The Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« aims to create a basis for a new culture of materials. The central vision of the Cluster is to rediscover the analog in the activity of images, spaces and materials in the age of the digital. Biology and technology, mind and material, nature and culture intertwine in a new way.
The Analog in the Digital Age
Annual Conference of the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity«
Key Visual MoA Annual Conference. Copyright: Matters of Activity
In extraordinary times we all try out new formats: We are happy and excited to welcome you to MoAs first digital Annual Conference »The Analog in the Digital Age« – following the Cluster's central vision to rediscover the analog within activities of images, spaces and materials in the age of the digital. Today, we open our doors and guide you through our laboratories, present our current research topics in a way that you can discover by yourself topics from Germany's cutting edge research. Find all abstracts and more information here.
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Access to Content of Annual Conference
3D Anchor Room of Annual Conference. Design by Helen Galliker and Object Space Agency. Copyright: Matters of Activity
Click more to go to our event page and find the entrance to our virtual conference space, to the 3D »Anchor Room«, the 360° knowledge rooms with all lectures and talks from MoA's first Annual Conference.
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Shelf Life. Ferment-Activity and Nurturing Materials
An Online Event on 10 December 2020
Poster Shelf Live. Copyright: Matters of Activity
Fermentation is a complex set of techniques bridging food substances, microbes, and the environment, which makes us question the distinction between decay and flourishing. Inherently a filtering activity, fermentation relies on the long-standing relationship of yeast and bacteria to nutrients and the elements. Through practices of food transformation, preservation and consumption, the newly woven symbiotic entities emerge from fermentation processes and enter into a different ecosystem – that of the human body, itself a multi-organism entity. These entities are directly in correspondence with our microbiome: fermented food has, in a way, already stepped into the human digestive system before it is ingested.
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ExC Matters of Activity
@exc_moa, 27.11.2020
RT @HumboldtUni: Bei „Freitag nach Eins“ berichtet Präsidentin Sabine Kunst u.a. vom neuen Bahnhof der Wissenschaften U Unter den Linden. S…
Student Assistant at »Image Guidance Lab« (Charité)
41 h per Month
Fiber tractography delineating the white matter of the brain. Copyright: Lucius Fekonja, adapted by NODE Berlin Oslo.
The interdisciplinary Image Guidance Lab of the Neurosurgical Clinic of the Charité, which is part of the project Cutting, is looking for student support for its brain mapping projects from the next possible date.
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New Research Group »Adaptive Fibrous Materials«
Members Charlett Wenig and Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten Were Awarded 2nd Place at Idea Competition of »Die Junge Akademie« for »The Bark Project«
»The Bark Project«, Charlett Wenig. Copyright: Patrick Walter, MPIKG
The MoA research group »Adaptive Fibrous Materials« is interested in interactions between biological material and its environment. The fact that plants are sessile make them particularly interesting regarding their adaptability and optimization strategies – there is no way for them to escape. Remodeling processes, such as those found in the animal kingdom, are absent and adaptation takes place by growth. The junior research group is jointly funded by »Matters of Activity« and the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Surfaces (MPIKG).
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Botanical Comrades 植物同志 Plants Practice Politics
Regine Hengge and Zheng Bo are Part of Berlin Science Week
Botanical Comrades. Copyright: Berlin Science Week
On November 7th, which marks the Solar Term Beginning of Winter (立冬) in the East Asian lunisolar calendar, artist and theorist Zheng Bo will be joined by biologist Regine Hengge, Principal Investigator of »Matters of Activity« among others to speculate about how plants practice politics.
Zheng understands politics as a bodily practice that can only take place in exchange with others, particularly through interspecies relationships. For instance, trees are protected and nourished by fungi, while insects are responsible for pollination. Within the framework of Falling Walls x Berlin Science Week »Botanical Comrades 植物同志. Plants Practice Politics« examines forms of interspecies communication and asks how humans can take part in interspecies politics.
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Hypertopia
Cluster Member Martin Müller as Co-Curator of Digital Field Trip with Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg and Josef Settele
Hypertopia. Copyright: State Studio
»Hypertopia« bridges between today and tomorrow. Powered by the vision of a collective change in consciousness, the interdisciplinary program and exhibition anticipate a post-crisis future to explore approaches for a meaningful present. The exhibition opens on October 23rd in the State Studio and can be visited until December 6th. It was created in collaboration with Cluster member Martin Müller and challenges hierarchies, tests ideas and develops alternative scenarios of a cooperative, biodiverse coexistence, designed on the basis of artistic positions, propositions and explorative projects that combine speculative and scientific methods.
