The works contain lots of dissolves and reflections, the visual spaces are woven together in extremely complex ways, the images and situations move between different media and different times...
SSS: Lots of different media are used, including archive material. That's absolutely right and is connected with our topic which is the attempt to think about history in a non-linear way – which we also increasingly must do. Grappling with our own history and those of others becomes especially important in moments of crisis. That's actually expressed in many of the works as back projections, multiple perspectives, interleaving and also in collages of words and images.
How do you feel about the fact that the Akademie der Künste has more or less become your home?
SSS: It's great. The Akademie der Künste was an important screening venue for the Forum up until 1999 and a home for many during the Berlinale. I'm delighted that we now have the exhibition, cinema and discussions under one roof for the first time. This means the interrelation between the different formats can be much more easily communicated – and also the fluent transition between Forum and Forum Expanded. Because selected films from the Forum programme are also screening in the Akademie.
In 2013 the exhibition took place in a crematorium, in 2014 in a church. It appears you’re losing your connection with the afterlife this year...
SSS: The afterlife? We've tried lots of different locations: museums, galleries, studios, a former crematorium and a church. Each had its own challenges. That's part of Forum Expanded, to link new spaces with new works.