New York Memories

Twenty years ago, the Berlinale’s Panorama section screened Rosa von
Praunheim’s "Überleben in New York". The film revolved around Claudia,
Anna and Uli, who came to New York at the beginning of the eighties; they
were all trying gain a foothold in a city that, at the time, was a much
tougher place to live in than it is today. Now, twenty years on, Rosa von
Praunheim returns to his protagonists in his new film.

Rosa von Praunheim: "Twenty years after my most successful theatrical
work, ′Überleben in New York′, I decided to seek out the film’s protago-
nists, Anna and Claudia. I was surprised to discover what had become of
them. At the same time, I also began retracing my own steps in New York
all those years ago; looking for images in my old films of the rambunctious
seventies with its wild sex parties, riotous demonstrations and eccentric
Warhol superstars. I remembered the tragic eighties and the angry struggle against Aids,
which claimed the lives of many of my friends. In the hopeful nineties I
filmed the outcry of transsexuals who were no longer prepared to accept
being raped and murdered. At the same time, New York’s mayor, Giuliani,
began ′cleansing′ the city. Sex clubs were closed, and artists and the homeless
were driven out. Manhattan got richer – but a bit boring. After an
absence of more than ten years, I returned to New York with my camera in
the spring of 2009. I wanted to know what had happened to my favourite
city – the place where I once spent the happiest times of my life."

Source: 60. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)