The View
Rote Flora, 2012
Kyle rubs his eyes. Somebody must have woken up The View’s lead singer literally only a few minutes before our 12 a.m. meeting in Hamburg’s Schanzenviertel, which is hardly surprising since the band has spent most of the night on the road coming from Brussels, where they played the previous evening. It is also too early for the skaters that usually do their tricks and jumps in the skate park behind Rote Flora cultural center in the afternoons and evening, so we have the place for ourselves. Kyle takes a seat on his guitar case in the center of the halfpipe and starts strumming “Face For The Radio”, a classic single from the Scots 2007 debut album “Hats Off to the Buskers”. Some youngsters, who were hanging out in the park, come closer and do dance moves in the background, while Kyle treats us with a beautifully intimate performance – showing no signs of tiredness anymore, at least until the last chord is played.
- Camera
- Michael Luger
- Sound Recording
- Sarah Brugner
- Post production
- Michael Luger
Rote Flora
Rote Flora is an autonomous cultural center in the heart of Hamburg’s hip Schanzenviertel, an area bustling with bars, restaurants, cafés and small shops. The history of the „Flora“ dates back to 1835, when a summer theatre was opened on the premises that were then way outside of Hamburg’s city limits. The current building (or, what remains of it) was erected in 1888 as a concert hall, theatre and meeting place for upper classes. After the Second World War Flora was turned into a cinema, but in 1964 its days as entertainment venue were eventually over and it was rented to a company. After lengthy discussions and many different plans an investor attempted to create a musical theatre on Flora’s location in 1987, but (at times even violent) public resentment and protests – fearing gentrification of the alternative Schanzenviertel – prevented the realisation of the plans, although parts of the building had already been torn down. Some of the protesting groups were interested in re-using the Flora-building and subsequently occupied it in 1989, adding the attribute „red“ to its name, which refers to the political convictions of the squatters. Discussions about the situation of the Rote Flora erupt every few years, but today it is a lively and active cultural center hosting events, flea markets, meetings and much more. Its backyard features a small skatepark and a public park.