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Exploring Filtering
A Short Project on the Filtering Process
Experiments overview. Copyright: Veronika Aumann, Thomas Ness
In the week-long short project »Exploring Filtering«, Cluster member and interaction designer Thomas Ness, and textile designer Veronika Aumann dealt with the topic of Filtering with an open-ended mindset. The goal of this creative exploration of filtering processes was to gauge and express them in a practical and tangible way, respectively.
The point of departure for this was not a particular substance to be filtered or a specific substrate to be attained. Rather, the interest lay much more on the actual processes of filtering in and of themselves and the filter as an object. In the »Design Lab«, different kinds and methods of filtering processes were tested hands-on with familiar prototyping materials and techniques and transformed into six narratively and visually impressive representations.
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ExC Matters of Activity
@exc_moa, 27.11.2020
We're #hiring! The @IGL_Berlin at @ChariteBerlin is looking for a #studentassistant for the project #cutting,… twitter.com/...
Engineering Neo-Pancreas
Journal »Acta Biomaterialia« accepted Paper by Cluster Members Johann Pratschke, Igor M. Sauer, Marie Weinhart and Colleagues
Copyright: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1742706120305365?dgcid=author
Together with their colleagues, Cluster members Johann Pratschke, Igor Sauer and Marie Weinhart published the paper »Engineering an endothelialized, endocrine Neo-Pancreas: Evaluation of islet functionality in an ex vivo model« in the international journal »Acta Biomaterialia« (Impact Factor: 7.242).
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From Fiber to Yarn: A Discussion Between Textile, Biology and Design
Experimental Yarns Workshop / Part 1 on 16 October 2020
Elena Eulitz, Extension Charm (2019/2020. Copyright: weißensee school of art and design berlin
Experimental Yarn is planned as an interdisciplinary exchange on the idea of fibers and yarn: How are fibers and yarns being formed and how do they perform inside a material system. By discussing and comparing approaches from specific disciplines - Textile Technology, Biomaterials and Design - we aim to transgress the disciplinary boundaries and explore new fields for research and application.
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Weaving Practices – An Exploration into the Materials, Techniques and Design of Fabrics
An Online Workshop on 29 October 2020
Poster Weaving Practices, Copyright: Matters of Activity
Weaving is an ancient practice that is found across cultures. It commonly designates a technique of making surfaces by interlacing two sets of materials that cross each other at a right angle. However, weaving as a manual, mechanical or digital technique of entanglement applies to a broad variety of vegetal, animal or synthetic materialities brought together to form a fabric by use of a frame such as a loom. Furthermore, weaving practices may also introduce hybrid techniques such as knitting, plaiting and braiding. This one-day, practice-based, interdisciplinary workshop brings together specialists who will highlight concepts and practices of weaving from various angles by emphasizing specific techniques, technologies, materials, patterns and design.
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Myfanwy Evans: Building Tangled Structures through Experimental Geometry and Topology
A Zoom Lecture on 20 October 2020, 5.00 pm
Building Tangled Structures through Experimental Geometry and Topology. Copyright: Myfanwy Evans, Institute for Mathematics, University of Potsdam
The interdisciplinary lecture series of the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity. Image Space Material«, which will be continued on October 20th, presents scientific positions from the Cluster, starting the next chapter with Myfanwy Evans, Professor at the Institute for Mathematics, University of Potsdam.
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Coworking Materials. Für einen aktiven Materialismus
Joint Conference of the International Research Center for Cultural Studies, University of Art and Design Linz and »Matters of Activity«
Conference »Coworking Materials«: Sophia Höretzeder, Chemical Aesthetics, 2020. Sophia Höretzeder is a B.A. graduate of Fashion & Technology Studies at Kunstuniversität Linz. Copyright: Sophia Höretzeder, Kunstuniversität Linz
In Design, Cultural and Natural Sciences, an anti-Cartesian turn has manifested itself in recent years, which denies the separation into active ›res cogitans‹ and passive ›res extensa‹ and understands the material world as (co)acting. The conference from October 8th–9th deals with the aesthetic and political consequences of this turn, in design practices and thought processes. The conference will be held in German, including many Cluster members.
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ExC Matters of Activity
@exc_moa, 26.11.2020
MoA Principal Investigator Jörg Niewöhner's, (@HumboldtUni) and @c_drosten's (@ChariteBerlin) podcast can be listen… twitter.com/...
