Hubertus Siegert
Hubertus Siegert

THE CHILDREN OF UTOPIA (2019)

Kinostart: 15.5.2019
Regie: Hubertus Siegert

WATCH THE MOVIE

WHERE CAN I FIND THE FILM

CHILDREN OF UTOPIA is available on various platforms and adapted to individual viewer needs::
– DVD
– Stream
- Licences

SUMMARY

Six young adults look back on their time together at primary school in an inclusion class. They reflect on their experiences - and look to the future. A touching and closely observed documentary film by Hubertus Siegert.

In the 80-minute film DIE KINDER DER UTOPIE, six young adults meet again. They were documented once before in 2004 - for the film KLASSENLEBEN.

At the time, they attended a primary school in Berlin, which offered an unusual form of inclusive education: children with and without disabilities were taught together. The severely disabled were also part of the class community.

Together, the young adults watch film footage from their school days, meet their younger selves, talk about what they haven't said before and talk about how they became who they are: Luca is a passionate amateur photographer and studies environmental science; Marvin works in a workshop for the disabled and seeks his purpose in life through his Christian faith; Dennis is well on his way to becoming a star in musical heaven; Johanna is determinedly learning to be a geriatric nurse and wants to move in with her boyfriend soon; Christian is in a phase of self-discovery since coming out as gay, has given up his economics degree and is thinking about what direction he wants to take professionally; and Natalie wants to turn her internship as a kitchen assistant into a permanent position and move out of her parents' house soon.

Annette Frier

„"THE CHILDREN OF UTOPIA is a great little film. We are all always in the middle of our subjective dreams and stories, the film opens our eyes here and there to a greater whole, very comforting and unpretentious, rather incidental, just as life is. Bravo!"

Annette Frier, actress and supporter of the campaign evening

Hubertus Siegert

“Through my studies, I am now very much confronted with the topics of travesty, transsexuality and homosexuality. It was something that was foreign to me. And if I hadn't been a pupil in an inclusion class, I could imagine that I would have had problems with it.“

Dennis

„Because it was a basic component of the class system, it was more accepted that there are different speeds in learning. This acceptance is important. That was no longer the case later on.”

Christian

CAMPAIGN

The cinema documentary DIE KINDER DER UTOPIE achieved something unique on the German cinema market: With a clear strategy, director Hubertus Siegert succeeded in making the first successful German Cinema on Demand film: „Siegert turns cinemas all over Germany into a 'place of experience' in one evening.“  (Schwarzwälder Bote)

The principle of cinema on demand is easy to explain: A sufficient number of people interested in a particular desired film must come together and reserve cinema tickets. In this way, cinemas are persuaded to include the desired film in their programme.

Efforts and attempts in this direction were already being made at the beginning of the 2000s. The online platform Gokino.ch, among others, tried to implement cinema on demand in Switzerland, but with little success. In 2016, the Filmmagazin Celluloid Junkie declared the Cinema on Demand concept a failure.

The cinema documentary DIE KINDER DER UTOPIE proved the opposite in 2019.
Hubertus Siegert sought out strong partners for his project: campaigner Ben Kempas, inclusion activist Raul Krauthausen and journalist Susanne Bauer. Ben Kempas' outstanding film campaign experience and software, which is also used in US election campaigns and complies with the highest data protection criteria, enabled him to record and channel interested parties and forward pre-registrations to the cinemas. As a multiplier, Raul Krauthausen was able to reach and activate the relevant target groups - and Susanne Bauer provided the journalistic background and extensive social media expertise. Finally, the association mittendrin e.V. joined in and provided comprehensive support for the campaign.

German cinema release (Filmagentinnen): May 15th, 2019

REACTIONS TO THE FILM

„A different school system - as the film shows very well - educates other people who treat each other differently and possibly shape the world a little differently. It is an invitation to utopia: what could be possible!“
Süddeutsche Zeitung

„The 80-minute cinema film DIE KINDER DER UTOPIE is the first time a "Cinema on Demand" has been brought to Germany.“
Badische Zeitung

„Their time at school together has left its mark on the young people and the viewer experiences how naturally and respectfully they live inclusion.“
ZDF Volle Kanne

Raul Krauthausen

„At the moment, the topic of inclusion is only being analysed from the perspective of adults, doctors, teachers and politicians. But we rarely learn how children actually experience inclusion. The film takes a unique look at this.“
Raul Krauthausen, Inclusion activist and face of the campaign

Credits

Deutschland 2019, 1h 22m © S.U.M.O. Film
Produktion, Buch und Regie: Hubertus Siegert
Regieassistenz: Josephine Links
Kamera: Thomas Schneider, Marcus Winterbauer, Frank Marten Pfeiffer, Michel Links
Originalton: André Zacher, Lorenz Fischer, Etienne Haug, Benjamin Simon
Musik: F. S. Blumm

Filmgeschäftsführung: Ulrich Adomat
Supervising Sound Editor: André Zacher
Mischung: Stefan Korte
Titelgrafik: Propaganda B
Entwicklung der Outreach-Kampagne: Susanne Bauer, Ben Kempas, Christine von Kirschbaum, Raul Krauthausen, Tina Sander, Eva Thoms

 

Filmplakat zu Conduct Hubertus Siegert
CONDUCT: EVERY MOVEMENT COUNTS! (2016)

2016

Hubertus Siegert
KLASSENLEBEN (2005)

2005

Kinoplakat Berlin Babylon Hubertus Siegert
BERLIN BABYLON (2001)

2001

Kinoplakat Beyond Punishment Hubertus Siegert
BEYOND PUNISHMENT (2015)

2015

Filmplakat Eine Deutsche Partei blauer Hintergrund, roter Pfeil der Afd Hubertus Siegert
A GERMAN PARTY (2022)

2022

THE CHILDREN OF UTOPIA (2019)

Kinostart: 15.5.2019
Regie: Hubertus Siegert

WATCH THE MOVIE

WHERE CAN I FIND THE FILM

CHILDREN OF UTOPIA is available on various platforms and adapted to individual viewer needs::
– DVD
– Stream
- Licences

SUMMARY

Six young adults look back on their time together at primary school in an inclusion class. They reflect on their experiences - and look to the future. A touching and closely observed documentary film by Hubertus Siegert.

