Natur Park Südgelände, documentary film

directed by Davide Gambino

Natur Park Südgelände, documentary film produced by Fondazione Benetton, dedicated to the site designated by the International Carlo Scarpa Prize for Gardens 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).

 

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.

 

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.

 

 

Davide Gambino is an Italian film director and producer graduated from the Experimental Center of Cinematography. He has made successful documentaries and TV series for the national and international market. With his debut film Pietra Pesante he won numerous awards, including the Best Young Italian Filmmaker 2013 at the New York Film Academy. His latest works include the Netflix docu-series Vendetta – Guerra nell’antimafia and The Second Life, an award-winning documentary film, released in cinemas in Germany, co-produced by Franco-German TV ARTE and RTBF-Radio Télévision Belge. In 2017, together with Ruggero Di Maggio, he founded Mon Amour Films, an audiovisual production company active on the international market that produces docu-series and unconventional films for cinema and TV, making use of the collaboration of both emerging and established talents. His works are united by a strong visual impact and by the constant search for an alternative point of view, which aims at the story-telling of universal themes through original characters and stories. He has been collaborating for several years with the Benetton Foundation in the realisation of audiovisual works.