Straße der Spezialisten tells the story of a yellow robot, of its journey through the past and its memories of the Street of Specialists. Formally the installation explores how movement evolved in film. The tale follows techniques of presenting movement along the course of its historical development within the language of film. It begins with a still, proceeds to static shots, to then shift to a moving, free-floating camera and conclude with drawings which, liberated from all form, fill all the screens.

The film resulted from an initiative launched by McKinsey & Company, the Berlinale GmbH and the Humboldt University, which during the “Long Night of the Museums” in the summer of 2004 in Berlin presented an installation entitled “Wörterbuch der Sinne” [Dictionary of the Senses]. It was made for an exhibition on the work of the Brothers Grimm and their linguistic explorations. For the 150th anniversary of their German Dictionary, five different films on “The Vocabulary of Cinematic Narrative” were screened in five different rooms. One short film was shown on each of the following subjects: form, color, movement, sound and rhythm. In a scenic, documentary, animated or experimental work, each film conveyed its topos in a story, a moment, or a mere play of forms. Alongside the assigned subjects, each film was required to present itself on three screens arranged into a triptych. As in a traditional panel painting or a carved altarpiece, the three pictures were assembled thematically—though now it was moving images which were to be presented. On them the beginning was to continue to have an effect on the middle of the story, while the end was sent out in advance. Straße der Spezialisten is the outcome.

Co-production: cine plus Media

Jakob Schuh (DE), born in1976, studied dramaturgy at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, as well as directing and animation at the Film Academy in Baden-Württemberg. At the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, he attended the master class for painting and experimental animation. Since 2003, he is a partner and head of design at Studio Soi.

Saschka Unseld (DE), born in 1976, studied animation and digital effects at the Film Academy in Baden-Württemberg. Since 2003, he is a partner and managing director at Studio Soi.