TRIBES OF COLOGNE

Synopsis

For several years anthropologist and filmmaker Anja Dreschke accompanied the Cologne Tribes, particular societies whose members imitate "foreign" and/or historic cultures notably Huns and Mongolians as a leisure time activity. Thus she realised an ethnographic long-term study providing a "thick description" of historical reenactment as an outstanding cultural phenomenon.

Filmed over several years in the course of an ethnographic research TRIBES OF COLOGNE follows an association of about 80 clubs from the Rhineland whose members re-enact the historic life worlds of ›foreign‹ or ›ancient‹ peoples as a leisure time activity. Originating from the carnival the Cologne Tribes form a diverse local network drawing together such versatile interests as historical reenactment, amateur anthropology and alternative spirituality, namely shamanism. The audiovisual research project investigates how the performances of the club members translate a wide range of globally circulating popular media such as historical dramas, adventure novels, travel literature, TV documentaries, museum exhibitions and catalogues as well as on ethnographies or historical sources into bodily actions and material artifacts. By focusing on the media practices of remediation that shape the reenactments of the Cologne Tribes the project seeks to raise questions on the ambiguity of mimetic practices as modes to experience alterity, as embodied knowledge production, as subversive political strategy or as cultural appropriation.

The documentary feature was part of my dissertation at the University of Siegen . It is complemented by a textual ethnography following the narrative structure of the film and an image atlas (Cologne Tribes. Media Ethnography of Mimetic Practices, in preparation for 2020). Film, text and photography are employed in accordance with their specific media capacities to generate practice-based knowledge as well as for formation the of theory.

Cast & Crew

Director

Anja Dreschke
Producer

Olaf Hirschberg, Tom Schreiber
Screenwriter

Anja Dreschke
Director of photography

Anja Dreschke, Olaf Hirschberg, Sebastian Woithe
Editor (Cut)

Julia Wiegand, Gerrit Lucas, Volker Gehrke

Festivals/awards

2011
12th RAI International Festival of Ethnographic Film, London
Days of Ethnographic Cinema, Moscow
10. Münchner EthnoFilmfest, Munich
Filmfestival An-/Verwandlungen & Tages des Ethnologischen Films, Grassi Museum, Leipzig
Intima lente Festival di Film Etnografici, Caserta/Italy
2012
4. Etnofilm Festival, Rovinj, Croatia

2017
Goethe-Institut Toronto, Exhibition ›Heinrich Zille: Fun Fair‹

Film Info

links / references

Categories