Johnny & Me – a journey through time with John Heartfield

Cinema release Austria: 7. June 2024, filmdelights

Graphic designer Stephanie is in the middle of a creativity crisis. A time tunnel takes her back to the studio of artist John Heartfield. She embarks on an adventurous journey through his extraordinary life 100 years ago.

Rothe even cuts through the image of the final scene – reminding us to think behind the images that are given to us.  Senses of Cinema, May 2024

Highlights include Katrin Rothe’s animated documentary Johnny & Me – A Journey Through Time With John Heartfield, exploring the life of the titular German antifascist artist  Deadline Hollywood

Festivals

** World premiere at the Annecy Festival 2023 **

** Swiss premiere at FANTOCHE 2023 **

** Masterclass with Katrin Rothe in Brazil. October 4th - 8th at ANIMAGE 2023 **

** German premiere at the DOK Leipzig 2023. 12. Oct. **

** GoEast 2023, Cottbus. 8th - 12. Nov. **

** FUTURE FILM FESTIVAL 2023, Italy Bologna & Malaga. 24. - 26. Nov. **

** Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival 2023, China. 5 - 8. Dez. **

** Pontevedra International Film Festival 2023, Spain, 16. Dez. **

** Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film ITFS 2024, 23. - 23. April **

** Beijing International Film Festival 2024, China, 22. April **

Trailer

Content

The German painter, graphic artist, photomontage artist and stage designer, John Heartfield, who was born in Berlin in 1891, was one of Europe's most important artists according to Bertold Brecht.
Rosa Luxemburg personally handed Heartfield, a Communist from the very beginning, the party's manifesto in 1918. George Grosz and Kurt Tucholsky were among his closest friends and artistic companions.
In protest against German warmongering, Heartfield anglicised his name. For the Nazis, the inventor of political photomontage soon became one of the most dangerous enemies of the state. He spent years on the run in Europe, and later failed to find a safe home even in socialist East Germany.

Plagued by a creativity crisis and self-doubt, graphic artist Stephanie becomes fascinated by John Heartfield's work, which she discovers in an exhibition. A time tunnel transposes her to a studio where the artist, now a cartoon character, takes her on a journey through his eventful life.
A close friendship develops between the two colleagues. And Stephanie starts to work with paper and scissors again.

Duration: 100min

Genre: Hybrid, Documentary animation

Theatrical release Germany: January 2024, Real Fiction, Joachim Kühn

Theatrical release Austria: June 2024, filmdelights, Christa Auderlitzky

Production: 2023, D, AT, CH

Format: 16:9 (4K, DCP, MOV)

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Making of

Credits

Author & director & animation director: Katrin Rothe

DoP: Thomas Eirich-Schneider

Cast: Stephanie Stremler and Manuel Harder

Music: Micha Kaplan and Thomas Mävers

Editing: Hannes Starz and Katrin Rothe

Assistant director: Katharina Biro

Storyboard & Main Designs & Artwork: Lydia Günther, Tonina Matamalas, Caroline Hamann, Gyula Szabo

Design secondary characters: Konrad Weiße (D)/ Benjamin Swiczinsky (A)

Puppet fabrication & costume: Anne-Sophie Réamy, Werner Kernebeck, Lisa Sinram

Rud puppetry and voices: Michael Hatzius and Dorothee Carls

Animators: Lisa Neubauer, Lydia Günther, Jonathan Schwenk, Malte Stein, Mandy Müller (D)/ Amélie Cochet, Kerstin Zemp, Igor Kuzmic (CH)/ Wolf Matzl, Birgit Scholin, Rosanne Janssens (A)

Production manager: Bettina Morlock (D)/ Susanne Berger (A)/ Sereina Gabathuler (CH)

Editors: Rolf Bergmann (rbb), Carolin Mayer (rbb/Arte), Urs Augstburger (SRF), Gabriela Bloch Steinmann (SRF)

Producers: Gunter Hanfgarn, Andrea Ufer, Ralph Wieser, Sereina Gabathuler, Werner Schweizer

Production companies: HANFGARN & UFER, Mischief Films, Dschoint Ventschr

Funded by: BKM, Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg, Filmförderungsanstalt, DFFF (D)/ Österreichisches Filminstitut, Fisa, Filmfonds Wien (A)/ BAK, Zürcher Filmstiftung, Studienbibliothek (CH)

TV stations: RBB, Arte, SRF

Contacts

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