Als Hollywood in der Heide lag (2016)

Forgotten and weathered, three studio halls lie today in the green nowhere - remains of "Hollywood in the Heath" on the edge of Lower Saxony. After the Second World War, the small Bendestorf in the Nordheide was overflowing with people. From 1947, famous actors mingled with the many refugees and villagers: Zarah Leander ate potato soup in the village jug, Marika Rökk showed dance performances on the bar table. Unteachable Nazis threw glittering parties for the film industry. In between traumatized refugees tried to gain a foothold as auxiliary workers. Bendestorf became a film stronghold and was mentioned in the same breath as the other major studios in Germany: Berlin, Munich, Cologne - and Bendestorf. Hollywood in the Heath - this is not only a nostalgic review of the early films of the young Federal Republic. It's a look at a post-war society that tried to get back on its feet and reposition itself morally. A society between failures, traumas and the desire for a new beginning. A society that avoided looking back and also in the film industry faded out every critical topic. On the other hand, a society that tried with its films to give traumatized people the courage to go on living.