In the 80-minute film DIE KINDER DER UTOPIE, six young adults meet again. They were documented once before in 2004 - for the film KLASSENLEBEN.

At the time, they attended a primary school in Berlin, which offered an unusual form of inclusive education: children with and without disabilities were taught together. The severely disabled were also part of the class community.

Together, the young adults watch film footage from their school days, meet their younger selves, talk about what they haven't said before and talk about how they became who they are: Luca is a passionate amateur photographer and studies environmental science; Marvin works in a workshop for the disabled and seeks his purpose in life through his Christian faith; Dennis is well on his way to becoming a star in musical heaven; Johanna is determinedly learning to be a geriatric nurse and wants to move in with her boyfriend soon; Christian is in a phase of self-discovery since coming out as gay, has given up his economics degree and is thinking about what direction he wants to take professionally; and Natalie wants to turn her internship as a kitchen assistant into a permanent position and move out of her parents' house soon.

Annette Frier

„"THE CHILDREN OF UTOPIA is a great little film. We are all always in the middle of our subjective dreams and stories, the film opens our eyes here and there to a greater whole, very comforting and unpretentious, rather incidental, just as life is. Bravo!"

Annette Frier, actress and supporter of the campaign evening

Hubertus Siegert

“Through my studies, I am now very much confronted with the topics of travesty, transsexuality and homosexuality. It was something that was foreign to me. And if I hadn't been a pupil in an inclusion class, I could imagine that I would have had problems with it.“

Dennis

„Because it was a basic component of the class system, it was more accepted that there are different speeds in learning. This acceptance is important. That was no longer the case later on.”

Christian

CAMPAIGN

The cinema documentary DIE KINDER DER UTOPIE achieved something unique on the German cinema market: With a clear strategy, director Hubertus Siegert succeeded in making the first successful German Cinema on Demand film: „Siegert turns cinemas all over Germany into a 'place of experience' in one evening.“  (Schwarzwälder Bote)

The principle of cinema on demand is easy to explain: A sufficient number of people interested in a particular desired film must come together and reserve cinema tickets. In this way, cinemas are persuaded to include the desired film in their programme.

Efforts and attempts in this direction were already being made at the beginning of the 2000s. The online platform Gokino.ch, among others, tried to implement cinema on demand in Switzerland, but with little success. In 2016, the Filmmagazin Celluloid Junkie declared the Cinema on Demand concept a failure.

The cinema documentary DIE KINDER DER UTOPIE proved the opposite in 2019.
Hubertus Siegert sought out strong partners for his project: campaigner Ben Kempas, inclusion activist Raul Krauthausen and journalist Susanne Bauer. Ben Kempas' outstanding film campaign experience and software, which is also used in US election campaigns and complies with the highest data protection criteria, enabled him to record and channel interested parties and forward pre-registrations to the cinemas. As a multiplier, Raul Krauthausen was able to reach and activate the relevant target groups - and Susanne Bauer provided the journalistic background and extensive social media expertise. Finally, the association mittendrin e.V. joined in and provided comprehensive support for the campaign.

German cinema release (Filmagentinnen): May 15th, 2019

REACTIONS TO THE FILM

„A different school system - as the film shows very well - educates other people who treat each other differently and possibly shape the world a little differently. It is an invitation to utopia: what could be possible!“
Süddeutsche Zeitung

„The 80-minute cinema film DIE KINDER DER UTOPIE is the first time a "Cinema on Demand" has been brought to Germany.“
Badische Zeitung

„Their time at school together has left its mark on the young people and the viewer experiences how naturally and respectfully they live inclusion.“
ZDF Volle Kanne

Raul Krauthausen

„At the moment, the topic of inclusion is only being analysed from the perspective of adults, doctors, teachers and politicians. But we rarely learn how children actually experience inclusion. The film takes a unique look at this.“
Raul Krauthausen, Inclusion activist and face of the campaign

Credits

Deutschland 2019, 1h 22m © S.U.M.O. Film
Produktion, Buch und Regie: Hubertus Siegert
Regieassistenz: Josephine Links
Kamera: Thomas Schneider, Marcus Winterbauer, Frank Marten Pfeiffer, Michel Links
Originalton: André Zacher, Lorenz Fischer, Etienne Haug, Benjamin Simon
Musik: F. S. Blumm

Filmgeschäftsführung: Ulrich Adomat
Supervising Sound Editor: André Zacher
Mischung: Stefan Korte
Titelgrafik: Propaganda B
Entwicklung der Outreach-Kampagne: Susanne Bauer, Ben Kempas, Christine von Kirschbaum, Raul Krauthausen, Tina Sander, Eva Thoms

 

Filmplakat zu Conduct Hubertus Siegert
CONDUCT: EVERY MOVEMENT COUNTS! (2016)

2016

Hubertus Siegert
KLASSENLEBEN (2005)

2005

Kinoplakat Berlin Babylon Hubertus Siegert
BERLIN BABYLON (2001)

2001

Kinoplakat Beyond Punishment Hubertus Siegert
BEYOND PUNISHMENT (2015)

2015

Filmplakat Eine Deutsche Partei blauer Hintergrund, roter Pfeil der Afd Hubertus Siegert
A GERMAN PARTY (2022)

2022

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