UNTER KONTROLLE

Under Control unfolds a panorama of atomic energy in Germany. Its broad perspective reveals the enormous efforts that nuclear power demands from humankind. The control over the nuclear fission process is not depicted chronologically but rather as a prism of places and sites that not only refracts the stations of the German atomic age but also reflects beyond the current situation. The examination of a technology once synonymous with progress also touches on elements of the history of civilization.
A long journey into the depths of a storage shaft. A giant vertical swing in the cooling tower of the fast breeder reactor in Kalkar, which never went into operation. Monumental domes and desolate ruins. Images that bear witness to fascination and menace, tragedy and risk in equal measure; that demonstrate the monstrous technology and the utopian project. Images that are a cross between science fiction and an industrial film. (Birgit Kohler)