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The Sky and Beyond - On the Trail of Dorothea Buck
deutsh docs is a screening series of new German documentaries in London's Eastend.
The Sky and Beyond reflects on the remarkable life of the 92–year-old sculptor Dorothea Buck who cured herself from schizophrenia.
Born in 1917 she was overcome by a severe mental crisis at the age of nineteen. During the Third Reich, with the diagnosis of schizophrenia, she was declassified as a minor human being. According to Nazi race policies she was forcibly sterilized in 1936. A few years later she barely escaped “euthanasia”.
Contrary to all prognoses – incurable mental illness – Dorothea Buck tried to understand what drove her into psychosis and developed her own theory of her illness. That way she found the key to her own sanity.
Between 2001 and 2008, director Alexandra Pohlmeier was able to capture Dorothea Buck’s breathtaking story during regular visits to her home and studio in Hamburg and by traveling with her. Buck’s younger sister provides an outside view, reflecting on the dismay and helplessness most families experience when mental illness strikes in their midst. By accentuating the narrative, Dorothea Buck’s sculptures unfold an impressive body of work.
The Sky and Beyond is a film about the life and work of a courageous woman.
