"Wandering Roots"
Project 4
The motion comic „Wandering Roots“ tells two stories. One begins in Damascus and first takes us to East Berlin – Isi moves from Syria to the GDR to study. There he falls in love with Sylvia. Together with her, he returns to his family. But the journey of their lives does not end there.
The second story begins in Leipzig – Conni takes to the streets for change in the GDR in 1989. After reunification, she moves to the western part of Germany, to Mainz. She also has to settle in a new place, in a new system. She realizes that home doesn’t just have to be one place.
Two stories, one question. What does “settling in” actually mean?
The fourth and final working group in the MoCom project began its research in March 2023. All five participants are Master’s students in Public History at Freie Universität Berlin: Anja Hartmann, Constanze Wiedemann, Junseok Won, Luis Kumpfmueller, and Malou Bokowski.
They were collecting memories and stories on the topic of Arriving Somewhere New. After the group has decided on a story and written the manuscript, artist Marc Müller began withe the illustrations and the motion design.
The premiere of the German version of our fourth and last motion comic in the MoCom project took place in Helmstedts Pferdestall on December 3, 2023.
The accompanying educational material (in german) for the motion comic “Wandering Roots” is available for educational work in schools and elsewhere. The 16-minute video and additional material can be used not only in history class. Also due to references to the present they can be embedded in art, ethics, politics, English and German lessons. You can watch both the English and German version of the motion comic on YouTube with subtitles (DE, EN).
Download the accompanying material as PDF via the button below. The file can be used digitally as well as printed. Or contact us to receive print copies.
We would be interested to know how you have used the motion comic and accompanying material in your school or institution!
Trigger warning: The motion comic deals with the fact that people who find a new home are confronted with prejudices and racism. Isi’s story also tells of the civil war in Syria, which forces people to leave their homeland.
Story and Text: Anja Hartmann, Constanze Wiedemann, Junseok Won, Luis Kumpfmüller; Supported by Malou Bokowski; Coordinated by Lisa Hölscher
Illustration, Edit and Motion Design: Marc Müller
Narrators: Samir Matar – present day Isi; Ute Gebhardt – present day Conni; Aram Alboni, Constanze Wiedemann, Junseok Won, Marlon Jungjohann, Luis Kumpfmüller, Stefanie Barth
Sound Editing: Martin M. Meier
Music – Title and Credits: Hannah Guntermann
Project Coordination and Production Management: Lisa Hölscher
Project Concept and Advice: Dr. Sarah Fichtner, PD Dr. Anja Werner
Pedagogical Support: Insa Ahrens, Lisa Hölscher, Dr. Felix Ludwig, Susanne Otto from the Marienborn Memorial to Divided Germany
Sounds and Songs: www.archive.org: „Auferstanden aus Ruinen“ by Dutch Legion CC 1.0; www.freesound.org: „Cat 1“ by DiegoAngelGaming CC 0.0, „church bell ringing field recording with tascam dr-70d & Rode NTG4+“ by Garuda1982 CC 0.0, „Classroom Ambience.wav“ by Tallis0410 CC 0.0, „Moo 2 – Moo Moo the Cow“ by manofham CC 0.0, „Newspaper On Table“ by Gammelsmurfen778 CC 0.0, „political demonstration with police helicopters and many people“ by Garuda1982 CC Attribution 4.0 (https://freesound.org/people/Garuda1982/sounds/634363/), “Thailand truck van int driving consistent fast speed boomy tone.flac” by kyles CC 0.0, „two-stroke Trabant engine 02.wav“ by blukotek CC 0.0; www.mixkit.co: „Fast keyboard typing“; www.pixabay.com: „086275_Small Water Spill“, „Cinema-Projector“, „Glassware rattle and shake movement“, „Helicopter“ von Julius H., „Hospital Busy X-Ray Room tone“, „PageFlip_01“, „Retro Disco Old School“ by Musictown; www.salamisound.de: „ICE 3 fährt in Bahnhof ein, langer Zug,…“; www.soundjay.com: „Van Pass By 01“, „Van Pass By Slow“
Original Video Footage: Press conference with SED member Günter Schabowski on November 9, 1989 (Source: Stiftung Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv); The Leipzig “Monday Demonstration” on October 9, 1989 (Copyright: Aram Radomski and Siegbert Schefke)
