Silke Schönfeld

Silke Schönfeld’s films incorporate ele­ments of installation, staged situations, and documentary film. In the spring of 2019 the artist shot an experimental documentary film with children and youth from the Katernberg district of Essen, specifically for the ›Blue Skies‹ festival. The film follows the young protagonists, who are regular visitors to PACT’s satellite project space, the WerkStadt. The young people appear as experts on their neighborhood and give film viewers both the sense of being part of the group and also silent observers. The seemingly inexhaustible energy of the young bodies finds ex­pression in their own choreographies: loudly sung melodies from catchy pop songs, spontaneous drumming concerts and improvised soccer tournaments shape the spontaneous moments caught on film, which seem to follow their own rhythm. The name of the work is taken from the title of a manea, a Romanian pop folksong.