Träume von Räumen

Kleine Bremer Höhe is a residential housing estate situated between the quiet Zehdenicker Street and Torstraße, a busy thoroughfare right in the heart of central Berlin. The apartment block was built in the mid-19th century for the railway workers' cooperative. After the fall of the Wall, the red brick quarter was a temporarily forgotten place. Shielded from the noise of the city, with a secluded backyard, in need of renovation. In the end, only a handfull of punks, artists and pensioners lived here. But even in Germany with its comparatively protective laws for people who rent their housing, their time in this place is running out. The film begins when only about eight of the 80 flats are still inhabited. The building was sold and will soon be renovated. One of the residents is the filmmaker himself, who moved from South Tyrol to Berlin in 2008. Once everything has been refurbished, living here will no longer be affordable for any of the current residents. As a participant observer, Matthias Lintner documents life in this in-between-time, while pondering what it means to inhabit and appropriate a space. He also documents his approach to the making of this film. Addendum: In 2022, the redevelopment of the Kleine Bremer Höhe will be completed. Its own website advertises: "More than just housing since 1849".