Synopsis

Naturally, the human being is also an animal. 

Since its foundation one hundred years ago, countless animal specimens have been collected in the Natural History Museum in Jena. Some animals live in the museum, where they are admired by visitors and studied by researchers. Human remains are also part of the collection. From a zoological perspective, humans are part of the animal world, simultaneously making themselves the object of their own research. Through the unusual world of objects held in this Museum, the film explores this irritating ambiguity and observes the work of the museum. Often, the scientific approach to the objects reaches its limits and gives way to emotional moments. What relation to nature does the natural history museum teach us? 

Directors Statement
I met Gerta Puchert at a conference on the future of obsolete media in university collections. As curator of the educational collection at the Phyletisches Museum, she had spent her whole professional life in this institution. The museum is one of the oldest natural history museums in Germany, and its interiors provided an interesting cinematic scenery for the film. One of our protagonist's tasks was to catalogue and preserve the specimens. She guided visitors of all ages through the museum and acquired an impressive repertoire of natural history stories in countless guided tours. Our protagonist took us to the most hidden corners of the museum. Above all, however, the film lives from Gerta Puchert's vivid descriptions, which question the relationship to nature in our time, which is shaped by scientific knowledge.

Wolfram Höhne is an author, filmmaker and cultural heritage researcher. He studied fine arts and realised art projects in collective authorship. Since 2008, he has been working on documentary films. His films include „The Fighter Gene“ (2011) and "Elham - My Music for Afghanistan“ (2013). As part of his teaching activities at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, he worked on film series such as „Studio Bauhaus“ and „From the Second Life. Documents of Forgotten Architectures“. He received his doctorate in 2020 with a thesis on the cultural construction of architectural testimonies and their documentation in the medium of language. Since 2021, he has headed the Research Training Group „Identity and Heritage“, funded by the German Research Foundation in Berlin and Weimar.  

Credits

Screenplay
Larissa Förster, Michael Markert, Wolfram Höhne 

Director and Editor
Wolfram Höhne 

Camera
Jonas Eisenschmidt, Wolfram Höhne 

Music 
Constanze Zacharias 

Sound Mixing 
Markus Schlaffke 

Cast
Gerta Puchert, Matthias Krüger, Martin Fischer 

English Subtitles 
Brian Currid

Legal Notice

Wolfram Höhne  Filmproduktion
Braugasse 2
99425 Weimar 

Kontakt
Telefon: +49 (0) 1786919240 Email: whoehne(at)gmail.com 

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