BISFF Correspondence 通信计划
This program involves conducting brief email interviews with the directors of the international films featured in the festival, in lieu of the traditional Q&A session that follows the screenings. Through this program, we hope to provide a platform for filmmakers to discuss their work and share their insights with our audience in China.
为了跨越种种障碍，开辟更多交流空间，我们设置了“BISFF Correspondence 通信计划”，对部分国际单元的参展作者进行系列访谈，这些访谈将在作品放映后发布在联展各个媒体平台。
Down by the River｜An der Saale hellem Strande｜在明亮的萨勒河畔
Dirk Hornschuch, Karl-Friedrich König
2024｜0:18:30｜Germany｜German, Castilian Spanish, English｜World Premiere
Director: Dirk Hornschuch, Karl-Friedrich König
Interviewer: Shiyi Zhao
Translator: Lin He
Coordinator & Editor: Suliko
导演：迪尔克·霍恩舒赫，卡尔-弗里德里希·柯尼希
采访：赵是宜
翻译：贺琳
统筹、编辑：苏丽珂
Q1: What inspired you to focus on this hidden story from Merseburg's past? The film tells the story of two Cuban workers who died in a violent confrontation in Merseburg in 1979. How did you first learn about this incident? What motivated you to "recover" this forgotten history through film? In the early stages of creation, which aspects of this history were you particularly drawn to?
是什么促使你们关注默泽堡这段过去的隐秘历史？这部电影讲述了1979年在默泽堡发生的两名古巴工人在暴力冲突中丧生的故事。你们最初是如何得知这一事件的？是什么促使您通过电影“找回”这段被遗忘的历史？在创作的初期，这段历史的哪些方面特别吸引你们？
A1: Dirk first became aware of the incident during a bicycle tour organized by activists, which focused on migration stories in the former GDR (East Germany). Throughout the tour, he gained insight into the experiences of contract workers ("Vertragsarbeiter") who had come to the GDR from socialist states such as Vietnam, Cuba, and Angola. He learned about their living conditions, the challenges they faced, and, notably, the racism they endured in a post-Nazi society. The final stop on the tour was a picturesque viewpoint, the same one featured at the start of the film. The stark contrast between this serene, beautiful location and the brutal events of 1979 left a profound impression on Dirk, one that lingered in his mind for a long time.
When we first met in April 2023, Dirk shared with Karl the story of what transpired in Merseburg during the summer of 1979. Karl, who had grown up in Merseburg and had never heard of the incident, was immediately captivated and taken aback. It sparked his interest in revisiting Merseburg, a place that had been significant in his own childhood. Karl became the driving force behind the thorough research, delving into archives and scouring social media for more information.
迪尔克最初是在一次由活动人士组织的自行车旅行中了解到这一事件的，那次旅行的主题是前东德的移民故事。在整个旅行过程中，他深入了解了从越南、古巴和安哥拉等社会主义国家来到东德的合同工（Vertragsarbeiter）的经历。他了解到他们的生活处境、面临的挑战，尤其是他们在“后纳粹”社会中所遭受的种族主义。旅程的最后一站，他们来到了一个风景如画的观景点，也就是电影开头出现的那个地方。这个宁静、美丽的地方与1979年的残酷事件之间的鲜明对比给迪尔克留下了深刻的印象，在他的脑海中长久萦绕。
当我们在2023年4月初次见面时，迪尔克向卡尔讲述了1979年夏天在默泽堡发生的故事。卡尔在默泽堡长大，却从未听说过这起事件，他立即被吸引并震惊不已。这促使他重新回到默泽堡，这个在他的童年中意义重大的地方。卡尔成为了深入这项研究的推动者，他查阅了大量档案，并在社交媒体上搜寻更多信息。
Q2: Are the posters and graffiti commemorating the deaths of the two young men in Merseburg real, or were they created and placed by the production team? The film addresses themes of memory gaps and the disappearance of imagery, yet these posters suggest that some in the city still remember the incident. What meaning were you trying to convey through these visual elements?
