Bio : Born 1966 in Munich, Germany, pre-unification West Germany. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany.
Description : The Empty Centre (Die leere Mitte) reveals the layers of history beneath the construction site at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. Before World War II, Potsdamer Platz was the lively centre of Berlin, and the centre of power. During the Cold War it became an empty minefield, sandwiched between the East and West parts of the city, demarcated by the Berlin Wall. After 1989 when the Wall fell, the death strip, the empty margins on each side of the former border, once again became accessible. The centre returned. Using dissolves of archival material and present-day images, the film engages the viewer in archaeology of the present. Through its focus on Potsdamer Platz, the film discovers the residue of global power shifts and the simultaneous dismantling and reconstruction of borders. At the same time, it uncovers a history of the racism and exclusion, especially against immigrants and minorities, that have always served to define the notion of the powerful national centre.