The Capital of Culture project "WE PARAPOM! - European Parade of Apple Trees" celebrates its second public appearance from 1 to 3 April
The second public appearance of "WE PARAPOM!" invites all Chemnitz residents from 1 to 3 April to take part in the second phase of planting. Chemnitz residents are invited to take part in the second phase of planting from 1 to 3 April and to set an example of what civic engagement can do, what art can do and what Chemnitz can do as European Capital of Culture - in the spirit of how Chemnitz started out as European Capital of Culture and why it was named European Capital of Culture 2025.
"In view of the war in Ukraine and the current dramatic political situation, which affects us all and tramples on the foundations of democratic and humanist values of coexistence of the many in Europe, WE PARAPOM! is experiencing a sad new topicality and relevance," says Barbara Holub, curator of the Capital of Culture project. How can encounters, joint work and exchange, peaceful and respectful coexistence, even across dividing lines, be made possible?
The second phase of planting for WE PARAPOM! is taking place in a central, very heterogeneous area that is largely characterised and dissected by traffic areas: around the Gunzenhauser Museum. The new plantings extend from the park at Falkeplatz to the SenVital senior citizens' and care centre, the Tuffner furniture store and the car park of the vehicle museum. The opening up of the previously closed access to the garden of the SenVital senior citizens' and care centre from Stollberger Straße is paradigmatic for the overall project. This creates a direct link between the Gunzenhauser Museum and SenVital. This promotes new neighbourhoods.
Linking different things is also the aim of the accompanying artistic-urban intervention. A dense programme of public film screenings will take place over three days. This programme deals with an essential theme of WE PARAPOM! "What is the norm?" - in different cultural and social contexts. There is more than one answer to this question. Chemnitz and Berlin-based filmmaker Beate Kunath has curated a diverse programme. It ranges from internationally award-winning short films, animated films, a DEFA film by Kurt Barthel, historical film footage by Guido Seeber, to feature films and a documentary by Agnes Varda. These are imaginative, exciting and sometimes bizarre tales of dealing with fear and one's own limits, of mistrust and misunderstanding. Originality and individuality, as well as rebellion and the courage to be different are dealt with and tell of breaking out of the norm in a moving and unconventional way. Each of the films takes a special look at the adventure that one's own life can become.
Beate Kunath will introduce each film.
Locations of the film screenings:
Museum Gunzenhauser (Stollberger Straße 2), Metropol Chemnitz cinema (Zwickauer Straße 11), Café & Bistro Smart (Falkeplatz 10), former EDEKA supermarket/shopping centre (Bahnhofstraße 62), Selbsthilfe 91 e. V. - Alternative Project for Labour (APA) "Lichtblick" / pavilion in the park at Falkeplatz (Zwickauer Straße 6), façade of the residential building at Falkeplatz (Zwickauer Straße 10 - 12) presented by Fahrradkino Chemnitz e. V.
The city public is invited to take part in this film marathon and experience or rediscover these special places. In addition, Anja Richter, curator of the Museum Gunzenhauser, will select works of art from the Gunzenhauser Collection on the theme of "Standardisation" and invite visitors to a specially curated guided tour of the museum on Saturday, 2 April, from 5.15 to 6 p.m. (free of charge).
All film screenings and the guided tour by Anja Richter are free of charge; admission to films as part of WE PARAPOM! at the Metropol Chemnitz cinema: 5 euros
Further information can be found at
CV Beate Kunath:
Beate Kunath was born and grew up in Karl-Marx-Stadt and now lives and works in Berlin. Her interest in the medium of film was awakened in 1985 when she discovered the youth film club "Fritz Heckert" in the Karl-Marx-Stadt cinema Capitol, now the Clubkino Siegmar. In 1995, she began making her first short films at the Chemnitz Film Workshop. With a focus on documentary content, her internationally screened and award-winning works include short feature films and documentaries as well as music clips, video installations and photo series. From 1994 to 2002, she initiated a film festival in Chemnitz for lesbian and gay film.
Contact and further information on Beate Kunath at: www.b-k-productions.de
THANK YOU:
The Chemnitz 2025 team would like to thank all of the programme's stakeholders and partners for their great support and positive collaboration. Special thanks go to: Alternative Project for Labour (APA) "Lichtblick" of Selbsthilfe 91 e. V., Café & Bistro Smart, CRE Germany & Alps/Deutsche Post DHL Real Estate Deutschland GmbH, Fahrradkino Chemnitz e. V., Grundstücks- und Gebäudewirtschaftsgesellschaft mbH (GGG), Kino Metropol Chemnitz, Museum Gunzenhauser and SenVital Senioren- und Pflegezentrum Chemnitz Niklasberg.
