Aus einem Jahr der Nichtereignisse

From a Year of Non-Events
Willi is nearly 90 years old and lives alone on a farm in northern Germany. He likes to talk to his cat, he feeds his chickens and makes his rounds with the aid of a squeaky walker. The garden is overgrown. His house is full of all the things that have accumulated there over the course of a long life, relics of bygone times. Occasionally someone comes to visit, or a moped passes by, but not much happens otherwise. As the seasons change, the film paints a portrait of the everyday life of this resolute, slightly dishevelled old man. It’s also a visual essay on the cycle of life, as the camera observes nature, captures fruit and flowers in bloom in all their glory. Textures equally come to the fore: the cat’s fur, the pattern on the coffee service, the structure of a marzipan cake; at times the camera photographs apples or plastic garden chairs as if they were still lifes. The images transcend mere depiction – they contain a feeling of evanescence, which is enhanced by the fragility of the Super-8 and 16-mm material used to film them. Even the black screens that appear when the reels are changed reveal the passage of time.
by Ann Carolin Renninger, René Frölke Germany 2017 German 83’ Black/White & Colour Documentary form

Crew

Director Ann Carolin Renninger, René Frölke
Cinematography René Frölke, Ann Carolin Renninger
Editing René Frölke
Producers Ann Carolin Renninger, René Frölke

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Ann Carolin Renninger

Born in 1979 in Flensburg. She studied Cultural Studies and has developed and produced various documentaries. Aus einem Jahr der Nichtereignisse is her first film.

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2017

René Frölke

Born in East Germany in 1978. He has worked as a freelance editor, cinematographer and director for many years. In 2007, he started studying art in Karlsruhe, which he broke off in 2012. As an editor, he was worked with Thomas Heise (including on Material), Kristina Konrad (One or Two Questions), Lucia Bauer (Maman Maman Maman) and Max Linz (Asta Upset, Music and Apocalypse). Since 2010, he has directed several films of his own, including Le beau danger and From a Year of Non-Events (co-directed with Ann Carolin Renninger), which both screened in the Berlinale Forum.

Filmography

2007 Jour de grève; 14 min. 2008 Ropinsalmi; 12 min. 2010 Führung (Guided Tour); 37 min., Forum Expanded 2011 · Von der Vermählung des Salamanders mit der grünen Schlange; 94 min. 2012 Jeremy Y. call Bobby O. oder Morgenthau Without Tears; 84 min. 2014 Le beau danger; 100 min., Berlinale Forum 2014 2017 Aus einem Jahr der Nichtereignisse (From a Year of Non-Events) 2024 Spuren von Bewegung vor dem Eis (Traces of Movement before the Ice); documentary

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2024