Experiencing Interruptions?

RADIO TAXI 1991 - Night Shift in Berlin (West)

1991: Summer in West Berlin

Filming while driving? “Actually that is a big no-no, but the passengers didn't mind at all.”
The young taxi driver casually experiments with a video camera – films and comments what is happening around him. Spontaneous, raw and authentic.

1991: Year one after reunification. Kohl as all-German federal chancellor and the West Berlin taxi driver as a stranger in his own city – which suddenly doubled in size!

With today’s options and a contemporary interpretation filmmaker Steffen Holzkamp edited his material to an intriguing mix of road movie, historic document and making-of. Editing, music and research – the production becomes and integral part of the film.

Locations, which no longer exist, bizarre passengers, unexpected encounters and lots of time waiting at godforsaken taxi ranks.

A jump back to the turbulent Berlin shortly after the Wall came down. And a likable-cranky taxi driver on a quest - not only for his next tour.

  • Steffen Holzkamp
    Director
  • Steffen Holzkamp
    Producer
  • Hera Lindholm
    Sound
  • Masha Nakomi
    Music
  • Elli Braun
    Editor
  • John Nambesi
    Camera
  • Steffen Holzkamp
    Camera
  • Imke Rust
    Editorial Assistance
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Funktaxe 1991 - Nachtschicht durch Berlin (West)
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental
  • Runtime:
    45 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    December 1, 2020
  • Country of Origin:
    Germany
  • Country of Filming:
    Germany
  • Language:
    German
  • Shooting Format:
    SD 768x576 25i, UHD 2840 50p
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • TMFF - The Monthly Film Festival

    Winner - Best Feature Film, January - February Edition, 2021
  • Berlin Indie Film Festival 2021

    Honorable Mention, January 2021
  • Rome Independent Prisma Awards

    Semi Finalist - Best Feature Doc, January 2021
  • 2022 ARFF Berlin // International Awards
    Berlin
    Germany
    Finalist
  • Australia Film Festival
    Sidney
    Australia
    Honorable Mention, 2022
  • Capital Filmmakers Festival Berlin
    Berlin
    Germany
    Semi-Finalist, 2021
  • Berlin Film Week Berlin
    Berlin
    Germany
    Official Selection, 2021
  • Berlin Revolution Film Festival
    Berlin
    Germany
    Official Selection, 2021
  • Independent-Star Filmfest
    Freising
    Germany
    Official Selection, 2021
  • Mexico Film Festival Awards

    Official Selection, 2022
  • Danger Zone Independent Film Festival Hamburg
    Hamburg
    Germany
    January 1, 2025
    Official Selection, 2025
Director Biography - Steffen Holzkamp

Steffen Holzkamp lives as editor, musician and video producer north of Berlin. Born in West Berlin, he mingled as keyboarder in the colourful eighties Berlin music scene. Following jobs as camera assistant he started to work at the Deutsche Welle in the mid-nineties, specializing as television editor. Together with his wife, the Namibian-German artist Imke Rust, Holzkamp produces art videos inspired or based on land art installations and performances.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

In younger years I used to work as a taxi driver. At one stage I took a camera along on some of my nightshifts. When I found this material again, I was surprised at how carefree I filmed, even with passengers on board.

Today this would be impossible, but in Berlin, one year after the reunification, it felt like anything was possible. Viewing the material, took me straight back to the balmy summer of 1991. So many bizarre encounters, intriguing passengers and philosophical monologues - somewhere in the last corners of this still beautifully-incomplete city.

This nostalgic, yet exciting feeling is what I want to share with the audience.