默泽堡纪念两名年轻男子去世的海报和涂鸦是真实存在的吗，还是由制作团队创作并张贴的？电影探讨了记忆断层和图像消失的主题，但这些海报表明了城市中仍有一些人记得这一事件。你们希望通过这些视觉元素传达什么含义？
A2: We did not invent or put up any stickers or graffiti ourselves. These are all ephemerals that we found and shot on site. Some people - local activists, citizens, but also people from nearby cities like Halle, Leipzig or Berlin - remember what happened on 12th August 1979 in Merseburg. We even see the commemoration protest at the end of the film. This is an annual meeting organised by an initiative that fights for the remembrance of Delfin Guerra and Raúl Garcia Paret.
It was very important for us to highlight different perspectives of remembrance (or non-remembrance) as we also sensed very different attitudes and opinions people have towards the incident in Merseburg. These ambigous melage seemed to prove itself of vital importance to the film.
我们没有自行创作或张贴任何贴画或涂鸦，这些短暂存在的痕迹都是我们在现场发现并拍摄的。有一些人——当地的活动人士、市民，以及来自哈雷、莱比锡或柏林等邻近城市的人——记得1979年8月12日在默泽堡发生的事件。影片的结尾甚至展现了一场纪念性抗议活动，这是一个为纪念德尔芬·格拉和劳尔·加西亚·帕雷特奔走的组织每年都会举办的集会。
对我们来说，强调不同的记忆（或忘却）视角至关重要，因为我们同时感受到了人们对“默泽堡事件”持有截然不同的态度和观点。这种模糊而复杂的混合状态似乎成为了影片中不可或缺的元素。
Down by the River, Dirk Hornschuch, Karl-Friedrich König, 2024
Q3: The film juxtaposes images of Merseburg with archival texts such as interviews, letters, and Facebook discussions, yet none of the narrators appear on screen. This separation between imagery and sound is intriguing. Furthermore, the visuals of Merseburg create an impression of a desolate, empty city haunted by its past. Why did you choose to depict Merseburg with an intentional "absence of imagery"? Was this "absence" a deliberate narrative strategy, and what emotions or meanings were you aiming to convey through this choice? What do you say about this sense of "haunting spectrality" of Merseburg?
电影将默泽堡的影像与采访、信件和Facebook讨论等档案文本并置，但没有任何叙述者出现在银幕上，这种声画分离非常有趣。此外，默泽堡的影像画面将其呈现为一座荒凉、空荡并被其过去所萦绕的城市。为什么你们选择以“影像的缺席”的方式来描绘默泽堡？这种“缺席”是否是一种刻意为之的叙事策略，你们又希望通过这一选择传达哪些情感或含义？你们如何看待默泽堡的这种“幽灵般萦绕的存在”？
A3: Our idea was to depict Merseburg through the imagery the town chose to have: Postcard motifs that show streets, the castle and orangery or flowerbeds in front of the train station. On the one hand it is quite beautiful, but also appears ghostly. You can see that the life of Merseburgs residents is not really concentrated on those tidy and romantic places, but rather unfolds in the city center, the train station or in social media chat groups.
We found it interesting, to not concentrate on one individual specially, but rather show groups of people as proxies. You can get a better feeling of the vibe of the town, it’s a bit like a city tour, but we don’t create a too one-sided image of the city: Sometimes, there are vibrant streets, kids playing in the evening sun or deserted parks.
我们的想法是通过默泽堡这座城市自己选择的影像来描绘它：明信片上的街道、城堡、温室花园，或是火车站前的花坛。一方面这些场景非常美丽，但同时又显得空荡，如有幽灵徘徊。你可以注意到默泽堡居民的生活并不真正集中在这些整洁而浪漫的地方，而更多地展现在市中心、火车站或社交媒体聊天群组中。
我们发现，展现群体作为某种代表而不专注于某一特定个体更为有趣，这样可以让观众更好地感受到这座城市的氛围，有点像一次城市导览，但我们并没有创造一个过于片面的城市形象：有时街道充满活力，孩子们在夕阳下玩耍；有时公园则荒无人烟。
Q4: How did you select and edit the urban imagery in the film? Elements such as the river, the abandoned disco hall, the forest, and the posters play a significant role in the film. The underwater shots in the beginning and the end are very interesting. Could you elaborate on their design and their role in the film’s narrative? Also, how did you approach the selection of other urban scenes, such as train stations and streets? Moreover, many of these urban images were captured with still shots and seem to maintain a certain distance from the cityscape. Why did you choose this cinematography style? Finally, regarding the editing sequence of these visuals, how did you design and arrange them?
