In My Neighbourhood

Black-and-white photographs of old buildings in a run-down neighbourhood provide the background for the stick figures who live there. A drunk who has been kicked out by his wife holds fast to the bottle; rain pours into a family apartment; a bulldozer lays waste to flower seedlings. A place where it is entirely possible to throw the baby out with the empties. Between the cracks in the façades, fresh graffiti blooms – “not interested in Germany” and “money is evil”. Added to that is rap music and breakdancing in dazzling hues, colourful life blossoms amid the ruins.
Like the rapper Alexander Morawitz, who provided the music, director Gábor Steisinger was an active participant in the Dresden hip-hop scene of the 1980s, which was in opposition to the East German regime. He is now a storyboard artist and character designer who has worked on numerous domestic and international animated films.