Romuald Karmakar "Der unsichtbare Zoo"

In the organizer's words:

"There is a deep, one might almost say existential connection between cinema and animals. The emergence of cinema coincides historically with the establishment of the zoo in the cities of the industrialized nations."

Cord Riechelmann, In the Eye of the Beast. A brief history of the animal film

The Invisible Zoo is a film about those creatures that have become alien to us, that we only know from cartoons or as cuddly toys - but in nature, we no longer experience them. While their habitat is becoming ever smaller, zoos are outdoing themselves in creating impressive "scenographies of the wild" for them, also so that visitors can find something comforting in them. At the same time, zoos today are something of a modern ark, housing animal species that may only exist here.

In his film, Romuald Karmakar observes everyday life behind the scenes and the relationship between humans and animals. His view of the animals is a special one, a cinematic one. He seems to ask who is looking at whom? Are the animals looking back with pity? Aren't we also living in a production? And how much could we learn from them about camouflage, survival, play, sex, tenderness and community?

Guests are the director Romuald Karmakar and Cord Riechelmann, philosopher and biologist, who has published numerous books on animals in urban spaces and portraits of individual species. Peter Körte, author and film critic, will moderate the discussion.

The director Romuald Karmakar, known for his documentaries and feature films, worked for eight years on The Invisible Zoo - 6500 shots in 50 days of filming, realized during different seasons at Zurich Zoo, which is one of the leading zoological gardens in Europe.

With Romuald Karmakar, Cord Riechelmann and Peter Körte

• The invisible zoo
  Documentary film, D 2024, original in Swiss German with German subtitles, 178 min
  Director, writer, producer: Romuald Karmakar
  Cinematography: Frank Griebe, Ian Oggenfuss, Romuald Karmakar