The heartening Berlin Housing Movement documentary

Start Wearing Purple (2022) 74min, english/german

Synopsis

Choosing hope over despair, Berliners are banding together to get their houses back from big investors.
Situated in the middle of an inspiring and refreshing movement that could turn the tables around the world, Start Wearing Purple is not only a report and documentary, but a call.

This documentary film follows five Berlin citizens of different backgrounds, countries, and diverse stories. They find themselves among almost two thousand similarly dedicated people to fight together for one cause.

While their personal motivations differ, they all believe they can convince Berlin that the only way to make housing affordable again is to drive real estate companies out of their city.
The stakes are high, the movement is strong. But with almost nothing in their hands, they have to prevail against an overwhelming opposition of the real estate lobby and politicians willing to sell out the city they call home.

Not shy of reviving the almost forgotten Tercer Cine, Start Wearing Purple uncovers what drives these ordinary people, what makes them persist, and believe in taking up a struggle that could end in a revolution, and after all, what we all might be missing for our own encouragement.

The Filmmakers

Born and raised in Istanbul, Müge Süer works as a researcher in economics in Berlin. Pursuing a photography career on the side, she has realized that film is actually the medium with which she could best combine both of these skills and reach an audience beyond academia. With Start Wearing Purple, she made her first movie as a director and producer.

Portrait of Müge Süer
Portrait of Hendrik Kintscher

After studying Screen Based Media in Berlin, Hendrik Kintscher started his career as a video editor working on promotional videos for many internationally known companies. At the same time, he has remained active in social movements.

Both found each other believing there are still important stories that have not yet been told.

Director’s Statement

Poverty, climate change, disasters, big lobbies making decisions to the disadvantage of everyone else, despair…

We were both bored and demoralized by watching sensationalist dystopias presented to us every day, not only in movies but also in the news and on social media.

So we set out to tell a story that can incite hope and motivation in people. We wanted to show that there are actual possibilities in their personal lives to engage with and change things for the better for themselves and the people around them.

Teaser

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