FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Sarah Christine Bolton
sarah@childrenofthewall.com
805-464-1499
The Screening Room presents Children of the Wall Part of Hygienic XXXIII
Documentary film explores art, history, and the threat of development in Berlin, Germany
Memphis, Tenn. (Jan. 10, 2012) – When Memphis filmmakers Eric Swartz and Sarah Bolton got on a plane in October 2009 bound for Berlin, Germany, they had no idea how Children of the Wall, a documentary film about artists living and working in Berlin 20 years after the fall of the wall, would actually happen.
“Basically, we put two tickets on a credit card, and took a huge leap of faith…or maybe it was more like a leap of insanity,” says Bolton, the film’s producer. Since that first 14-day trip, the partners have returned to Berlin a second time and have spent hundreds of hours – and dollars – to move the project forward. The film will screen as part of the Hygienic XXXIII event on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. at the Crocker House Ballroom in New London, CT.
Children of the Wall is a documentary film about Berlin’s rise as a creative capital after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The film’s historical and cultural ideas are shown through the eyes of 20 artists living and working in Germany today.
“Before I went to Berlin, I always pictured it as dark, gray and dingy,” Swartz says. “Instead, I found a colorful city brimming with artistic energy and creative force.”
Artists, musicians, street performers, photographers, singers, painters, writers, a raw food artist, dancers, actors, and arts administrators tell their personal stories about living and working in a city struggling for an identity after 30 years of division. Many of the artists profiled in the film were in Germany when the Berlin Wall came down on November 9, 1989, and they discuss how that historic event shaped their creative and personal lives. The film also explores how the threat of gentrification and development is pushing the artists – and their creativity – out of the main areas of the city.
Now, nearly two years after the project initially began, the filmmakers have completed the film and are in the process of submitting it to film festivals.
About the Filmmakers
Eric Brice Swartz is a Memphis filmmaker who has directed and filmed a number of short films, webisodes, and documentaries. Children of the Wall is his first feature film.
Sarah Christine Bolton is a journalist and freelance writer/photographer. She has experience in public relations, marketing, web design, and social media. Children of the Wall is her first feature film.
Screening Details
When: Wednesday, February 1, 8 p.m.
Where: Hygienic 33 event at the Crocker House Ballroom, 35 Union Street, New London, CT
Tickets: Free (donations accepted)
Online Press Kit Materials
For a complete press kit, visit www.childrenofthewall.com/electronic-press-kit
Find Us Online
www.childrenofthewall.com
Trailer
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