IMITATION OF LIFE : remake berlin

Lukas Matthaei likewise cooperates with residents of the Skulpturenpark Berlin_Zentrum. For IMITATION OF LIFE : remake berlin, the artist casts local residents in a staged shoot of a scene from Douglas Sirk’s 1959 film of the same name. This, the final melodrama shot by the German émigré in Hollywood, handles family relationships and opportunities for upward mobility as outcomes of social conditions. Rainer Werner Fassbinder called it “A great, insane film about life and death!” Residents play the roles of characters in the film and the film crew. Thus, the remake is able to switch back and forth between these different positions on the set: the staged making-of is the actual screenplay. The resulting film will be screened at a public event in November, with the participants in attendance.

Team

Nicolai Albrecht (set-up), Elsa Mechin Angot (camera assistance), Michael Clemens (camera),
Michael Graessner (set design), Jörg Lukas Matthaei (artistic direction), Federico Neri (editing), Iris Richter (lighting), Frederyke Sauerbrey (assistant casting & communication), Johanna Weber (assistant set design)

Actors

João de Alcântara, Marika Bauer, Sarah & Alberto & Allessandro Citti, Angelika Eichenauer, Sibylle Kaduk, Monika Karwowska, Elias Scheideler, Marta Tudela

With special thanks to
Ugur Yildirim, Alex Bloom, Michael Nehls & Monika Karwowska, Kati Simon & the team from Skulpturenpark, Hüseyin Ucar from Delikat am Spittelmarkt and all the residents who opened their doors to us!



14. November 2021


18:30-19:00

Film Imitation of Life : remake berlin

with Lukas Matthaei & Team



Lukas Matthaei

Lukas Matthaei began with multidisciplinary interventions and performances in exchange with various artists in independent art venues and public spaces in Berlin during the 1990s. Since 2000 he has realized over 50 performative projects with collaborators & actors in Europe, Middle East, North Africa, India, USA. Under the label "matthaei & konsorten" he works in diverse formats, based on longer research phases in specific communities & diverse realities. For the stage, as installations & participatory stagings in urban landscapes, which are the focus of the artistic work.
www.matthaei-und-konsorten.de