How to calm down

Nike, Bilal and Marvin move into a studio and, full of idealism, they start up a workshop with young migrants from Africa. The participant´s inability to understand the point of the improvised workshop calls its sense into question, as do the internal power struggles among the three initiators in their attempts to stand out. When a romantic relationship between Bilal and Nike is in the offing, the unstable balance becomes increasingly shaky. Political commitment is overshadowed by their personal needs, and they lose sight of the original goal.

The tiny studio becomes a venue for scenes involving group dynamics, and stereotypical artist roles are both acted out and deconstructed. The provincial idyll of the locations outside the studio gives the setting a romantic touch, though these scenarios are unable to offer effective alternatives to the studio´s self-contained world. To the artists, the social reality seems as far removed as Africa itself.

Loretta Fahrenholz and Hans-Christian Lotz bring to life the discrepancy between the claim of artistic work´s social relevancy and its actual potential effectiveness as a somnambulistic-pubescent state in which the protagonists are increasingly thrown back upon themselves. The integration of various types of images, film genres, narrative forms and manners of staging into a loose narrative framework turns How to calm down into a kaleidoscopically reflexive film. An equally diversified and aesthetic portrait of a generation of young artists is created, their political and social interest is canceled out by constant self-reflection within the context of art.

(Tina Schulz)

Translation: Steve Wilder

Orig. Title
Wie man ruhig wird
Year
2008
Country
Germany
Duration
70 min
Category
Fiction
Orig. Language
German
Subtitles
English
Downloads
Credits
Director
Hans Christian Lotz, Loretta Fahrenholz
Cinematography
Andreas Umpfenbach
Music
Daniel Neumann, Hans Christian Lotz
Sound
Patrick Franke, Leo Kaufmann
Editing
Hans Christian Lotz, Loretta Fahrenholz
Sound
Karsten Rentz
Actor/Actress
Alexander Hempel, Inka Meißner, Carsten Tabel
Lighting
Andreas Umpfenbach, Philipp Moritz
Costumes
Jens Fanslau
Production
Loretta Fahrenholz, Hans Christian Lotz
Translation
Oliver Kossatz
Supported by
Kulturstiftung des Freistaats Sachsen
Available Formats
Betacam SP (Distribution Copy)
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Sound Format
stereo
Frame Rate
25 fps
Color Format
colour