Synopsis
- Utopia - Revisiting a German State in America
The documentary “Utopia” follows the trail of a “German republic” in the USA, a bold and unique project in the history of German democracy: Friedrich Muench and his friend Paul Follenius found the “Giessen Emigration Society”. And 500 people leave together with them in spring of 1834. Where does their journey lead them?
Equal civil rights! Political participation! Freedom of speech, elections, education, and self-development! 500 people left their homeland together for these very ideals. It is the year 1834, they are subjects living under the suppressing German rulers, they are consumed with a desire for change – and are being led forth by the idea of a utopia. The creation of a model German democratic republic in America. Led by lawyer Paul Follenius and pastor Friedrich Muench, the “Giessen Emigration Society” crosses the Atlantic Ocean and risks a new start in the unknown “Land of the Free”. By founding a state they hope to create upheaval and provide a role model for the overthrow of powers in all of Germany. Can it succeed? Where will their travels take them?
Like the Society from 1834, a research team makes its way from Hesse to Bremen, via an emergency bivouac on the island of Harriersand, finishing in Missouri in the USA. The team is composed of filmmaker Peter Roloff, archivist Ludwig Brake from Giessen, Bremen-based author Rolf Schmidt, and historian Dorris Keeven-Franke from Missouri. They are united by the search for the causes, history, and effects of one of Germany's most unique political projects – an unknown chapter in the history of German democracy.
The team follows the life paths of Muench and Follenius. They come across a surprising multitude of original sites and scenes, like the farms of Friedrich Muench and Paul Follenius, heartrending documents in the archives, knowledgeable descendants, and passionate experts in the field – such as the hundred-year-old historian Ralph Gregory. It is here that we discover the driving forces behind Muench and Follenius and how the utopian project has continued in Missouri, albeit in a different form.
The film is a journey into the motives and the highs and lows of a bold vision in the fight for personal freedom and the freedom of others. And so naturally the question arises: “What about me?”
Crew
- Director: Peter Roloff
- Director of photography: Peter Roloff
- Editor (Cut): Manfred Hielscher
- Score: Andrè Feldhaus
- Producer: Peter Roloff
- First unit manager: Oliver Behnecke, Dorris Keeven-Franke
- Sound: Oliver Sroweleit
- Distributed by: maxim filmproduktion
- Production company: maxim filmproduktion
