REININGHAUS BLUES

Documentary, 2020/2021

“Graz-Reininghaus was with 54 hectares the largest undeveloped area in a central location in the (...) city of Graz. From about 2017 to 2025, a new urban district for about 10,000 people is to be built here. “*

Over the course of the last few years, various groups (artists, young people, architects, etc.) have temporarily discovered the space for themselves and used it in different ways. Among other things, it served as a place for rehearsal rooms, various exhibitions, a skate hall, a dreamy living space and various events (summer festivals, parties, pizza club, workshops, tours through the old cellars of the Reininghaus brewery,...). An autonomous utopia was temporarily brought to life here and showed what possibilities are hidden in such an abandoned building complex. A free space for artistic development, a place to try things out and let ideas sprout and give them expression.
Less and less of the old walls are now to be seen and, with the exception of a few listed buildings, the utopia that briefly came true is once again becoming something whose existence will only continue to exist in the imagination. The memory remains in the minds of those who helped to create this utopia and those who came to experience it.
Perhaps one day the seed of this illusion will germinate further in another place or sooner or later disappear altogether.

The documentary allows a brief glimpse into the life of a person who has temporarily shaped his existence in this environment. The idea for the introductory Onetake video recording arose after waking up in the morning and was immediately put into action spontaneously. The tour through one of the “base” buildings ends on the rubble hill of the already partly demolished area with the protagonist’s view of the place where the collective self-built skate pool once stood. After the footage of a skate session there, the demolition is shown. The video ends with the departure of the protagonist.
The video was shot in 2020.

Camera/Editing: Maria Schneider
Running time: 00:30:55