Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
it is with great honor and pleasure, to be able to open the Black
International Cinema Berlin again at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
after a break of several years. In my view, this annual festival is a very
important dialogue between different ethnic groups and cultures, and thus
also between patterns of perception, expectations, hopes and dreams.
With a slight modification of the famous words of Martin Luther King, the
XIV. Festival was held under the motto “We have a dream!”. This year, the
question reads “Footprints in the Sand?”, which is associated with the Black
Cinema. Dreams and footprints in the sand are somewhat volatile, therefore
temporary, almost barely perceptible. Does this apply to the movies that we
have seen in the past or will see during the next few days? Sure, art is not
always sustainable, but it can be, because the confrontation with the
unfamiliar, with the not ordinary, is able to generate thoughtfulness,
because what has been seen and heard pulls away from the usual patterns of
perception and associated mindsets. This is precisely why this non-ordinary
is able to unfold its effectiveness, because it may be stirring, with
dreams, hopes, trails and other realities which opens up new worlds to the
viewers and have hitherto remained unknown to them. Perhaps the single film
is only a dust grain, the differentiated questions, suggestions all of those
movies Fountainhead® Tanz Théâtre has presented and will present, is a long
solid trace in the life of our city and an indispensable component of
cultural diversity, which our University also feels obliged to.
That is why I am pleased the XXX. 2015 Black International Cinema Berlin /
“Footprints in the Sand?” Exhibition 2015 presents its films again under the
umbrella of the University this year.
I wish the festival and its visitors a lasting impression and
thought-provoking impulses. The organizers, who were connected with the
preparation and implementation of the festival and still are, I thank very
much for the months of long continued commitment.
With best regards,
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Mühl-Benninghaus