PROGRAMME
Film screenings and public plantings
Friday, 1 April 2022
3.30 pm to 4.30 pm: SenVital senior citizens and care centre Chemnitz NiklasbergOpening and plantings
5 to 6 pm: Museum Gunzenhauser
Welcome: Anja Richter
Introduction to the overall programme and the films: Beate Kunath
4 films from the Guido Seeber archive:
"Locomotive transport" (Guido Seeber, German Empire 28 June 1898, 1')
"Festive procession of the shooting society" (Guido Seeber, German Empire, 31 May 1898, 1')
"Alarm of the professional fire brigade" (Guido Seeber, German Empire, 19 August 1898, 1')
"King George" (Guido Seeber, German Empire, 10 September 1902, 1')
"COPY SHOP" (Virgil Vidrich, Austria 2001, 12')
The videos at Museum Gunzenhauser can be seen until 18 April 2022.
8 to 10 pm: Metropol Chemnitz cinema
"Adam's Apples" (Anders Thomas Jensen/DK, 2005, 94')
Saturday, 2 April 2022
2 to 3 pm: Café Bistro & Smart
40 min short film programme
"Ten Meter Tower" (Axel Danielson, Maximilien Van Aertryck, Sweden, 2016, 16'37")
"Swimming Lesson" (Katja Benrath, Germany, 2015, 6'18")
"She-Pack" (Fanny Ovesen, Norway, 2018, 18'10")
"Planschen" (Christian Niccoli, Germany, 2008, 5')
3 to 4 pm: "Culture and politics plant together" - planting in Falkepark
"Official" tree planting by Mayor Dagmar Ruscheinsky, Mayor Michael Stötzer and the General Director of Chemnitz Theatre, Dr Christoph Dittrich.
4 to 5 p.m.: Former EDEKA supermarket / shopping centre
The short film programme will be shown continuously until 7 pm.
The film screenings will take place indoors, in good weather the square will be activated
"The apple as such" (Kurt Barthel, GDR, 1979, 12'32"/ DEFA)
"Beige" (Sylvie Hohlbaum, Germany, 2012, 15')
"A Heap of Trouble" (Steve Sullivan, Wales, 2000, 4'08")
"Le Processus" (Xavier de l'Hermuziere, Philippe Grammaticopoulos, France, 2000, 7'52")
"Svonni against the tax authorities" (Maria Fredriksson, Sweden, 2020, 5')
"Phoenix The Devourer - Apple on a tree" (Astrid Rieger, Željko Vidovic, Germany, 2006, 4'51")
5.15 to 6 pm: Museum Gunzenhauser
Guided tour of the museum by Anja Richter. Viewing of selected works on "Norm/Normalisation" and other themes of WE PARAPOM!
6 to 7 pm: Café & Bistro Smart
Repetition of the programme
7.30 pm to 10 pm: Façade of the residential building on Falkeplatz
Projection of the short film programme by Fahrradkino Chemnitz e.V.
The 30-minute short film programme will be shown several times until 10 p.m.; the screening on the façade will be visible from afar in the city.
"Applesauce" (Alexander Gratzer, Austria, 2019, 6'51")
"Between four and six" (Corinna Schnitt, Germany, 1998, 6'28")
"In Echt" (Det Sporadiske Filmkollektivet, Rikke Gregersen, Norway, 2021, 4'39")
"Roues Libres - Freewheeling" (Jacinthe Folon, Belgium, 2017, 3'35")
"Parade" (Digna von der Put, Netherlands, 2015, 4'14")
20.30 to 22.30: Cinema Metropol Chemnitz
"Pride" (Matthew Warchus/UK, 2014, 120')
Sunday, 3 April 2022
10 am to 12.30 pm: Cinema Metropol Chemnitz - Matinee
10 am to 10.45 am: Breakfast snack
10.45 to 11 am: Introduction to the film (Beate Kunath)
11 am to 12.30 pm: "The Collector and the Collectoress" (Agnes Varda, 2000, 82')
3 to 3.30 pm: Selbsthilfe 91 e. V. - Alternative Project for Labour (APA)
"Lichtblick"/Pavilion in the park at Falkeplatz
30 min short film programme - for the whole family
"The Apple Tree" (Julia Ocker and Moritz Schneider, Germany, 2006, 4'26")
"Apples and Pears" (Christoph Einsiedler, Germany, 2018, 2'10")
"Ant" (Julia Ocker, Germany, 2017 3'37")
"Cloud Fruits" (Kateřina Karhánková, Czech Republic, 2017, 10'29")
"One, Two, Tree" (Yulia Aronova, France, 2015, 6'51")
"Fallobst" (Julia Urban, Viktor Stickel, Germany 2010, 2'27")
4 to 7 pm: Former EDEKA market / shopping centre - closing
"Ties" (Dina Velikovskaya, Germany / Russian Federation, 2019, 07'36")
"Darío" (Manuel Kinzer, Jorge A. Trujillo Gil, Germany / Colombia, 2018, 15')
"Vadim on a Walk" (Director: Sasha Svirsky, Russia, 2021, 7'57")
+ Repeat: Selection from Saturday's film programme:
"The Apple as Such" (Kurt Barthel, GDR, 1979, 12'32"/ DEFA)
"Beige" (Sylvie Hohlbaum, Germany, 2012, 15')
"A Heap of Trouble" (Steve Sullivan, Wales, 2000, 4'08")
"Svonni against the tax authorities" (Maria Fredriksson, Sweden, 2020, 5')