No Man's Land Rabbit à la Berlin & Wild Horses of the Canadian Rockies
Sunday, May 9 | 12:00pm | Vancity Theatre
Whether they’re some of the last wild horses in North America roaming a largely untouched section of the Canadian Rockies, or rabbits existing within the margins of a major metropolis, animals have long been subject to the caprices of humans. No Man’s Land explores the different tactics used by animals to survive in the bits of territory they have claimed for themselves.
Rabbit à la Berlin Bartek Konopka & Piotr Rosołowski, Poland/Germany, 2009, 39 minutes
After WWII, when Berlin was effectively divided in two, caught in the middle, quite literally, were some rabbits. In the thin strip of land between East and West Germany, the rabbits found a temporary sanctuary. On either side, humans fought, struggled and died while the rabbits were content to merely exist in peace. Digging burrows between the anti-tank barriers, protected by armed guards, barbed wire fences and gun turrets, they flourished. Trust established over time blossomed, and like prisoners who have grown to love their cage, the rabbits became almost institutionalized. With little to do but reproduce, that is precisely what they did, and soon the 120km strip of no man’s land was overrun. The rabbits even enjoyed a brief moment of fame (Fidel Castro and Nikita Khrushchev were some of their most famous visitors). But the idyll was not to last... When a few floppy eared types defected to the West, the East German Army declared war. Not unlike a fairytale, Rabbit à la Berlin unfolds at a calm, measured pace that is practically mesmerizing. Silent witnesses to human madness, the rabbits become a potent symbol of the folly of much of human history.
2010 Academy Award Nominee, Short Documentary
Directors' biographies
Born in 1972, Bartek Konopka studied film directing at K. Kieslowski’s WRiTV Katowice and Andrzej Wajda’s Master School of Film Directing. His short, Three for the Taking, won prizes all over the world. His previous documentary, The Goat Walker, received the Planete Prize of Berlinale 2004, among many other awards. In 2009, he directed his long feature debut The Fear of Heights.
Piotr Rosołowski was born in 1977. Since 2002 he has been working as an independent cinematographer in Poland, Germany and Switzerland. He is co-writer of award-winning scripts of documentary films Ballada o kozie [The Goat Walker] and Królik po berlinsku [Rabbit à la Berlin]. He is the author of cinematography for the short film Auf der Strecke which was nominated for this year’s Oscars. He has been currently working in Transylvania on a full-length documentary film about Dracula.
Wild Horses of the Canadian Rockies Matt Embry, Canada, 2009, 46 minutes
The Ghost Forest in the Canadian Rockies is home to some of the last wild horses in North America. As one scientist notes, “The reason they’re there, is there’s no clear-cut logging, and no all-terrain vehicles.” Far away from humans, the horses exist much like they did hundreds of years ago, when thousands of wild horses roamed North America. The drama of the stallion Crowfoot and his herd is given a particularly human slant, but as the film cycles through the seasons of birth and death, it’s the horse’s essential wildness that most endures.
Director’s biography
Matt Embry has directed, written or produced over 100 programs for networks including Global, OLN and Movie Central. His most recent directing credits are two hour-long documentaries for CTV networks: Animal Planet’s Wild Horses of the Canadian Rockies and Bravo’s Ian Tyson: Songs From the Gravel Road. Embry is currently directing a documentary about Jann Arden, for Bravo, and a second season of Man on a Mission for Men TV. He also co-produced and starred in the Gemini-nominated drama In a World Created By a Drunken God. Embry holds a Master’s degree in Film Production from Concordia University.
