Durchgangsland

Since 2019, the Brenner Base Tunnel has been under construction between Innsbruck and the South Tyrolean town of Franzensfeste, which will be the longest railway tunnel in the world when it opens (scheduled for completion in 2032). Daniel Fill waits with his camera at the railway station in Franzensfeste, visits local families, meets workers and paints a portrait of a diverse transit landscape in contradiction. Migrant dreams meet racism, affordable rents meet harsh working conditions. In conversations and cautious observations, a picture of people as ‘shadows’ emerges, as one of the protagonists puts it. Normally these shadows pass you by, but here you take a closer look at them and follow their stories. This shows that an unmediated approach with the often disdained talking heads can still be a veritable documentary strategy to make reality visible. (Patrick Holzapfel)

In the presence of Daniel Fill

Photo: Austrian Film Museum