DER ENGEL DER GESCHICHTE – THE ANGEL OF HISTORY
Eric Esser | Germany, France, Spain 2019 | 11 Min. | OmeU
A border in Europe. Today and yesterday. Spain and France. A painting by Paul Klee. A poem by Walter Benjamin. An attempt to escape. The ravages of time made visible. Letters to Europe. Different places in Spanish Portbou and French Cerbère. A yesterday and a today, difficult to differentiate one from the other. Open borders would have saved lives.
Building on Benjamin’s text Über den Begriff der Geschichte to Klee’s painting Angelus Novus, DER ENGEL DER GESCHICHTE tells in lyrical essayistic form and in a thoughtful and visually memorable way how Europe’s internal and external borders have developed over time. In any case, a stale aftertaste remains.
Idea, Script and Direction: Eric Esser
Co-Author and Editing: Evelyn Rack
Cinematography: Michael Zimmer
Music Composing: Matija Strniša
Sound Design and Mixing: Ludwig Müller
Voice Recording: Billie Jagodzinska
Color Correction: Sally Shamas
Postproduction: Colja Krugmann
Title Design: Sandra Dollo
Production: Eric Esser
Awards and Screenings (Selection)
21.11.2019 – Best Non-Fiction, 19. Flensburger Kurzfilmtage, Flensburg, Germany
18.12.2019 – Selected for the German Short Film Association catalogue of 100 exceptional current German short films 2020
03.01.2020 – Selected for the international promotional DVD of “German Short Films“
21.01.2020 – Special Jury Mention, Short of the Year, Madrid, Spain
27.01.2020 – Selected fo the German market screening of “German Short Films” at the International Short Film Festival in Clermont-Ferrand
17.02.2020 – 4 Stars– Indy Film Library, Amsterdam, Netherlands
15.05.2020 – Nominated to the German Short Film Awardby the German Short Film Association
28.05.2020 – Seal of Approval “especially valuable” – German Film Quality Assessment Board (FBW)
05.06.2020 – Best Short Documentary– Student Short Showcase 2020, Amsterdam, Netherlands
19.07.2020 – Jury-Award „Best Documentary“ (Student category)– 9th Kolkata Short International Film Festival, India
25.08.2020 – Best Documentary– Film in Focus Int. Film Festival, Bukarest, Rumänien
29.08.2020 – Best Experimental Documentary– 2ndThe Best Film Festival
30.08.2020 – 1. Publikumspreis– Kunstgriff Rolle, Heide, Germany
30.08.2020 – 2. Jurypreis– Kunstgriff Rolle, Heide, Germany
30.08.2020 – Best Screenplay– Reale Film Festival, Mailand, Italien
22.09.2020 – Platinum Award (Short Documentary Film)– Short Screen Awards, Jakarta, Indonesia
25.09.2020 – Platinum Award (Cinematography Short Documentary)– Cinematography Screen Awards, Jakarta, Indonesia
18.10.2020 – Best Student Documentary– 9thDelhi Shorts International Film Fest,India
26.10.2020 – Best Documentary Short Film– 6thBangkokThai International Film Festival, Bangkok, Thailand
31.10.2020 – Best Student Experimental– 2ndIndie Doc Pro, Barcelona, Spain
Biography
Eric Esser made his first short film in 2003. Upon completion of his studies in media informatics at Beuth University of Applied Sciences, he worked for the Berlin Social Science Center. In 2005 he began his studies at the Filmarche Berlin, a self-governed film school where he majored in directing and documentary film-making.
He is currently a member of the Filmarche Elders’ Council and engaged in the AG DOK, a working group for documentary film-making. 2019 he finished his Master’s Degree in documentary film-making at the Konrad Wolf Film University in Potsdam, Germany. Eric Esser lives and works in Berlin.
