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An Attempt at Living

‘Der Versuch zu leben’, FRG 1983, directed by: Johann Feindt, 88 min, no subtitles, rating: age 12 and up 

The emergency room of the Urban Hospital in Berlin reflects conditions in Kreuzberg to this day. Despite the increased gentrification of the area, poverty, alcohol and drug abuse are rife alongside other social problems. In the 1980s, director Johann Feindt spent three weeks filming in the hospital’s emergency room and interviewing patients, doctors and nurses. The documentary focuses on an elderly woman – an alcoholic and drug user – who has been found alone and half-dead from thirst in her apartment. Medical staff often feel helpless on the ward, which is constantly overcrowded and demands everything they can give. They can only provide emergency treatment for patients, but this cannot combat the underlying causes of the district’s social problems.

Featuring: Incidental patients, doctors and nurses in the emergency room 

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