Das andere Ich
When creating a record of a dream it is inevitable to put the self in the center. I did so for the editing of this project, which I started around my 40th birthday. I built stepping stones with images from my archive. This process allows me to reflect on my Self. At the moment, the only limit is the distance to my film archive, or more precisely, the film material I did not scan, before I left for the U.S. in 2018. In fact, I went totally digital from this moment on. I will go on to develope the sequence further, once I have access to the material, when I´m back, this year in May.
For this project, I left for a journey through the dimension of my lifetime. Das andere Ich, in German, my mother tongue, translates to 'The Other Self'. To look at this sequence feels like a conversation with myself. It seems, if I seek an inner dialogue, that I have to include my emotions about the movement of my life at any decisive moment (be it taking or editing pictures). I organized the selected images in a way that it reflects my affection to the subject. Therefore, I see Das andere ich as a preparation for my return home, after a long absence. This reconstruction of my past and dwelling on elusive vicissitudes of my life, will reveal myself beyond my conciousness. That, in return, allows me to know better the other: my subject. To know my subject better means this process of self-examination will deepen my integrity for a follow-up project, which will be on migration in Europe. This project I will start this summer.
Das andere Ich is open ended. Despite the two profound changes, in form of a pandemic and a fierce conflict in Ukraine, which both surged during my absence from home, I feel obliged and ready to turn my absence into presence and invest the maximum of myself to face the reality of the crisis.
It was the first and only time I would meet Raúl, Talia's dad. He unexpectedly died from COVID-19, 22 days after our visit. Therefore, we later thought about the possibility that we could have contracted the virus.
After Talia´s dad passed away, on December 18, 2020, I thought about what my dad means to me. After I asked him to show me a bit about webdesign, we were having regular virtual meetings. Soon our meetings turned into long talks about what is happening in the world and stories of our past. I feel that in those meetings we both have the opportunity to know each other from a fresh perspective and developed a true friendship.
The girl in frame almost sprayed paint in my face. I did not know that women in the march may turn separatist.
Born into a Kurdish family, Bahatin grew up near the Iron Curtain, in West Berlin, during the 1980´s. He witnessed in person the fall of the Berlin wall and the change of the system thereafter.
This is a movie theater in the town where I was living during the process for my Green Card. Here it is how I found it after I had returned from a four-month trip to Mexico, during which the pandemic has broken out.
Due to the pandemic, she has to perform via live-stream. Her intimate space has become a stage.
This is at a farm house, where I was living with Kate, my wife,during the process for my Green Card.
Stefen showed me how conspiracy theories are communicated in movies.
Daniel has taught me many skills in the movie industry. We have been friends since our teens. I visited him for his graduation ceremony at the American Film Institute.
They are from Ukraine. Shay´s parents immigrated to Israel in the 1980´s.
This balloon detects ballistic missiles which come from Gaza.