The third film in the series Decampment of Modernism covers a broad historical spectrum: Parabeton tells of the great Roman concrete buildings from the start of the Common Era and compares them with Pier Luigi Nervi’s work, the Italian master of concrete construction. As concrete can be made into many different shapes, the buildings and the domes, slopes and spiral staircases they contain have an innovative, seminal quality. The ancient constructions seem more dynamic than those of the last century. Without featuring any dialogue and almost completely devoid of people, the images make the ruins from the 1930s to the 70s, the familiar cement constructions of daily life with their play of light and shadow appear more ghostly than the famous sights of the ancient world.
About the director
Heinz Emigholz (1948, Achim) studied philosophy and literature in Hamburg. He began filmmaking in 1968 and has worked since 1973 as a filmmaker, artist, writer and producer in Germany and the USA. He had held a professorship in experimental filmmaking at the Universität der Künste Berlin, and co-founded the Institute for Time-based Media and the Art and Media program, there. Emigholz is a member of the Academy of the Arts in Berlin.