training centers. The young people make experiences with professions and crafts in a country still new to them. Their hosts have shed away prejudices and fears of "the other".

The film shows a utopia of community in today's Germany.

In title cards, whose use recalls classic silent films, the purpose of the work is considered as a means of defining and shaping one's relationship with the surrounding world.

The sounds of the film were created under the direction of the composers Eunice Martins and Laura Mello.

The film is the result of a film workshop commissioned by the Festival FILM WITHOUT BORDERS Bad Saarow which took place in June 2019 in Bad Saarow, Fürstenwalde and Storkow (Brandenburg).