As a writer of philosophical essays, social critical stage plays and novels driven by his endeavors, investigations and questions on human societies and social conditions - the dramatist, writer, novelist and theater & film director has lived for months with homeless people sharing their sleeping places and night walks and fights over months in Berlin Kreuzberg, Germany almost 20 years ago. To stage a documentary about the "hidden" figures of big cities in the world and his idea about what is really behind of it, behind all prejudices and disparaging condemnation against them in a far too saturated society.
(photo © 2006 all rights reserved, maursegler film: the director near "Schlesisches Tor, Berlin, Germany)
Despite his attempt to really meet them on equal terms as much as possible, he knew that this could never be completely true. Because he would had always the option of "getting out" at any time, going home and taking a shower. But still, he wanted to show them the most possible respect and awarness, prevent ignorance from a filmmakers perspective, while struggeling all the time if he should even continue on this project or not. Because was it even possible to approach it respectfully on film? A conflict that consumed him. But there were so many questions that he can't stop.
Not going to dive too deep into the concept and secrets behind this decades spanning project to prevent shameless (and especially often bad and cheesy) copying of the idea (like it happend to him before) - we, as the office who manages and maintains/backups his projects organisationwise - were fully fledged and stunned by the personal commitment of this extraordnary artist and socially committed thinker on this journey for humanity. Not to mention the self contributed funds to cover the costs of the project without any film board sponsorship. To quote himself: "Everything that can be used to earn a living is something that society has previously agreed to be needed. However, this excludes everything that society does not yet know to be needed..." (©1999 quote, phil. author, theater & film director: Sebastián Ugovsky-Strassburger © all rights reverved)
The photo shows him by trying to light a cigarette in wind near his go-to run-and-gun camera in these days (2006) near the subway station Berlin Kreuzberg "Schlesisches Tor" trying to catch some street life for establishers of a city starting to become overhyped and gentrified more and more, and where these "hidden" figures get more and more being repressed and displaced by rich kids exploring the new Brooklyn of Europe.