Berlin’s history is more unique than rare, in the last hundred years it has been the center of the greatest war of the modern era, then it found a fake freedom, living for over 40 years divided in two, and only in the 1990s could it be said that it was finally freed from the specter of the Cold War. After so many years of repression, in the last decade of the last century, an impressive number of autonomous collectives and artistic movements were born in the German capital. One of them, perhaps the most important, came to life in the district of Mitte and had its headquarters in a building called Kunsthaus Tacheles, or simply Tacheles. 

This is the name of the short film by Olaf Heine, starring actor Thomas Kretschmann and shown at the Berlin Film Festival, from February 24-27, right inside the Kunsthaus Tacheles. The camera follows Thomas walking through the enormous desolate and decadent spaces of the building, while his memories and words take us back thirty years. 

From the very beginning, this place was a symbol of the transformation taking place in the city, and it was until its closure in 2012. Today, unable to demolish a site of such historical importance, the Kunsthaus Tacheles is being restored and will once again become the hub of the district. 

Listen carefully to the words of Thomas Kretschmann and let yourself be carried away by the images.