Berlinized

Berlin in the 1990s: amongst great political changes and in the shadow of ultracommercialized Techno culture, existed a parallel universe, now mostly forgotten, but defining for the feeling and lifestyle of the city: the world of basement bars and off-creatives.

After the Wall fell, a lively and very motley scene of young people used the vacant houses and apartments in Berlin-Mitte as a stage for living and celebrating their sense of easy- going freedom. Long-term success was not an important category – people lived their lives from one event to the next experiment, playfully de-establishing art and its market imperatives.

The film „Berlinized“ takes you on a tour to 1990s’ Berlin-Mitte, both capturing and reflecting on this very unique feeling at a certain place in time. Filmmaker Lucian Busse, an active protagonist of this era, took his camera everywhere to document the changing cityscape, the art scene, clubs, concerts, and also the many construction sites where free space was filled up with ever-new, ever-the-same, faceless office buildings..