Of Origins, Part 1: Hannah (2016)

Synopsis

Of Origins is a series of short experimental documentary films about the lives and afterlives of a group of Jewish feminist in Germany in the early and mid-20th century. Each short film is a speculative love letter, spun out of strange incidents in the archives and the filmmakers's fantasy of finding her radical prehistory. This first installment describes a love rooted in it's own time and place, neither apocalyptic nor nostalgic. Hannah, uses archival footage, home movies, and rotoscoping to orient the viewer in queer bond forged across time.

Artist Statement

Of Origins wrestles with the usual ways Jews in pre-war Germany are represented: awaiting the destruction to come, too slow or too arrogant to realize they're doomed. Of Origins focuses on a group of women who neither triumphed nor succumbed. It investigates the meaning of their work and lives as belonging to their particular moment. Here, they are observed within the families they chose for themselves. Hannah, is part one of these series.

Interview by By Travis Trew, of Philadelphia Film Society

Screenings

MIX 29 NYC, Brooklyn, NY (2017)
Cannery, Philadelphia, PA (2017)
Haverford College, Philadelphia, PA (2017)
Chicago Feminist Film Festival Chicago, IL (2017)
XPOSED International Queer Film Festival, Berlin, Germany (2017)
32° Torino LGBTQI Film Festival  Torino, Italy (2017)
Philly Film Showcase, Philadelphia, PA (2017)
Twist: Seattle Queer Film Festival, Seattle, WA (2017)
Queere Kurzfilmnacht: X P O S E D im atelier automatique, Berlin, Germany (2017)
German United Film Festival (Semi-Finalist) (2018)
International Women´s Film Festival Dortmund|Cologne, Dortmund, Germany (2018)
Grrl Haus Cinema, Berlin, Germany (2018)
Women Make Waves Film Festival, Taiwan (2018)
Newfest: New York LGBT Film Festival, New York City, NY (2018)
Reel Change: Leeway’s 25th Anniversary Film Festival, PhillyCAM, Philadelphia, PA (2018)
Annual Copenhagen Film Festival (Semi-Finalist) (2019)
Feminist Border Arts Film Festival, Las Cruces, NM (2019)
Feel The Reel International Film Festival, Glasgow, UK (2019)
SpringOut! Middle Tennessee LGBT+ Film Festival, Murfreesboro, TN (2019)
Dumbo Film Festival, New York City, NY (2019)
Feminist Film Series: Animation Shorts, Media Center Barnard College, NY -Semi-Finalist (2019)
Duplex Presents: Magic Hour, New York City, NY (2019)
Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest, London, England (2019)
Queer Identity and Popular Culture, New York University, NY - Invited Screening (2019)
2020 SPE Media Festival, Huston, Texas (2020)

Credits

Writer, Director, Editor:
Irit Reinheimer

Artistic Producer:
Lindsey Martin

Camera:
Irit Reinheimer
Lindsey Martin

Camera Berlin:
Dorothea Otto
Daniel Rillmann

Rotoscoping:
Lindsey Martin

8mm Footage:
Steven Reinheimer (1943-1996)
Jack Reinheimer (1905-1986)

Archival Images:
Leo Baeck Institute

Script Support:
Rebecca Peters-Golden
Nava EtShalom
Thomasin Parnes

Additional Editing:
Lindsey Martin
Thomasin Parnes

Editing Consultants:
Nava EtShalom
Jaclyn Pryor

Sound Mix:
Lynne Trepanier

Sound:
Pond 5

Translation:
Zohar Weiman
Layla El-Kassem