for Goethe-Institut
It has been a difficult relationship for a long time. German history made it difficult for Germans to say:
„I am proud to be German“. Everything changed, during the summer of 2006, when the soccer world cup, hosted in Germany, made Germans wave their flags unconcernedly.
Hardly showing a black-red-golden flag in public space before the cup, the relationship of the Germans towards their flag has changed tremendously since then. During the worldcup the country was dunked into black, red and golden colours, the flag represented football itself. After the cup most of the people took down again their flag. Some flags remained. Half a year after the world-cup was finished, Florian Thalhofer (accompanied by photographer Juliane Henrich) travelled all over Germany to talk to Germans, who did not take down the flag.Driving through Germany today, you can stop almost anywhere you want: if you look closely, you will always find a German flag somewhere. The flags visible today are not the ones remaining from the worldcup. Flags ,blow out‘, they don‘t withstand the weather for long. The flags have been renewed.
,Forgotten Flags‘ is a contemporary document. The film lets people talk who decided to leave the flag in front of their houses. A little unbelieving the filmmaker inquires. The reasons are various. „I‘m proud of Germany having such a great social system“, one woman from southern Germany states. The filmmaker also encounters a young nazi in eastern Germany and documents a conflict among him and friends about the atrocities in the Third Reich.
The Korsakow-film ,Forgotten Flags‘ was first presented in February 2007 on the website of the Goethe-Institute, followed by a single exhibition in Amsterdam and a presentation at the ZKM Karlsruhe. Parts of the film are shown at the ,Haus der Deutschen Geschichte‘ in Bonn.
Watch Forgotten Flags!