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Jeden Monat nähern sich unsere Kolumnisten, die Berliner Filmemacher Dominik und Benjamin Reding, dem jeweiligen Heftthema
auf ihre ganz eigene Art und Weise. Geboren wurden die Zwillinge am 3. Ja nuar 1969 in Dortmund. Während Dominik Architektur
in Aachen und Film in Hamburg studierte, absolvierte Benjamin ein Schauspielstudium in Stuttgart. 1997 begann die Arbeit an
ihrem ersten gemeinsamen Kinofilm „Oi! Warning“. Seitdem arbeiten sie für Fernseh- und Kinofilmprojekte zusammen.

Each month our columnists, Berlin-based filmmakers Dominik and Benjamin Reding, approach the respective issue-specific theme
in their very personal way. The twins were born on January 3, 1969 in Dortmund. Whilst Dominik studied architecture in Aachen
and film in Hamburg, Benjamin graduated in acting studies in Stuttgart. They started working on their first joint motion picture “Oi!
Warning“ in 1997. Since then they have tightly collaborated for TV and cinema film projects.

T he papers were creased, the information was blurred, the stamps were illegible. circumstances, an internship salary is of course no longer possible, surely you will
They would be annoyed, scold me, turn me down. I sweated and was cold and
understand that.” The elevator came late and I could just see how they got rid of my
looked at the watch again: 8.30 a.m. Another half an hour. It had started with the working model in the dustbin. – Two more days. – And former schoolmates can do
torn passport, my countdown, two months earlier. “Well, it has expired!” The official some good as well by letting you sleep at their place when you are doing an intern-
at the registration office looked at the tattered document as if it were forbidden lite- ship in a foreign city. “Free of charge”, as my old classmate promised. He was on a
rature, held it up so that his colleagues could see it clearly, and called out: “For more surfing holiday on the Azores and had a large flat in an old building in an upscale
than three years already!” and tore it up. “Apply for a new one! In four months you neighbourhood. How the hell was he able to afford this? I didn’t give it much thought.
can come and collect it.” “But I need the passport right now, for my application for a Then, one day before I finished working, this man was standing in the hallways. “You
DAAD international scholarship.” “Dada what? No way, in that case you should have have the money?” He looked at me. Not in a very friendly way. “Money?” I tried a
come in earlier. The early bird catches the worm.” “Then it will no longer work out smile. “You know!” he talked with an accent, Russian maybe. I had no idea. “Rent,
with my international scholarship.” I groaned. “So do something else: Take a vaca- arrears, four months, pay!” His cell phone rang, restlessness arose. “I come back. In
tion by the North Sea or make a film in Hollywood.” The official grinned. “Yes”, I hour. Then you pay and then get lost. Understand?” “Understand”. He stomped off.
said. – Another eight weeks from now. – From the window, one could wave at ships, And I, quietly, very quietly, followed him ten minutes later. – One more day. – I cram-
at the high-rise building opposite, the Der Spiegel neon sign was shining and on the med my luggage into a locker at the station. I still had enough cash for a coffee, my
roof the Hamburg flag was flying. What a account had been in the red for a long time al-
view! What an office! The whole top floor of ready. I wanted to take the underground to the
an old Kontorhaus. All the inside walls consi- city limits and there spend the night in the ve-
sted of glass, even the WC but there the glass stibule of a bank. Anything but getting caught
was sandblasted for privacy. And, screened without a ticket. “Tickets please!” A large
off in his very own glass cube, the boss, al- Roma family held up the controller, I jumped
ways with a cigarillo, a black jacket and Le off the train at the next stop, found a waiting
Corbusier glasses. An up-and-coming office, room which was closed due to renovation and
first successes, first magazine articles, first slept in the entrance in front of it. – Another
fame. A six week internship working on an in- twelve hours. – The building of the Hamburg
ternational competition: for the opera house arts academy is attractive. Red brick walls, co-
in Copenhagen. The boss was too busy, the vered in ivy, with high roofs, small-sectioned
secretary looked through my application port- windows and a building-high, heavy, oak en-
folio. She turned the pages without looking at trance door. When I pushed it open, my mus-
them. Then she sighed. The competition was cles trembled. – One more hour. – I was much
no longer an option for me, the team was al- too early, waited in the entrance hall with the
ready chosen, but there was a working model art nouveau glass windows. Where are the pa-
to be constructed, of an office building for an pers? Once again I reached into my jacket.
important meeting with the client. “That Everything wet, crumpled, the writing blurred,
would be a nice task”, she said and pointed the stamps illegible. They would be annoyed,
to a stack of cardboard and Styrodor on the Foto: Benjamin Reding scold me, turn me down. I sweated and was
desk at the very back of the office. “As a be- cold and again looked at the watch: 8.30 a.m.
ginner, you are really lucky to be allowed to Another half an hour. I hope they won’t ask for
work in our office.” – Another five weeks and six days. – The first working day lasted the passport. Up the stairs, more stairs, then a white-painted corridor. Everything al-
from nine to five, the second from nine to seven, the third from nine to nine and all ready looked blurred and shifted as if through broken 3D glasses: “Administration”.
the other ones from nine until into the night. For the others, however, the competi- The word was nailed in metal letters to the door at the end of the corridor. I knocked.
tion team, there was no to the working day. They sketched continuously and cleaned “Yes?” I opened the door. There was a smell of coffee, eau de cologne and a bit of ci-
up in the glazed WC box. Three days before the submission deadline, one of the fe- gars. A chubby middle-aged woman sat behind the wooden counter and sorted files.
male employees collapsed from exhaustion. She was absent the next day. The others “Yes?” “Good morning. Registering, I would like to register, for a guest semester, ar-
went on working. From time to time, the boss now came out of his glass command chitecture.” She looked up. She looked a bit like Mother Hulda, like in the children’s
capsule and interacted with the common people. He also walked past my table, stop- book. “And … for film … the film studies … if that is possible … is it possible?” She
ped, looked at the working model, my achievement of the last five weeks, looked up didn’t say anything. “I’ve got everything: school reports, study book, internship cer-
and said: “Hm …” and then: “Do you really want to become an architect?” Without tificate …” Sweat was pouring down my neck. “… just not my passport, I’ve lost that.”
waiting for the answer, he went back into his glass cube. – Another two weeks. – “You Damn, now I had goofed. My pulse was pounding, I was cold and sweated even
don’t need to come in anymore.” The secretary intercepted me at the elevator. The more. Then she suddenly looked at me very carefully, for a long time. I don’t know
opera house competition was lost and the client of the administrative headquarters what she saw but she bundled the papers together, smiled like Mother Hulda and
had decided in favour of another office; he never set eyes on the model. “Under these said: “You will like it here!”, nodded and stamped my papers.

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