27 Aug 2021 | Rodina means Home (GER 1992, Helga Reidemeister)

GER 1992, D: Helga Reidemeister, Doc, 114’, ger. OV, 16mm

In 1991, West German filmmaker Helga Reidemeister observed the Soviet regiment´s withdrawal from Meiningen in Thuringia over the period of eight months. During that year, the Soviet Union fell apart, thus posing the question to which country the young people were supposed to return to. As soldiers, they had to obey the hierarchy of military structures, while Soviet citizens had simultaneously shown their free will and reshaped their country. More than only being a historical document, RODINA MEANS HOME has become highly topical, as questions dealing with freedom of speech and self-censorship have to be posed again, considering political developments in Europe and Russia over the last decade.