Düsseldorf, Germany

Together Apart

online course
when 12 September 2020 - 27 September 2020
language English
duration 3 weeks

Together Apart is an international cultural project by the Hans Farmont Foundation and the twin cities of Düsseldorf, the current location of the foundation’s headquarter.

In 2020, the focus of the programme will lie on a documentary filmproduction, which will be produced in cooperation with two professional mentors and participants from Haifa, Chiba, Chongqing, Moscow, Palermo, Reading, Warsaw, Chemnitz and Düsseldorf.

The idea is to create a collective video work, which is developed together in an online format within two weeks. At the end of the project, an international short film will be the final result - a kind of curated patchwork stitched together by the project’s participants.

The videos will have in common that they all will be filmed with simple video technology (a smartphone) from the inside of a car. In 9 car rides in 9 different cities the participants will collect film material, which deals with the current situation of the covid-19 pandemic. The goal is to start a virtual journey and to frame it in an own artistic work. What is happening simultaneously in the streets of Palermo and Haifa? What has changed through the outbreak of Covid 19? How do people deal with each other? What are the limitations of public life? What is it like to travel in your own city? How do people look at their and other countries in these challenging time? Where are common boundaries, where are borders? How can we connect and what keeps us from doing so?

In times of curfews and travel restrictions, the car is one of the only safe ways left to travel. In cars you can move around safely and look at your surroundings while being shielded from the outside.

Course leader

Lenja Busch (dramaturg and artist), Petya Alabozova (actress) and Milena Wichert (director)

Target group

Applications are open to people (all genders welcome!), who are in apprenticeship (academic or operational) as well as young professionals whose main place of residence is in one of the participating cities (Haifa, Chiba, Chongqing, Moscow, Palermo, Reading, Warsaw, Chemnitz and Düsseldorf). Participants must be between 18 and 25 years old.

Applications can be submitted as individuals or as teams from one city.

Course aim

Within two weeks, the participants will develop a concept for their short film project. Together with their mentors, they will learn all the important skills they will need to realise their final cut. The mentor Petya Alabozova will give an input as a language coach, with an introduction to microphone speaking and camera acting. Lenja Busch will advise the group on the dramaturgy of the film and discuss with the participants exemplary projects from theatre, radio play and film, which can serve the group as helpful background knowledge and inspiration for their work.
At the end of the project, an international short film will be the final result - a kind of curated patchwork stitched together by the project’s participants.

Fee info

EUR 0: no fee, the foundation covers all costs