Lichter der Straße

Filmstill The Vagabond’s Garden

The Vagabond’s Garden

Lichter der Straße
Anna Friedrich
German Competition Documentary Film 2024
Documentary Film
Germany
2024
86 minutes
German
Subtitles: 
English

What does it mean to live a nomadic life in Germany today? How do people see you when to keep moving is more important to you than possessions and social status? What are the prejudices faced by people who work outside the 40-hours-per-week regular job model and want to be fulfilled? To get some answers to these questions, Anna Friedrich walks part of the way with four women who prefer travelling to settling.
The journeywoman Magdalena loves the intensity of permanent new beginnings, but travelling also keeps her from working in her dream job as a qualified farmer. As an activist, Johanna lives in her refurbished van, which she has parked at various spots for years, and frequently takes part in political protests like forest occupations. Elwera, a former tightrope artist, and her granddaughter Ghislaine belong to the Yenish community who move from market to market, continuing a generations-old tradition. Director Anna Friedrich uses the conversations to shed light on her own longing for being on the road, but also for a critical reflection of the settled world in the eyes of these women. The potentials of a nomadic existence thus emerge – and how they are in danger of wasting away between settlement permits and garden fences. Stepping to the other side of the fence opens possibilities.

Luc-Carolin Ziemann

Credits DOK Leipzig Logo

Director
Anna Friedrich
Cinematographer
Robin Angst, Ray Peter Maletzki, Leonard Schmidt, Anna Friedrich
Editor
Federico Neri, Miro Schawalder
Producer
Stephan Helmut Beier, Ray Peter Maletzki
Co-Producer
Thomas Beyer, Andrea Wohlfeil, Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF
Sound
Alejandro Weyler, Anna Friedrich, Elisa Malter
Sound Design
Irma Heinig
Score
Max van Dusen
Broadcaster
Thomas Beyer
Nominated for: VER.DI Prize for Solidarity, Humanity and Fairness, DEFA Sponsoring Prize