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Walter Benjamin took his own life in the Spanish-French border town of Portbou in 1940 while fleeing from the National Socialists. Accompanied by a team of Akademie der Künste Berlin, high school students from the Rosa-Luxemburg-Gymnasium in Berlin spent two years exploring Benjamin's life and work, and followed in his footsteps across the Pyrenees in September 2021. Director Sophie Narr captured the journey in a film. The step-by-step approach to Benjamin's mysterious personality invites us to explore overarching themes. What does fleeing do to a person? What value do gratitude and empathy have? What can we learn from each other across generations?

The film will be followed by a discussion with the students involved in the project and with Jeanine Meerapfel, Sophie Narr and Erdmut Wizisla, who accompanied the project and the journey.

Free admission
No registration required

Location:
Werkstatt Exilmuseum
Fasanenstr. 24, 10719 Berlin
The building is unfortunately not accessible to wheelchair users.

On the day of the event the exhibition 'Children in Exile' is only open until 6 p.m.

Berlin – Portbou. In the footsteps of Walter Benjamin
Documentary (2022), Germany, 86 min, DCP, 16/9, Dolby Surround
Produced by Akademie der Künste
Director, Camera, Editing: Sophie Narr
Production: Dr. Marion Neumann (AdK - Kunstwelten)

Photo: © Sophie Narr