DENNOCH! - Zur Lage der Freien Künste

The independent performing arts were and are affected by crisis situations in a special way. In order to support artists from this field, the Fonds Darstellende Künst initiated and supported approximately 30 laboratories from puppet and object theater up to music theater, from dance to performance and acting on up to theater in public spaces and contemporary circus between May and August 2022. The film documents artistic work and research in these (also digital) laboratories, which were spread throughout the federal republic in times of social transformation. On the big screen, positions from Danny Banany, Mable Preach, Mieke Matzke, Simone Dede Ayivi, Stefan Kaegi, Susanne Schuster and others become visible; numerous curators and artistic directors from various production venues as well as festivals are given a voice. “DENNOCH! – Zur Lage der Freien Künste” shows the multiplicity of aesthetics, practices and locations, and combine these to form a common language.

Approx. 70 min. in German and English.

In 2023, "DENNOCH! - Zur Lage der Freien Künste" can be seen at theaters, festivals and production houses throughout Germany:

On Tour

21.01.23 – HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin (Premiere)

02.02.23 – FFT Düsseldorf

07.02.23 – HochX, München

08.02.23 – Kampnagel, Hamburg

17.02.23 – Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt/Main

22.02.23 – WUK Theater Quartier, Halle

28.02.23 – HELLERAU, Europäisches Zentrum der Künste, Dresden

10.03.23 – Theater im Pavillon, Hannover

01.03.23 – LOFFT – DAS THEATER, Leipzig

14.03.23 – Theater im Depot, Dortmund

20.03.23 – Schwankhalle/City46, Bremen

04.04.23 – E-WERK, Freiburg

08.05.23 – zeitraumexit, Mannheim

23.05.23 – Theater Alte Werkstatt, Frankenthal

08.06.23 – Phoenix Festival / Thüringer Theaterverband e.V., Erfurt

04.08.23 – Festival für Freunde, Dahnsdorf

09.08.23 – die börse, Wuppertal

23.08.23 – flausen+/Theater Wrede+, Oldenburg

25.09.23 – Zwischendeck im Kulturhaus Dock 4, Kassel

29.09.23 – Wirkbau Chemnitz

30.09.23 – Schloss Bröllin, Fahrenwalde/Bröllin as part of the event "Dennoch ! LebensMittel : KUNST"

More dates will be added on an ongoing basis!

In Kürze stellen wir an dieser Stelle eine Audiodeskription des Films zur Verfügung.

2023 war der "DENNOCH! - Zur Lage der Freien Künste" deutschlandweit an Theatern, Festivals und Produktionshäusern zu sehen:

On Tour

21.01.23 – HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin (Premiere)

02.02.23 – FFT Düsseldorf

07.02.23 – HochX, München

08.02.23 – Kampnagel, Hamburg

17.02.23 – Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt/Main

22.02.23 – WUK Theater Quartier, Halle

28.02.23 – HELLERAU, Europäisches Zentrum der Künste, Dresden

01.03.23 – LOFFT – DAS THEATER, Leipzig

10.03.23 – Theater im Pavillon, Hannover

14.03.23 – Theater im Depot, Dortmund

20.03.23 – Schwankhalle/City46, Bremen

22.03.23 – WIESE, Hamburg (im Rahmen des flausen+-Bündnistreffens)

04.04.23 – E-WERK, Freiburg

08.05.23 – zeitraumexit, Mannheim

23.05.23 – Theater Alte Werkstatt, Frankenthal

08.06.23 – Phoenix Festival / Thüringer Theaterverband e.V., Erfurt

04.08.23 – Festival für Freunde, Dahnsdorf

09.08.23 – die börse, Wuppertal

23.08.23 – flausen+/Theater Wrede+, Oldenburg

25.09.23 – Zwischendeck im Kulturhaus Dock 4, Kassel

29.09.23 – Wirkbau Chemnitz

30.09.23 – Schloss Bröllin, Fahrenwalde/Bröllin im Rahmen des Kulturtags "Dennoch ! LebensMittel : KUNST"

"Seventy minutes of independent performaing arts scene, seventy minutes of bursting life and rich art (only unfortunately not in the financial sense): Janina Möbius' documentary «Dennoch! – Zur Lage der Freien Künste» commissioned by the Fonds Darstellende Künste, is a wonderful walk through the open field, where creative minds thrive differently than in the greenhouses of municipal and state theaters." - Dorion Weickmann, tanz 02/2023

"The film shows [...] how great the diversity is above all. It is not so much a film for the art scene itself [...], but for people who perhaps don't really have the overview: What is there actually everything in its artistic diversity in Germany. And I would recommend it very urgently especially to politicians, maybe in the Bundestag, who still can't connect much with the independent scene, even though it's been around for so long." - Tobi Müller, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, 21 January 2023

"Author, director and producer Janina Möbius paints a vivid picture of the independent scene and makes it clear how wide the range of its artistic output was. [...] The funding by the Fonds Darstellende Künste was also acknowledged at the audience discussion after the film as a rescue in times of need. In the meantime, however, the lavish funds have been severely cut back. It thus remains a task for the 'Netzwerk Freie Künste' to lobby the states and the federal government for sufficient financial support." - Clemens Claudius (about the performance at the FFT Düsseldorf), Rheinische Post, 04 Ferbruary 2023

"That the 'Neustart' programs were not just alimony, that they provided for an artistic awakening: This is the proof that the documentary film 'Dennoch!' by Janina Möbius, commissioned by Fonds DaKu, aims to provide, which was shown to kick off the evening. Rapidly edited performance, dance and theater art, venues opulently staged with drone camera flights, colorful images of enthusiastic spectators: it was a propaganda film, what else.
But one that also showed that the independent theater and performance scene is no longer an ivory tower, but an avant-garde that asks interesting questions and answers them performatively." - Christoph Twickel, ZEIT Online, 09. February 2023

"A refreshing 75 minutes, a successful testimony of self-confidence, diversity, imagination and creative desire. Against this background, the panel guests are suitably warmed up. [...] The conclusion shortly before midnight: eye level has been reached, one will remain in open conversation with each other. Wishes from the scene are formulated, the possibilities to fulfill them are described. After all, awareness of the problem has been heightened on all sides. This has not yet fundamentally changed the world. But it has changed it a little bit." - Andreas Montag, Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, 24 February 2023

"The film 'Dennoch!' by Janina Möbius, commissioned by the Fonds Darstellende Künste, documented very vividly the importance that the actors of the independent scene also have in society. The scene is diverse, participatory - and gives space to population groups that are otherwise not so common." - Annette Stiekele, Hamburger Abendblatt, 10 March 2023