The film begins with some shots that appear like rushes or screen tests for a feature film. This is followed by a pause. After the film’s title, the camera explores an abandoned ruin, the Villa de Noailles in Hyères, which becomes the protagonist of Telscher’s last feature-length film, La Reprise. An architectural and art-historical icon of the 1920s avant-garde, to which Man Ray dedicated Les Mystères du Chateau du Dé in 1928. The third part provides a balance, so to speak, to what has already been seen: a summer afternoon in the garden at home with wife, sister, and dog, initially as still images, then cinematically with a stop-frame technique, accompanied by Caribbean music, which has a (dis)solved effect in the truest sense of the word. The final still image shows the two women smiling in unison as they look into the camera.

• Programm Programme: From the Old World (curated by Ralf Sausmikat)