Citizenships
France, Poland, Germany since 1789
Citizenship is a double-edged sword. For while it secures rights and freedoms for those who hold them, it excludes others from participating in them. The medium of film, which established itself as an influential and powerful mass medium in the early 20th century, served early on to communicate with citizens, which could include propagandistic intentions. The retrospective accompanying the exhibition Citizenships - France, Poland, Germany since 1789 takes up aspects of the constitution of citizenship, of belonging to state communities and of the exclusion of groups - a topic that has been documented and reflected upon again and again throughout the history of film.