The sea is forgotten until disaster strikes. But perhaps the biggest seagoing disaster is the global supply chain, which -- maybe in a more fundamental way than financial speculation -- leads the world economy to the abyss.
The Forgotten Space follows container cargo aboard ships, barges, trains and trucks, listening to workers, engineers, planners, politicians, and those marginalized by the global transport system. We visit displaced farmers and villagers in Holland and Belgium, underpaid truck drivers in Los Angeles, seafarers aboard mega-ships shuttling between Asia and Europe, and factory workers in China, whose low wages are the fragile key to the whole puzzle. And in Bilbao, we discover the most sophisticated expression of the belief that the maritime economy, and the sea itself, is somehow obsolete.
A range of materials is used: descriptive documentary, interviews, archive stills and footage, clips from old movies. The result is an essayistic, visual documentary about one of the most important processes that affects us today. The Forgotten Space is based on Sekula's Fish Story, seeking to understand and describe the contemporary maritime world in relation to the complex symbolic legacy of the sea.
Wer das Meer beherrscht, ruiniert die Welt! Der berühmte amerikanische Fotograf und Filmemacher Allan Sekula und sein Senior-Partner Noel Burch zeigen, dass das Meer nach wie vor die ökonomische Basis für die Globalisierung von Warenverkehr und Arbeit ist. Forgotten Space erzählt vom Siegeszug der Logistik, die imstande ist mittels Containerisierung Märkte zu knacken, Standortvorteile zu vernichten und in Hafen und Hinterland keinen Stein auf dem anderen zu lassen.
Originaltitel: Forgotten Space
Deutscher Titel: Forgotten Space
Format: DV / Super 16mm
Projektionsformat: 16:9
Länge: 112 Min.
Fassung: OmU / DF
Farbe: Farbe
Starttermin: 2011-11-25
Regie: Allan Sekula, Noël Burch
Drehbuch: Allan Sekula, Noël Burch
Darsteller: Nina Hagen (Erzählerin)
Auszeichnungen: Orrizonti Jury Preis - 67. Venedig Film Festival 2010 "An epic view and urgent analysis of the follies of global capitalism, The Forgotten Space is a prime example of essayistic and political cinema. It creates a complex tapestry of powerful images and language."
Special Mention of the Jury (Non Fiction Competition) - 48: Ficxixon Festival Internacional de Cine de Gijon: "because it is a good example of film essay as a privileged way to develop the urgent task of thinking about the world".
Kamera: Attila Boa, Wolfgang Thaler
Schnitt: Menno Boerema
Musik: Ricardo Tesi, Louis Andriessen
Ton: Eckehard Braun, Joe Knauer
Produktion: dok.eye Film (Frank van Reemst & Joost Verheij), WildArt Film (Vincent Lucassen & Ebba Sinzinger)
Verleih: Stadtkino Filmverleih
