Reynold Reynolds
USA/DE 2013/1933
140 min. across seven screens (looped installation)
HD video transferred from 16mm
Started in the 1930s, but unfinished
Newly discovered, remade and completed
The Lost is a B&W film 7 channel installation with a plot told through the eyes of a young English writer, Christopher, who comes to Berlin and moves into a cabaret where an eccentric old man adopts young performers, dancers, artists and musicians to live and work in his building. In the basement Christopher witnesses experiments on the edge of life and death which seem more mysterious than scientific. While he settles in, wanders the city and begins to write, the cabaret is under threat from upstanding citizens and authorities, who claim that what goes on in the building is immoral.
Origin
The title is a reference to the first intention of a book that Christopher Isherwood started writing after his stay in Berlin from 1929-1933. The Lost was stretched not to only mean ‘The Astray and The Doomed’- referring tragically to the political events in Germany, but also to refer to those individuals whom respectable society shuns in horror.
Filming
The Lost is based on material filmed in Berlin in the thirties. Turbulent times during the rise of the Nazi regime put a halt to the production of the film. Reynolds discovered, remade and completed the film between 2011-2013.
Almost all scenes have been filmed in open art space such as Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Sprengel Museum, DB Museum Nurnberg & Koblenz, Akademie Schloss Solitude, Galerie Zink in Berlin, Christopher Grimes Gallery in Los Angeles, Dejavu/Nosadella.due in Bologna.
Documentation of the 7-channel installation at MUAC, Mexico D.F. by Andrés Cota Hiriart
The Lost is a project in conjunction with the innovative research project ¡REMEDIATE!, a cooperation between Akademie Schloss Solitude and Merz Akademie – Hochschule für Gestaltung, Kunst und Medien; supported by MFG Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg and the Landesanstalt für Kommunikation (LFK), Stuttgart- Germany.
Credits
Production
Saskia Reynolds
Production design
Ana J. Bellido
Cinematography
Imogen Heath
Main roles by
Tomas Sinclair Spencer, Florian Rummel, Francesca Romana Ciardi, Sarah Grether, Stephanie Krogmann, Benjamin Radjaipour, Michael Fritz Schumacher, Christian Harting, Espin Bowder, Anna-Maria Sommer
Assistant Director– Moritz Uebele
Assistant Art Director– Andrés Cota Hiriart
Art Department/Sound– Maria Fernandez Rua-Figueroa
Camera Department- George Steffens
Assistant Cinematography– Silvia Maggi
Art Department– Era Vati, Cristina Sitja
Second Unit Cinematography– Carlos Vasquez
Choreography/Casting– Regina Sobel
Dramatist/Casting– Emily Kuhnke
Starring
Christopher– Tomas Sinclair Spencer
Heinrich– Florian Rummel
Francesca– Francesca Romana Ciardi
Lilly– Sarah Grether
Maria– Stephanie Krogmann
Benjamin– Benny Radjaipour
Ernst– Espin Bowder
Police officer Hans– Christian Harting
Scientist– Michael Fritz Schumacher
Venus– Anna-Maria Sommer
Heinrich’s father– Paul Weismann
WW1 victim– Johannes Groschupf
WW1 veteran– Jean Denis Römer
Mr. Arthur Morris– John Wiseman
Frau Kratzig the cook– Veronika Nowag-Jones
Young Vampire– Sigurður Unnar Birgisson
Opera Singer– Tanja Šimić Queiroz
Opera Singer-Dylan Nichole Bandy
Dancer– Livia Rutishauser
Smoker on train-Florian Krüger
Waitress– Jill T. Böttcher
Waiter– Andreas Müller
Performance Couple– Brina Stinehelfer & Nikolaus Schneider
Border Patrol train arrival– Michael Kwidzinski
Ticket seller– Jana Lobreyer
Border Control at departure– Florian Elschker
Train Conductor at departure– Chris Daigl
Couple kicked off train- Eva Breitfuss & Marc Langkammerer
Mime- Eneko Sanz
Horse carriage driver– Mr. Lehneis
Butcher– Frank Riemer
Police Officer– Ulrich Gall
Trapeze artist– Sanela Hasanovic
Barfly– Oliver Vogt
Bathtub girl– Megan Goddard
Bathroom smoker– Ana J. Bellido
Drunk– Cem Özcakir
Painter– Isabel Meier Koll
Cabaret Dancer– Ghala Robitzsch
Screaming girl in castle– Viola van Beek
Swing Dancers–
An Duc Dang, Niels Müller, Anna Porzelt, Maria Jacobi, Peter Young, Agnes Müller
