Skateboarding back in the DDR…

This looks interesting, and thanks to Slow Travel Berlin for putting it on our radar… Winner of a prize at this year’s Berlinale International Film Festival, This Ain’t California is a documentary about skateboarding in the GDR, a.k.a East Germany. Like with the surfers in Cuba, just the choice of activity and its origins in the west of the United States would have been seen as a subversive act of rebellion under the Socialist regime, and that is before the riders took their “wheel-boards” across the so-called public space that was the 1980s Alexanderplatz.

From the film website:

“In 90 minutes, we see the GDR more sharply, more clearly: the skater subculture shows that not all was grey-on-grey and drab clouds of Trabant fumes. This Wildfremd production (Ronald Vietz & Michael Schöbel) by director Martin Persiel takes original clips of the “wheel-board-riders” – straight out of the East German scene in the 80s – and mixes it with animations and reencounters with the protagonists today. It is not just a well thought out story on its own – this film also raises the aesthetic bar.”

According to the Facebook page, This Ain’t California will be hitting cinema screens (in Germany we presume) in August 2012, and is doing the round of the film festivals, and is an official selection for the Atlanta Film Festival 2012.

Turner Skies week 1 from Turner Contemporary on Vimeo.

Thanks to David Salmon for the link to this lovely video from the roof of the Turner Contemporary in Margate:

To celebrate our current exhibition Turner and the Elements, we’ve put a camera on the top of the gallery’s roof and will be filming the elements as they happen each week. Watch this film to see the dramatic skies over Margate that JMW Turner described as ‘the loveliest in all Europe’.

Turner Contemporary Website

A little plug for our friends at Slow Travel Berlin. On the 22^nd April they will be holding their next event in Kreuzberg. Last year there was a similar event at The Circus, with talks, films, books, cakes and much more, and this time around it looks like it will be even better. They haven’t announced the complete details yet, but for those of you reading within striking distance of the Markthalle here in Berlin, then we will keep you posted as and when they are announced.

Oh, and if you are looking for a special, urban exploration of Berlin with a literary twist, check out the Slow Travel Berlin review of the Christopher Isherwood Walking Tour, which comes highly recommended:

“Every so often, Nash pulls aside the curtain on a familiar street and reveals to you the city of Isherwood’s Berlin Stories or the 1970s movie version of the hit musical Cabaret. Remember Liza Minelli in the role of Sally Bowles?”

Read more

I have not been able to find this film here in Germany, but it looks wonderful:

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From the Guardian review:

Happily, though, director Grant Gee has made something still and beautiful – an art documentary in the very best sense – that seemed to me to evoke perfectly the melancholia of Sebald’s book while hinting at the horror which lies at the heart of its labyrinth.

David Salmon explores how museums are using technology to get their collections and exhibitions out from the gallery and onto the streets:

Last month the Museum of London gave a sneak preview of their new app, Dickens Dark London. It uses an interactive map of Victorian London which can be superimposed on to a map of today’s mean London streets and combines this with short graphic novel-style interactive books illustrated by David Fodvari and narrated by actor Mark Strong. Basically it looks frickin’ cool.

The launch of the Dark London reminded me that I still hadn’t used their StreetMuseum app, although it been sitting on my smart phone for a while. StreetMuseum is a free app for smartphones that overlays images of London from the Museum’s collections onto your phone so you can look at them when walking around town. Continue reading →

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Here is something interesting for UK readers, discovered through Outdoors Magic: The Banff Mountain Film Festival is currently touring the United Kingdom, with a selection of incredible-looking films about climbing, skiing, snowboarding, exploring, mountain-biking and anything else you can get up to in the high hills. Not only will the scenery be impressive, but the stories as well. You can get a taste from the trailer above, or check out the Banff Mountain Film Festival website for ticket information, a preview of the different films, and much more. The first couple of dates have already taken place, but here are the upcoming events:

11 FEB   STOCKPORT/ MANCHESTER
17 FEB   BIRMINGHAM
18 FEB   BRISTOL
21-24 FEB   LONDON
25 FEB   NORWICH
2 MAR BRIGHTON
3 MAR POOLE
8 MAR BATH
9 MAR PORTHCAWL/ BRIDGEND
10 MAR CARDIGAN

Interesting article from the Guardian about “hutting” in Scotland and the Thousand Huts campaign which is led by Reforesting Scotland and is centred around the idea of the hut as a “place, an experience, an endeavour, an ideal for all to enjoy,” taking their lead from other countries in Northern Europe – such as Norway and Sweden, where hutting is long established. The campaign is also interested in the practical aspect of hutting alongside its social and community benefits, with the belief that “building huts with local timber can revive skills that all rural communities once took for granted and strengthen community resilience.”

From the Guardian (05/01/12):

Gerry Loose calls it “the long view”. Standing a few yards from his moss-carpeted wooden hut in a Stirlingshire forest, Loose gestures towards the hill-line of the Campsie Fells, their peaks and flanks dusted with snow. The air is crisp, sharpened by the winter chill.

The hut is Loose’s retreat from urban Glasgow. Built about 80 years ago, its weathered green paint now peeling, the cabin has three small rooms and an outdoor privy built from salvaged timber. Still lit by prewar gas lamps, it has no electricity, no mains water and a brisk walk takes him to the nearest standpipe, which frequently freezes in winter…

Read the full article on guardian.co.uk

A beautiful morning gives way to a miserable and bitterly cold afternoon, the wind whipping down the avenues of Berlin as drizzle falls in the ever encroaching darkness. It may be nicer in general to be out of doors, but sometimes a refuge is needed, whether it is the bookshop, the pub, a café or the living room. I choose Café Hilde on the corner of Prenzlauer Allee and Metzer Straße, a sanctuary of flickering candles, gentle music and good books to browse on the shelves. Continue reading →