Hochwaldmärchen

A film essay documenting the devastation of the Lausitz region. The Sorb writer Jurij Koch describes the destruction wreaked as a component in an act of ethnocide: "The end of a language; even if the step is appantantly an economic necessity in terms of furhtering the region, it signifies impoverishment, the excavation of an ethnic habitat - a restriction of human richness."

Jewish and Christian music merge in this film about one of the oldest choirs in Germany, the choir in Magdeburg Cathedral, which has been performing together with the head cantor of the Jewish community in West Berlin, Estrongo Nachama, since 1980. The choir already existed when Walther von der Vogelweide celebrated Christmas here; the cathedral has survived devastation and wars, most recently the bombing of Magdeburg in January 1945. The choir sings "Oh, how the city lies so desolate, which was full of people". The choir now rehearses and sings together with Estrongo Nachama.

Four generations of one familiy live in the heart of the Spreewald, close to the coalmines and power stations. From their elders, the children have picked up Lower Sorbian as their first language... Many have left the area for cities or manufacturing towns. One who returned is the ferryman Rainer Schmidt. After a spell down the mines, all he wants to live here on the rivulet, next door to his father's house. Life in this seemingly idyllic landscape has never been easy for the inhabitans, and always demanded a strong sense of community. A thoughtful film portrait and urgent plea to accept our responsibility as custodians of the environment.