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PRESS RELEASE

November 28, 2013

According to estimates of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) today214 million people live in a country that is not their original homeland.

There are 21 counties in America where German is still spoken actively. Washington Post

Berlin, Germany 2013, 3,375,200 million people live in Germany’s biggest city, in 2012 nearly 46,800 people from all over the world, including Germany moved to Berlin.

I (HEART) BERLIN – DOCUMENTARY

Between 1800 and today, nearly 7 million Germans immigrated to the United States, founding 30 new American cities called Berlin.

In I (HEART) BERLIN, director Anke Schiemann, together with Mindpuzzlefilms, presents her first feature-length road-trip-documentary which takes us on a journey to 14 different Berlins in the U.S. and introduces us to their American inhabitants. A recent transplant herself in Berlin, Schiemann grew up between three different countries, two political systems (East Germany and West Germany) and picks up the trail with American Berliners with her sensitive if nevertheless ironic view: what motivated these people to leave their families, their belongings, their familiar environments – their roots – to start a new life in an unknown and distant country? What informs American Berliners identification today? What role do their German roots play? How important are roots? What remains of their German-ness?

Along this journey we meet all kinds of American Berliners – cowboys, a linguistic professor, a fighter jet pilot instructor, a dairy farmer, a speech writer, a funeral home owner and many more – and learn something about their amazing stories.

I (HEART) BERLIN is more than just a road trip and travelogue of the U.S.’s Berlins – it is an encounter of Schiemann’s own history with migration, dislocation and relocation as much as a reflection on the importance of German roots in America today. What is more important: where you are or where you are from? I (HEART) BERLIN is therefore also a reflection on the concept of identity as well as on the larger question on cultural-historical roots throughout the world.

After working on I (HEART) BERLIN for three years, the shooting was completed in July 2013 and Schiemann and her team were subsequently invited to show a short version of I (HEART) BERLIN on the occasion of the  50^th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech at the opening of the exhibition “Berlins – Made in the USA” at the German American Heritage Museum in Washington DC.  Many Berliners from all over the U.S. were on hand and the film received rave reviews from all who’s attended!

The support of several organizations and private investors covered the costs of the shooting itself.

I (HEART) BERLIN is now successfully in post production, the film-team is currently editing the material. Support this important road-trip-documentary too! Donate now for the completion of this unique film-project and become part of the I (HEART) BERLIN community! Like I (HEART) BERLIN and share it with your crowd. All donations will be specially rewarded! Be a Berliner!

More information can be found on the website https://iheartberlin-documentary.com/sponsorship

If you would like an interview with the director, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

If you would like to receive  a press kit of I (HEART) BERLIN please contact us through the contact form!