Rivers Film Festival

In the organizer's words:

The Rivers Film Festival at the Humboldt Laboris all about rivers. Three short films will be shown that examine the topic from different perspectives. The focus is always on the relationship between humans and the sometimes freely meandering, sometimes highly regulated watercourses.

In film talks, filmmakers explain their motivations for dealing with the fluid element. The film festival is part of the Fluid Interdisciplinarities Festival. Participation is free of charge.

Program

Méandres ou la rivière inventée | Meanders or the Invented River

In the middle of summer, a group of friends decide to go down a river on a raft. The obstacles they encounter, both physical and biological, bear witness to the alterations and distortions made to the waterways by man. The film is both road movie and scientific lecture, forging links between the submerged and submerged worlds, whose multiple prisms bring about a reconciliatory encounter between humans and non-humans.

A film by: Marie Lusson (France), Émilien De Bortoli (France)

France | 2023 | 73 min. | Original version with subtitles

Official selection 2024: Cap sur l'environnement (Course for the environment) 2024 / Prix Gaïa

Aquatopia on Tour - A performative journey into the world of water

Aquatopia on Tour is an interactive art event that opens up creative spaces for encounters with mystical water creatures in public spaces. Fascinating water creatures came into contact with people in Berlin, Frankfurt am Main and Neustrelitz on World Water Day 2025 to raise awareness of the topic of water and emphasize the importance of the element as a source of life. With water sounds and performative play, they showed the many facets of water - from gentle drops to the stormy ocean. The message: water is not only a vital element, but also a symbol of change, power and connection. Together, we are setting an example for the conscious and sustainable use of water and for the protection of our precious elixir of life. Water is a being from which we can learn a great deal, including how to live in connection with our planet. Reflection cards made from recycled material were handed out to encourage physical and inner reflection on water awareness.

Bellerophonte's dream - short film about a river journey

The film documents the two-day river journey that a ferryman, a filmmaker, an actor and a scientist undertook from the Spreewald to Berlin at the beginning of October. The aim of the journey was to bring the research results, the works of art and a water tank directly from the natural harbor of Raddusch to the urban riverbank at Holzmarkt 25 in Berlin. And all with the help of the actor that connects the two places - the Spree.

In text and images, the film reflects on the possibility of leaving the human point of view and adopting non-human perspectives, a movement that we know from mythology. What happens when we question the centrality of the human and give space to the diversity of non-human actors? We enter the realm of metamorphosis... More info

A film by Oliver Rossoll (picture) and Maximilian Grünewald (text). With Steven Lehmann (barge trip), supported by Pauline Münch (organization), Diane Barbé and Jonas Dahm (sound).

Fluid Interdisciplinarities

Fluid Interdisciplinarities takes place from October 23-25, 2025 in Berlin and brings together researchers, artists and practitioners working with water to explore different projects and perspectives. The event presents collaborations between natural and social sciences, arts, humanities and civil society and promotes dialog and exchange. The event is planned by the Integrative Research Institute for Transformations of Human-Environment Systems (IRI THESys) and the artist Regina Hügli (One Body of Water) in collaboration with the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, the University of Montpellier, the team "Knowledge Exchange with Society" and the TAT - Tieranatomisches Theater at the Helmholtz-Zentrum für Kulturtechnik (HZK).

Further information: free of charge, no ticket required. From 14 years. Language: German. Venue: Humboldt Labor, 1st floor. ehört zu: On Water