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Äquator Song

In 1896, at the first German Colonial Exhibition in Berlin-Treptow, 106 men and women from Africa and Oceania were displayed as living exhibits in the name of imperial science. From these shadows, Äquator Song rises.

Drawing on research in the Berlin Ethnographic Museum and the early photographic process, the film reimagines the instant before a photograph is made. But the image never settles — and instead of silence, a song of resistance erupts, crossing time and memory.

Between archive and invention, Äquator Song transforms the machinery of representation into an act of defiance. A cinematic hymn to those who refused to be captured.

Technical sheet

Director
Melina Pafundi
Year
2026
Runtime
14 min 40 sec
Format
35mm & Super 16mm — anamorphic to Digital 4K · Dolby Atmos
Language
German / Esperanto
Countries
Germany / Argentina
World Premiere
BAFICI 27 — Políticas, Buenos Aires, April 2026

Shot at

  • Museum Treptow (Berlin) — Permanent Exhibition "Zurückgeschaut," Projekt Dekoloniale
  • SPK Ethnological Museum, Berlin-Dahlem, Department of Ethnomusicology

Selected credits

  • Cinematography — Carlos Vásquez
  • Music — Magda Mayas
  • Sound Mix & Foley — Alexander Paulick-Thiel
  • Costume — Johanna Baumann
  • Production Design — Lotta Hench & Melina Pafundi