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Steffi Wurster

Director
Steffi Wurster is a set designer and filmmaker based in Berlin. She studied Fine Art in Mainz and set design at the Berlin University of the Arts. Her work spans theatre, film, video and interdisciplinary formats; it often stems from close observation of specific locations. As a scenographer, she has worked for numerous theatres in Germany and abroad, including the Berliner Ensemble, the Kammerspiele in Munich, the Deutsches Theater Berlin, the Schauspiel Frankfurt and the Young Vic Theatre in London. Since 2010, she has primarily been realising documentary film projects, which repeatedly take her to Russia and Eastern Europe and explore political conflicts, memory and competing narratives. In 2022/23, she was a visiting professor at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design. She has received numerous grants and awards for her work.

Films

Frozen Conflict

Frozen Conflict

By Steffi Wurster

2018 | 60 min | Documentary

One of Europe's strangest borders lies between the Republic of Moldova and the de facto autonomous region of Transnistria.

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From Far Away

From Far Away

2006 | 90 min | Documentary

Arslan, who spent parts of his childhood in the areas he visits, returned to Turkey for the first time after 20 years of life in Europe. His travels lead via Istanbul and Ankara to the southeast of the country to Gaziantep, from there further east via Diyarbakir and Van to Dogubayazit near the Iranian border. "FROM FAR AWAY is unpretentious and straightforward, and the best documentary in a long time." (Critic)

Fortuna Valentyn

Fortuna Valentyn

2022 | 65 min | Documentary

Ever since the Euromaidan revolution in 2014, Valentyn's life has been moving in heavy swell. In his hometown of Romny, in the east of Ukraine, he is fighting against corruption, and so against the strongest powers in the country. When Valentyn needs a break, he prepares for his third attempt to cross the Black Sea in his self-built kayak.

Disciples of Hate

Disciples of Hate

2018 | 60 min | Documentary

They were radicals: two young people who became fundamentalists during puberty. They gave up their entire lives and themselves for it. Based on their accounts of their experiences, the film poses what is probably one of the most burning questions of our time: Why do people become radical? What lead young people to join radical ideologies? How does hatred develop?

Yugoslavia – How Ideology Moved Our Collective Body

Yugoslavia – How Ideology Moved Our Collective Body

2013 | 62 min | Documentary

Tracing changes in the social system from socialist Yugoslavia to Serbia, the film looks at how ideology performed itself in public space through mass performances. For this research-based essay film Popivoda collected and analyzed film and video footage from the period of Yugoslavia (1945 – 2000), focusing state performances such as youth work actions, May Day parades, celebrations of the Youth Day, as well as counter-demonstrations, in particular the 1968 student demonstrations, the civic demonstrations ...

Meuthen's Party

Meuthen's Party

2017 | 92 min | Documentary

An ultra nationalist right-wing party is on the rise in Germany. Filmmaker Marc Eberhardt follows candidate Jörg Meuthen during the 2016 state elections in Baden-Württemberg. The polite economics professor campaigns as a candidate for the Alternative for Germany party (AfD). This film exposes the startling reach of his seemingly rational rhetoric. Meuthen talks openly with other politicians and with citizens and sympathizers on the street, which is noteworthy in view of the "media-skeptical" attitude ...

Fair Wind: Notes of a Traveller

Fair Wind: Notes of a Traveller

2013 | 82 min | Documentary

The goal of FAIR WIND is to make you fall in love with the world at first sight. Bernadette Weigel travels to Bulgaria, through Romania, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. This essay film is not only a documentation of cultural diversity in Europe, but above all a declaration of love for the Super 8 mm film format. "Bernadette Weigel's film is equally simple in its idea, yet a refreshing masterpiece in its execution." (Daniel Sponsel - DOK Fest Munich)

Little Secret

Little Secret

2013 | 21 min | Shorts

Fifteen year old Tomáš finds himself in the hospital after a house party.

Im inneren Kreis

Im inneren Kreis

2017 | 83 min | Documentary

For years, Iris P., alias "Iris Schneider", investigated the left-wing scene and the "Rote Flora" in Hamburg until her exposure in the media in 2014. A few months later, two other undercover detectives in Hamburg were uncovered: Maria B. (cover name "Maria Block") and Astrid O. (alias Astrid Schütt). What are the consequences of surveillance for the individual and for society as a whole? How free are people who are under surveillance?

Reihe 6

Reihe 6

2023 | 25 min | Documentary

Directed by Bidzina Gogiberidze and Lennart Hüper, this impactful documentary unveils the aftermath of the Russo-Georgian War in 2008, focusing on the displaced lives in the shadow of conflict. Set against the backdrop of Tserovani, a settlement established by Georgian authorities for refugees, it tells the story of Robinson, who, along with remnants of his family, becomes emblematic of the broader narrative of displacement and the search for a semblance of home. His life, split between memories ...

On the margins

On the margins

2015 | 82 min | Documentary

In Margina, Ljupcho Temelkovski accompanies a Roma family in Macedonia. The film observes the laborious everyday life of the characters, marked by deprivation, humiliation and racism. The many-member family lives together in cramped conditions. The men try to earn money with informal odd jobs and show great talent for improvisation. Margina was shot over a long period of time with a 3-person team. The film succeeds in getting surprisingly close to the people in their private everyday lives. The ...