Badeschluss

A motionless long shot shows us the nearly deserted field at a public swimming pool: in the foreground are small, colorfully painted seating arrangements, behind them, lounge chairs, trees, a restaurant. Isolated figures, so small as to be unrecognizable, move in the back of the image. A harmonious melody sounds, then a voice from the loudspeaker: "It´s that time again; the day at the pool has come to an end." Half an hour left to change; the pool is now closed for swimming: Badeschluss. The last towels are folded; an older couple walks calmly through the picture, on their way home. (Toby Ashraf)