Natur Park Südgelände
directed by Davide Gambino, 2022
With: Klaus Duschat (ODIOUS, sculptor), Hendrik Gottfriedsen (former director of Grün Berlin), Sandra Jasper (geographer), Almut Jirku (landscape planner), Ingo Kowarik (ecologist and landscape planner), Rita Mohrmann (landscape architect), Beate Reuber (Grün Berlin, senior consultant), Rita Suhrhoff (Grün Berlin, responsible of Natur Park Südgelände).
Subject, script and direction: Davide Gambino. Cinematographers: Nikolaus von Schlebrügge, Andrea Nocifora. Editing: Davide Gambino. Sound and sound design: Gianluca Donati. Drone operator: Marcus Fehse. Production manager: Dorothee Marecki. Production assistant: Svenja Berfuß. Color grading: Andrea Nocifora.
Original musics by Pino Petraccia, Giacomo Salario: Grüne Typografie, K 74, Wie kommt der Apfelbaum auf das Südgelände, Zuge im Park (Petraccia-Salario); Sonne Blume, Misteriose Teppich, K 21 (Salario). Musicians: Pino Petraccia percussions, electronics; Giacomo Salario piano, keyboards, electronics, arranging and mixing; Roberto Fascina electric guitar; Marco Firmani electric bass in Zuge im Park. Mastered tracks at Uto Urten House Productions by Ugo Sala.
Archive producer: Michael Konstabel. Archive sources: Peter Haumann – WIM, Heiderose Leopold Filmproduction. Translations: Maria Luisa Schäfer. Production consulting: Philipp Grieß, UFA documentary.
Executive production: Ruggero Di Maggio, Davide Gambino from Mon Amour Films; Patrizia Boschiero from Fondazione Benetton.
Südgelände, from the German ‘south lands,’ evokes the extensive southern area of Berlin where an oasis of urban nature coexists with a network of rails and railway ruins, belonging to what was once the grounds of the Tempelhof-Schöneberg marshalling yard. A territory of 30 hectares protagonist of the great industrial development of the early 20th century, of the decommissioning due to the World War II and the consequent state of abandonment of the post-war years.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the struggles of environmental movements and an active citizenship led to the longed-for recognition of the extraordinary nature of the place.
The area, colonised by plants and animals, represents an extraordinary biodiversity, corresponding to the fragmented geopolitical situation of the German capital.
A long process that will lead, in 1999, to the first official opening of the Natur Park Südgelände to the public.
An emblematic story, which tells of the profound interconnections between the history of humans, animals and plants.
A place where spontaneous vegetation covers the railway tracks and what remains of their structures, conquering a unique aesthetic, which narrates the urban landscape of Berlin better than any word.
Natur Park Südgelände, documentary film produced by Fondazione Benetton, dedicated to the site designated by the International Carlo Scarpa Prize for Gardens 2022.
Carlo Scarpa Prize Edition
Biographical note on the director
Davide Gambino
Director
Davide Gambino is an Italian film director and producer specialising in documentaries and TV series for the international market.
Having graduated from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Scuola Nazionale di Cinema, with his first work, Pietra Pesante, he was designated Best Italian Filmmaker 2012 by the New York Film Academy. In 2015 he wrote and directed Il bar del Cassarà, a television series co-produced by Rai Fiction, and also the multi-award-winning The second life. His most recent work as writer, director and producer includes the docuseries Vendetta: guerra nell’antimafia (Vendetta: truth, lies and the Mafia), distributed by Netflix in 192 countries.
Davide Gambino is the founder and executive producer of Dada Film, an audio-visual production company which is active in the international market. Since 2015, he has worked regularly with the Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche, making the documentary films about the places awarded the International Carlo Scarpa Prize for Gardens.