Passengers on train arriving to Berlin (thanks to Schauspielschule Koblenz)
Nadine Braemer, Linda Lunga, Florian Krüger, Regina Tempel, Isabelle Mielke,
Helena Steiger, Gesa Dittmann, Simon Slomma, Alexander Seelmann, Christina Osiewacs, Selma Kirchner, Martin Schromek, Vanessa Frankenbach, Vanessa Fischer, Jessica Kellersch, Stephanie Schütz
Riot–
Cristina Ruesta, Alba Villamil, Elena Blanco, Matthias Fritsch, Asya S., Esther Mann, Galen Olmsted, Nika Radic, Reda
Dream men–
Adrian Brun, Moritz Geiser, Patrick Zhang (Gizza), Arkadij Koscheew, Ed McAliece, Rodrigo Leite
Winnies Audience–
Bettina Lehman, Asmus Trautsch, Robert Gaertner, Sybille Neumeyer, Sienna Shields, Chuck Close, Ole Aselmann, Carole Johnson, Elisa Rosenthal, Hamed Taheri
Photographer stand in– Doug Piburn
Models from photo studio–
Lake Sharp, Jessica Hanna, Christopher Grimes, Alex Schmidt, Timmy Brown & Darren Schroader, Heidi Darchuk, Olivier Mosset, Matt Chesse, Kim and Josh Kirchmer
Audience cabaret–
Marlene Melchior, Kellie Pickard, Martin Hansen, Hubert Burczek, Jutta Wunderlich, Sylvain Dubray, Nawel Benziane, Betty Boehm, Nadine Jaeger, Paris Helene Furst
Venus by Performance Artist Anna-Maria Sommer
Art Department
Art Director– Ana J. Bellido
Assistant Art Director– Andrés Cota Hiriart
Artist– Era Vati
Graphics– Zora Kästner and Cristina Sitja
Set Dressers– Miren Oller, Michelle Marie Letelier, Maud Chalard, Simon Hayer
Assistant– Nia Burks
Set Photography– Leifur Wilberg Orrason, Roselyne Titaud, Milla Basmakova
Assistant Set Photography– Anna Pabis, Margherita Malerba, Maryna Shuklina, Betty Boehm
Set construction–
Samuel Hof, Hassan Pitts, Jennida Chase, Jon Hein, Cruz, Felipe Frozza, Pablo Fernandez
Camera Department
Cinematography– Imogen Heath
Assistant Cinematography– Moritz Uebele, Silvia Maggi and George Steffens
Second Unit Cinematography– Carlos Vasquez
Assistant Second unit– Carlos Lopez, Oliver Lechner, Betty Boehm, Delfina Mayer, Francisco Saco
Sound Department
Sound recoding– Martin Backes (aconica), Maria Fernandez Rua-Figueroa
Sound assistant– Matteo Taberna
Radio– Archive.org
Arduino design– Alberto Massa, Michael van Rosmalen
Costume Department
Costume design– Nina Gundlach
Costume assistant– Catie Lamer
Costumes Berlin– Mimi Berlin
Costumes Stuttgart– Gewand
Costumes Nürnberg– Luna Mittig
Costume Assistant– Paris Helene Furst
Makeup– Julia von Leliwa
Makeup/hair– Monika Harbecke
Makeup– Isabel Katja Dominguez
Hair LA Models– Abraham Esparza
Research and Production
Film History Research– Maurizio Buquicchio
Additional Research– Catie Lamer, Amanda Blows, Clare Molloy
Production Assistant– Holly Ambrozic McKee, Kalia Rosa Laycock-Walsh
Academic background writing– Monika Wulz
Bologna Workshop Students–
Claire Bosi, Sigurður Unnar Birgisson, Maurizio Buquicchio, Giacomo Copelli, Florian Fusco, Jacopo Jenna, Sebastian Melo, Olga Pavlenko, Angelica Porrari, Nat Wilms
Choreography
HKW– Regina Sobel
Zink– An Duc Dang
Dream– Adrian Brun, Moritz Geiser
Film font design– Underware
Music
Gerard Bouwhuis- Piano
Heleen Hulst- Violin
Lars Wouters van den Oudenweijer- Clarinet
Mick Stirling- Cello
Laurens Otto- French Horn
Swing dance
Composition by Cab Calloway & his Orchestra / Arrangement by Malte Tönissen & Michael Villanueva
Sound recording session
Clarinet: Michael Villanueva
Double Bass: Malte Tönissen
Guitar: Florian von Frieling
Drums: Max Grevenbrock
Filming
Clarinet: Michael Villanueva
Double Bass: Malte Tönissen
Guitar: Laurent Hurneau
Drums: Jan Zimmermann
Cabaret Troika
Pianist- András Vermesy
Pianist- François Guitard
Double Bass- Pedro Moyano
This project was made possible through the support of
Markus Hannebauer; Fluentum Collection in Berlin, Galerie Zink Berlin, Volker Koch, Akademie Schloss Solitude, Merz Akademie, MFG Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg and the Landesanstalt für Kommunikation (LFK), Haus der Kulturen der Welt- Berlin, Sprengel Museum & Kestnergesellschaft Hannover, Deutsche Bahn Museum in Nürnberg and Koblenz, Schauspielschule Koblenz, Month of Performance Art in Berlin, Dejavu/Nosadella.due in Bologna and West- The Hague.