Interkosmos

Jim Finn has made a name for himself in recent years as a short film maker, thanks to his feeling for irony and his capacity to shape something new from propaganda, news and other historic images. Not to forget his very dry sense of humour. Two years ago, he was given a grant for a short musical film about a secret space project in the early 1970s involving an attempt by East German cosmonauts and their allies to establish socialist colonies on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. As Finn got on with building his models and the shooting days approached, his project started to grow. He couldn't complete it alone, however, so he received help from various different quarters. The result is his first full-length film, filled with plot theories, guinea pigs and beautiful miniature sets, unique visual and above all sound material: hip choreographed musical numbers in which you can see that the makers have wrestled their way through the entire oeuvre of Busby Berkeley, with retro 1970s music that makes it difficult to stop tapping your feet. There are also moments of tranquillity in the almost abstract scenes about the infinity and banality of German-language space travel. (GT)