* Bild des Tages *
  The Picture of the Day  

Diese Foto ging rund um die Welt, nach dem Brandanschlag in Tröglitz © picture alliance / dpa / Jan Woitas 2015

Deutschland - Kanada / 91' /  Full HD / 5.1 Dolby / deu

Trailer: vimeo.com/220623955

PRESSEMAPPE / PRESSKIT: www.velinraconte.com/the-picture-of-the-day-bild-des-tages-pressemappe-presskit.htm



What this
German - Canadian film
is all about:

After an arson attack
in a German village,
Easter 2015,  
on an apartment block
that was to house 40 asylum-seekers,
national and
international media attention
blanketed the village. 

Thus, the image of
this burnt-out roof
became the icon of
a new wave
of xenophobic,
racist violence
in Germany,
in the year
a million people
seeking asylum
or simple refuge
made it into the country.

The arsonists
were never identified.
It's not known
where they came from,
but the name of
the village was stigmatised: 
Troeglitz. 

All of this
affected the people
who live there,
profoundly.

And that is where the film begins.


The Picture of the Day /
Bild des Tages
grows from long observation
within the so-called
Stille Mitte, or
Schweigende Mitte
- this translates
as the silent majority -
in Troeglitz
and in the
neighbouring communities
that make up the
Elsteraue municipality, 
and on the fringes
of the town of Zeitz.
All together this is
"Zeitz"  electoral district.

The most intense part
of the recording took place
in the 11 months
between the attack
​and the state election
in Saxony-Anhalt,
March 13, 2016. 
The last shoot was
in September 2016. 

The result of the election
was a blow,
but not a big surprise by then,
to those who believe
the best kind of German
society is inclusive,
robustly tolerant
and giving.



DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT: 

The Picture of the Day / Bild des Tages
continues my exploration of emotional geographies
that I began with One Fine Line (2013) 
and that was shot about 100 kilometers away
from Troeglitz.

I have been very concerned
as a journalist 
and in my documentary work,
that the unheard and unseen
strata of society
be heard and seen.
Few wanted to talk to journalists
soon after the arson attack.
The majority wanted
the press to go away.
They did not recognise themselves
and the community
in what was reported.

"We're not like that," I heard many times.

Each adult in the film has a vote,
like any other citizen in the region.
This is the overlooked,
but politically weighty,
middle ground.

Their presence,
personalities,
and the voices
of the children,
feel diverse,
surprising, touching.

I have not included politicians,
or others who easily walk up to
a TV camera
and speak their minds;
they have their platforms.

Many people in the film
needed time.
Clichés are subverted.
The film is like a river
curling around the rocks.
The cinematography
reaches into our collective,
mediated memory
of people
seeking asylum in Europe.
But the dominant focus is
on people living in
and around
this iconic roof.

The Stille Mitte is
not so 'still',
or silent,
or necessarily in the middle,
after all.

Without the generosity of
so many local residents,
including many who do not appear,
the film would not have
 the soul it has now.

The Picture of the Day
/ Bild des Tages
is grounded in deep,
factual research but influenced 
by what felt normal
growing up in Canada: 
that race, ethnic origin
and religion are completely
independent from your
right to citizenship
and therefore your right to vote.

Eike Goreczka, in Halle (Saale)
in the state of Saxony Anhalt,
has been co-producing The Picture of the Day  
on behalf of 42film with me since mid-2015. 

My bureau, velinraconte film, is in Berlin,
with partner Sunset Pictures in Canada.

Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung contributed
seed money ("Material Sicherung") and is supporting tour logistics costs.

The photograph above, of the Troeglitz roof :
© picture alliance / dpa / Jan Woitas 2015
The photograph below, of the house interior:
 © Jo-Anne Velin 2015

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