Countdown

Germany 1990, 16 mm, color, 188 minutes

Countdown follows a chronological sequence. The movie was shot in Berlin and environs over a ten-day period leading up to the unification of the currencies on July 1, 1990. The film thus ends on the date marking “the first stage of German reunification”.

Eva Meyer: Chapters of the Film

Point in Time / Counterpoint
Day 1: June 22, 1990
Einsteinturm (Potsdam), Jewish Cemetery Weißensee (Berlin, Herbert-Baum-Straße)

New Permeability. The Waterways.
Day 2: June 23, 1990
Bauhausarchiv, Shell-Haus, Synagogue, Oberbaumbrücke, Berlin Dom, Nikolai Quarter, Bahnhof Friedrichstraße, Reichstag, Kongresshalle, Siemenssteg

Trade Nomads
Day 3: June 24, 1990
Bahnhof Zoo

The Wall. Adventure Park
Day 4: June 25, 1990

Vital Signs
Day 5: June 26, 1990
Alexanderplatz, "Death Strip," Wollankstraße, Oberbaumbrücke, Schlesisches Tor

" Farewell to the Past" and the Children
Day 6: June 27, 1990
Glienickerbrücke, Caputh, Petzow, Werder, Deetz, Ketzin, Kremmen, Linum, Dechtow, Karwesee

What counts?
Day 7: June 28, 1990
Magnetbahn, Postdamer Platz, Tiergarten

The Empty Shop Window of the East
Day 8: June 29, 1990

What's left?
Day 9: June 30, 1990
Plaue, a fishing village

Currency Lines
Day 10: July 1, 1990
Karl-Marx-Allee, Frankfurter Allee (formerly Stalin-Allee), roller coaster, Amusement Park Treptow

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Photographs
Crew
Director
Screenplay
Cinematographer
Ulrike Ottinger
Text of the title Eva Meyer
Sound Margit Eschenbach
Editor Eva Schlensag
Assistant Producer Heidi Maria von Plato
With thanks to Oberkantor Estrongo Nachama

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