Strange Neighbours

Heaped up from the dredged-out gravel of the Elbe deepening project, a byproduct of the insatiable appetite of heavy industry and global trade, created to allow ever-larger ships access to the Port of Hamburg. The tiny island Schwarztonnensand lies directly alongside the Elbe shipping channel. Yet, in the shadow of this flowing superhighway, nature has reclaimed its space, becoming a home for white-tailed eagles, geese, and deer—and for a unique ecosystem situated just a stone’s throw from the massive cargo ships and roaring industrial machinery with which humanity dominates the modern world. Few forms of coexistence seem more surreal, and that is precisely what makes the place so fascinating. For her debut film, Mi Steinbach spent weeks exploring this small island, capturing images defined by both their stark contrasts and their intimacy. Through a congenial synergy of Bernhard Reddig’s precisely paced editing and Robert Nacken’s hypnotic score, the result is a meditative masterpiece. By the end, we understand where the heart of the world beats.

»On the island, I rediscovered a desire to explore the underlying patterns of the world.«

Mi Steinbach