What’s on FilmMusic

Berlin: symphony of a great city

Special film screenings

Dir: Walther Ruttmann 1927 (Germany) 65 minutes 35mm black & white, silent

Essentially a feature-length visual poem, this 1927 film from director Walter Ruttmann follows the life and rhythm of the metropolis of Berlin from dawn to midnight. An early morning train speeds through the countryside; workers make their way to the city; the streets are cleaned; businesses open; children attend school; construction workers toil. Ruttmann captures Berliners hard at work by day and enjoying boisterous nightlife. He said of the film in 1928, ‘Since I began in the cinema, I had the idea of making something out of life, of creating a symphonic film out of the millions of energies that comprise the life of a big city’.

The film will screen with a live jazz score by the celebrated Australian composer and pianist Stu Hunter, who will be joined on stage by a talented gathering of musicians.

Part of Berlin Sydney, a series of programs inspired by 1920s Berlin

In association with