影片如何选择和剪辑城市影像？河流、废弃的迪斯科舞厅、森林和海报等元素在影片中占据了重要位置。片头和片尾的水下场景非常有趣，你们能否详细说明这些镜头的设计及其在叙事中的作用？此外，你们是如何决定采用其他城市场景（如火车站和街道）的？影片中的许多城市影像采用固定镜头，似乎与城市景观保持了一定距离，你们为何选择这种摄影风格？最后，关于这些视觉材料的剪辑顺序，你们是如何设计和安排的？
A4: Initially, the train station played a much more prominent role in the film. It was the starting point for all of our research journeys, as we too arrived by train. Beyond its symbolic importance for our narrative, the station holds significant meaning for the town itself: it is a place where people of various nationalities and social backgrounds converge. Today, Merseburg is also a vibrant student city, with many individuals commuting from nearby Leipzig or Halle for work or studies. This diversity is evident in other shots throughout the film. Despite its population of around 35,000, the town is remarkably varied.
Throughout the project, we sought to be guided by the presence of Delfin Guerra and Raúl Garcia Paret, envisioning their potential movements from forty years ago. We repeatedly asked ourselves: Where might they have been? The train station, the nightclub, their accommodation—briefly seen in the film—and public spaces were all carefully chosen as part of our exploration of their likely paths.
起初，火车站在影片中占据了更重要的位置，它不仅是我们所有研究旅程的起点，因为我们也是乘火车到达这里的。除了它在我们的叙事中具有象征意义外，火车站对城市本身也具有重要意义：这座车站是各种国籍和社会背景的人们交汇的场所。如今，默泽堡也是一座充满活力的大学城，许多人从附近的莱比锡或哈雷通勤来这里工作或学习。这种多样性在影片的其他镜头中也显而易见。尽管默泽堡仅有约3.5万人口，但其社会构成非常多元化。
在整个项目过程中，我们试图以德尔芬·格拉和劳尔·加西亚·帕雷特的视角作为引导，设想他们四十年前可能的行动轨迹。我们反复自问：他们可能去过哪里？火车站、夜总会、他们的宿舍（影片中短暂出现）和公共场所——所有这些场景的选择都是我们对他们可能的经历的探索的一部分。
Down by the River, Dirk Hornschuch, Karl-Friedrich König, 2024
Q5: The audio track features letters from the Paret family, messages from Guerra, and other interviews, presented faithfully in their original languages (Spanish and German). However, the subtitles do not explicitly differentiate between the two languages. For audiences unfamiliar with these languages, do you worry this might lead to misunderstanding or loss of meaning? Or was this ambiguity an intentional aspect of the English version? What significance were you hoping to convey through this linguistic uncertainty?
影片的音轨包含了帕雷特家人的信件、格拉的留言以及其他采访内容，并忠实地以原始语言（西班牙语和德语）呈现。然而，字幕并未明确区分两种语言。对于不熟悉这两种语言的观众来说，你们是否担心这会导致误解或意义的缺失？或者说，这种模糊性是英语版本的有意安排，你们希望通过这种语言的不确定性传达什么意义？
A5: To be honest, during the film's production, we didn't consider the fact that some audiences might struggle to distinguish between Spanish and German, which now seems rather Eurocentric. In hindsight, it’s intriguing to experience the film in a single language, as this approach removes the barrier between the two groups who, in 1979, were unable to understand each other — a key aspect of the conflict between Germans and Cubans at the time. This choice may shift the focus more onto the racism and stigma faced by Delfin Guerra and Raúl Garcia Paret, though this is merely speculative on our part.
At present, we can’t think of a better solution to this dilemma than to preface the captions with [spoken in Spanish] and [spoken in German].
坦白来说，在影片制作过程中，我们并未考虑到部分观众可能难以区分西班牙语和德语，这在当下看起来是很“欧洲中心主义”的想法。回头来看，以单一语言来体验这部电影是很有趣的，因为这种方法消除了在1979年无法相互理解的两个群体之间的隔阂——这是当时德国人和古巴人之间冲突的关键层面。这种选择可能会将焦点更多地转移到德尔芬·格拉和劳尔·加西亚·帕雷特所面临的种族主义和污名上，尽管这只是我们的推测。
目前，我们认为在字幕前加上[西班牙语]和[德语]的标注或许是解决这一难题的最佳方式。
more information: https://www.bisff.co/selection/down-by-the-river