25 August 2018
19 h

Start Small – Make It Big

As part of her art studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, Hamburg artist and director Heike Nikolaus shot a series of feature film miniatures on Super 8 and 16 mm between 1982 and 1991. These films, in which trash and poetry merge in the happiest way, are small masterpieces in their own right by a still young filmmaker, whose rediscovery is a great pleasure. Today, however, they are also extraordinary historical documents of the Hamburg art scene of the 1980s.

The 17 early film works by Heike Nikolaus which were created in an art context will be presented on August 25, 2018 in the Filmclub Extra of M.1.


Featured films are

Der Zeichenschüler, Super-8, 1990
A young artist unsuccessfully applies to the art academy. A seductive woman can comfort him.

Die Göttin der Malerei, Super-8, 1990
The Statue of Liberty as goddess of painting

Die Kunst die man nicht lernen kann, Super-8 1987
Mozart composes and two opera singers interpret.

Herzsprung, Super-8, 1988
Two gods in the quarrel of love

Paulette & Gigi in Paris, Super-8, 1989
A country bumpkin meets an experienced courtesan in Paris.

Gebt die Dörfer auf, Super-8, 1982
The wasteland of village life from the perspective of a 19-year-old.

Schatten einer Jugend
das Wesen der Apollinker
oder die Kunst, sich selbst zu opfern, Super-8, 1990
Dionysus tries to seduce Apollo and the camera quotes the painting “Hylas and the Nymphs” by Waterhouse

Das Portemonnaie, Super-8, 1989
Two big girls try the old trick and tie a wallet to a string to annoy the little siblings.

Castor und Pollux, Super-8, 1991
The twins Castor and Pollux live in the Lüneburger Heide and become victims of a mitschnacker.

Le jeune marin, Super-8, 1990
A sailor dreams of a mermaid in a shack.

Ritter – ein making of, VHS, 1992
Unfortunately, the film itself has disappeared. We even rented knight’s armour and horses. The making-off shows scenes from the film and their creation.

The Beauty and the Beast, VHS, 1992
An intellectual party in Godard style. Art students have invited the famous artist Al Hansen. Al Hansen only has eyes for a particularly pretty student who is also intelligent.

Alice & Luzy, 16mm, 1992
Two girls who have never met each other can contact each other via a mirror.

Marat, 16mm, 1989
De Sade welcomes Marat’s murderer Charlotte Corday in the former castle of Heiligenstedten.

Met her by accident, Super-8, 1988
Rear Window in a trash version with a spectacular car accident

Bezaubernde Jeanny, Super-8 1988
Of all places, Jeanny lands on St. Pauli.

Eine Milchmädchenrechnung, 16mm, 1992
The farmer’s daughter loves the farm hand, but her little sister tells Grandma…

A catalogue is available for the programme.
The project was made possible by the support of Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, Filmwerkstatt Kiel.