Bowlingtreff (2015) [N/A]

Directed by:
Thomas Beyer, Adrian Dorschner


Release Date:
October 31, 2015

Original Title:
Bowlingtreff

Genres:
Documentary

Production Companies:
Beyer & Dorschner
MDR
NDR

Production Countries:
Germany

Ratings / Certifications:
 N/A

Runtime: 60

In 1987, the Leipzig Bowlingtreff opened, extraordinary, postmodern and unique in the GDR. The film portrays knowledgeably and lovingly the house and its special history.

The “Bowlingtreff” is a bowling alley situated right in the centre of Leipzig opened in July 1987. At that time the quality of life in Leipzig and the whole GDR got worse. Houses collapsed because of poor conditions, public life and amusement was on a very low level. The “Bowlingtreff” was not merely an urban entertainment centre but a revolution in those days. Built with the help of hundreds of volunteers without permission of the state authorities in Berlin the building expresses a free and international architecture known as postmodernism. It is an architecture that was never seen before in Leipzig. Marble and parquet on the floor, a glass roof and beautiful pink pillars. The atmosphere was western as time witnesses remember it.

The "Bowlingtreff" is a bowling alley situated right in the center of Leipzig, it opened in July 1987. At that time the quality of life in Leipzig and the whole GDR got worse. Houses collapsed because of poor conditions, public life and amusement was on a very low level. The "Bowlingtreff" was not merely an urban entertainment center but a revolution in those days. Built with the help of hundreds of volunteers without permission of the state authorities in Berlin the building expresses a free and international architecture known as postmodernism. It is an architecture that was never seen before in Leipzig. Marble and parquet on the floor, a glass roof and beautiful pink pillars. The atmosphere was western as time witnesses remember it. This documentary tells the story of this building and the people behind it. Beyond that international experts estimate the postmodern architecture of the "Bowlingtreff" as one of a kind in history. Postmodernism icon Denise Scott Brown profoundly evaluates the "Bowlingtreff" as a remarkable sign of the time that anticipates the Zeitgeist of 1989 when people had the bravery to claim for freedom. The film reconnects beautiful file footage with high-end sequences from the "Bowlingtreff" that is abandoned today.

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