Art in Motion

German experimental and avant-garde cinema

17 feb 2010

SMART Project Space and Goethe-Institut Amsterdam present a new, ongoing film series dedicated to experimental German cinema. German film history is deeply rooted in the early days of avant-garde cinema and experimental film making. Screening a number of classic film gems from the beginning of the last century to today, Art in Motion reveals the vibrant history of this genre of German film making.

Vergroot

Kornblum - source

Our Heavenly Bodies (Wunder der Schöpfung)

Hanns Walter Kornblum (Germany/1925/92 min)

In the context of Germany's Kulturfilm phenomenon, Our Heavenly Bodies was among the greatest achievements of the 1920's. An extraordinarily fascinating Kulturfilm, it attempts a comprehensive explanation of our understanding of the world and the universe in the 1920's.

To produce the film, fifteen special effects experts and nine cameramen worked together combining documentary footage, historical documents, fiction elements and animated scenes, with an end-goal of making an educational impact. This is a rarely seen gem from the early days of German cinema.