Lonely Oaks

Kilian Kuhlendahl, Jens Mühlhoff, Fabiana Fragale / Germany / 2023 / Czech Premiere / 102 min.

synopsis

The remnants of the once vast Hambach Forest in Germany are definitively set to fall victim to lignite mining in 2018. A group of environmental activists are trying to prevent this by occupying the threatened area as a form of a protest. Among them, film student and journalist Steffen Meyn sets out to document the critical events from the perspective of the immediate participants. A 360° camera, which Steffen usually wears attached to his helmet, gives the film a unique perspective. This is accompanied by his sincere desire to understand activism as an authentic expression of defiance but also of radicalism and violence, which ultimately leads to his tragic death.

“Filmmakers Fabiana Fragale, Kilian Kuhlendahl and Jens Mühlhoff sifted through the archives of their late friend and interwove the material with interviews they conducted with the former squatters of Hambach Forest.”

Source: Nd.

biography

Fabina Fragale (1994) focuses on anti-capitalism and feminism, both in her films and in the Polsprung art collective projects. Kilian Kuhlendahl (1993), a Polspung member too, creates films, installations and performances. Jens Mühlhoff’s (1991) work explores the everyday realization of politics.