The film “Fitness California” by Wiesbaden-born director Nadine Zacharias not only offers fitness nostalgia, but also illuminates age-independent topics such as fairness, solidarity and fighting spirit between the lines. The film is now celebrating its German premiere in Frankfurt.
“Fitness California” will be shown for the first time as part of the Lights Film Festival, which starts this Tuesday, April 18, in Frankfurt and will celebrate “bridging the gap between film, artistic forms of expression and social dialogue” until April 23.
Because of her personal connection to the Rhine-Main area, especially Frankfurt and her hometown of Wiesbaden, Nadine Zacharias has decided to Film advertised at “Lichter” – and is there in the race for the coveted white LIGHTER-Bembel in the section “Regional Long Film”. Six other films will be shown as part of the competition.
True to the motto “moving until the last life” is trained in the Freiburg gym “Fitness California”. Bernd Fleig, Mario Sabatini and Adolf Seger are always to be found here, all stars of the wrestling scene of the 1960s and 70s, who flex their muscles regardless of their age. Adorned with music and images from the time of the California fitness boom, the film traces their sports careers and gives loving insights into the family-run weight room that defies the big fitness chains.
“For me, California, which doesn’t attach any importance to ‘etiquette’ in the style of sterile fitness chains, is a cross-section of our society,” says the director: “Its clientele is extremely diverse: from young to very old, from caretakers to lawyers, from people with escape stories to international students, from health athletes to world champions”. Your cinema documentary is therefore also conceived as a milieu study (with excursions into the history of sports): “What makes this place so worthwhile for further research (in addition to its visually captivating film backdrop) is that universal themes such as tolerance, inclusion and social cohesion are discussed there , fairness, friendship and fit into old age as well as striving to realize one’s own dreams are negotiated in an unpretentious way.”
Annual theme “Love”
The 16th Lights Film Festival starts on Tuesday evening, April 18, with Christoph Hochhäusler’s film “Until the End of the Night”. “A film that wonderfully connects the sections of the festival,” says festival director Gregor Maria Schubert. “The film is international and fits in perfectly with our annual theme of love.” Christoph Hochhäusler will be present after the film. More than 70 film highlights will follow until Sunday, April 23, including numerous world premieres. Many of the directors will present their films on site. “It has become an extremely ambitious, varied and also political program that will inspire our audience,” promises Johanna Suess, director of the Light Film Festival. The first screenings are already sold out. The festival venues are the Eldorado Filmtheater, the DFF cinema, the Mal Seh’n cinema and the Pupille.
Exciting spot as a festival center
The festival center itself this year will be in the Massif Central, one of the most exciting cultural spots right in the center of the city. The video art works will be shown there as part of the Light Art Awards, as well as virtual reality productions as part of the VR Storytelling Awards. Parallel to the film festival, the 3rd congress will also take place in the festival center Future of German Film instead of.
German premiere of “Fitness California” in the presence of the director on April 23 at 6 p.m. in the Mal see cinema. The complete lights program, all information and tickets are available at www.lichter-filmfest.de. (dif/photos lights)
