Im Gehäus

In His Room
Dennis and I live together. One year ago I started to explore his 30.8 square meters with my camera. This portrait of a man in his workroom emerged.
Papers cover the floor, mixed up – a lot of contradictory details. In between noted thoughts, mathematical formulas, graphic sketches, and receipts there are novels, scientific books, issues of ‘The New York Review of Books,’ tools, lenses, pieces of wood, cardboards, plastic bags, and dust. In the mysterious chaos a self-willed world of a mathematician, thinker, art historian, and handyman becomes visible. He believes that his two kinds of work – handcraft and intellectual – support each other. Dennis spent half a year working on a small geometric surprise inside Dürer’s engraving ‘Jerome in His Study,’ and confessed: “Jerome’s room is my room.” How does he see that?
The camera tracks down the details in the room. I don’t really trust his working methods – little gets done – but they draw me in, affecting my own method in this film. At the same time, when I start filming, Dennis starts cleaning up the room.
by Eva C. Heldmann
with Dennis Couzin, E. Gugel, Skye Chan Couzin
Germany 2017 English 27’ Colour

With

  • Dennis Couzin
  • E. Gugel
  • Skye Chan Couzin

Crew

Written and Directed by Eva C. Heldmann
Cinematography Eva C. Heldmann
Sound Eva C. Heldmann
Producer Eva C. Heldmann

Produced by

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Eva C. Heldmann

Eva C. Heldmann, born in 1951 in Dillenburg, Germany, lives and works in Berlin. In the 1980s she ran the art house cinema Mondpalast close to Limburg an der Lahr, Germany and programed in the cinema Mal seh’n in Frankfurt am Main. During this time she started producing films and videos. She organized the Frankfurter Filmschau until 2000. Her work has been awarded and shown in international festivals.

Filmography (selection)

1984 Johnny oder das rohe Fleisch; 4 min. 1990 Compartment; 5 min. 1994 1000 Küsse an Wanda; 22 min. 1999 Fremd gehen. Gespräche mit meiner Freundin; 64 min., Forum 2000 2006 The Queens Courtyard; 80 min. 2008 Five Sex Rooms und eine Küche; 79 min. 2010 Das schöne Heim; 65 min. 2011 Prufrock Back in America; 8 min., Forum Expanded 2011 2012 r i v e r r e d; 8 min., Forum Expanded 2012 2015 Strom; 81 min., Forum Expanded 2015 2017 Im Gehäus (In His Room)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2019