Scaling Nature 3: Growth
Works on Display at weißensee school of art and design
Yin 阴 , Cindy Peng. Copyright: weißensee school of art and design berlin, Cindy Peng
The MoA Design Research Studio on »Growth« is a continuation of the »Scaling Nature« series introduced in Summer 2019. In this context, the core idea of the studio is to investigate matter as an active agent in the design process. This means that it has its own innate capacity of formation and performance, that is being designed from the bottom up. Scaling nature can be understood as the process of extracting principles from naturally occurring systems and taking them as inspiration for specific applications – during this process scaling operations necessarily are one key aspect of this translation. The results of the MoA Design Research Studio on »Growth« will be on internal display at the weißensee school of art and design berlin from September 22nd to October 14th, 2020.
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TA T is Open Again Since 1 October 2020
With a New Exhibition by the Artist Oliver Thie
Oliver Thie: Die Wahrheit über den Ursprung der Welt, Ruß und Schellack auf Pergamyn, 46-teilig, jeweils 28 × 37 cm, 2019–2020. Copyright: Felix Sattler/ HU
On October 1st the Veterinary Anatomy Theater (TA T) opened its doors again (for pre-registered guests) with its new exhibition »OLIVER THIE. Die Wahrheit über den Ursprung der Welt«. The Berlin artist Oliver Thie preserves the shadows of rocks and reveals their long history. For over two hundred years, the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin stores a collection of unimposing gray basalt specimens. They are evidence of a heated controversy about the origins of the earth known as the basalt dispute, which took place in the 18th century. Oliver Thie has explored these objects in an interdisciplinary dialogue with scientists from the Humboldt-Universität and the Museum für Naturkunde.
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Cluster Researcher Felix Rasehorn Nominated for German Design Research Award for »Digital Twin«
Vote Now Until 30 September 2020
Hybrid Interactions for Neurosurgical Planning. Project Digital Twin. Copyright: Felix Rasehorn
Cluster PhD Candidate and Designer Felix Rasehorn is nominated for the German Design Research Award. The young designers award is endowed with a sum of 1.000€ for the winner, who, after preselection by IfDRA, will now be chosen directly by the community via public voting. Now you are called upon to cast your vote for the most interesting work. His project »Digital Twin« is an applied research project on the representation and perception of brain matter in neurosurgery procedures that aim to use the operation-planning process as an opportunity to mentally rehearse actions during surgery.
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The Human Liver Matrisome
Journal »Biomaterials« Accepted Paper by A. Daneshgar, O. Klein, G. Nebrich, M. Weinhart, P. Tang, A. Arnold, I. Ullah, J. Pohl, S. Moosburner, N. Raschzok, B. Strücker, M. Bahra, J. Pratschke, I.M. Sauer, and K.H. Hillebrandt
Biomaterials, Vol. 257, October 2020. Copyright: Elsevier
Together with their colleagues, Cluster members Johann Pratschke, Igor Sauer and Marie Weinhart published the paper »The human liver matrisome. Proteomic analysis of native and fibrotic human liver extracellular matrices for organ engineering approaches« in the international and highly ranked journal »Biomaterials«.
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We Are Humboldt
»Matters of Activity« in the New Image Brochure of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
»Wir sind Humboldt«. Image brochure of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Fotos: Matthias Heyde, Grafic Design: Weserloh Media. Copyright: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Entitled »Wir Gestalten. Material World«, the Cluster research is represented by two contributions in the new HU image brochure. The materials scientist Lorenzo Guiducci, the professor of textile and surface design Christiane Sauer and the literary scholar Karin Krauthausen are giving a brief and concise insight into the thematic fields and interdisciplinary cooperation of the Cluster.
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ExC Matters of Activity
@exc_moa, 24.11.2020
We are very much looking forward to the exhibition! Read more about the project »Adaptive Digital Twin« here:… twitter.com/...
TA Tour 360°
Veterinary Anatomy Theater (Tieranatomisches Theater) Now Accessable in Virtual 360°
TA Tour 360°. Copyright: Tieranatomisches Theater
The Veterinary Anatomy Theater (TA T) is now accessable virtually in 360°. Get a behind the scenes look of the exhibition space and enter the secret life of things. There are certainly some surprises.
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Matters of Writing
3rd Open Design – Academic Encounters Online
Matters of Writing. Copyright: Matters of Activity
Do you see yourself as an author? This question was asked by Laura (Violeta) Colombo, lecturer in the Master's Degree in Open Design at the Universidad de Buenos Aires during the third meeting of »Open Design - Academic Encounters Online«.
A short silence, heads shaking, followed by shy hand signals. Why do we find it difficult to consider and also identify ourselves as authors? What makes for good writing? Why do we write, what do we write and how do we write it? These were some of the key questions of this week's online encounter held by Maxime Le Calvé, Research Associate at Matters of Activity in collaboration with Laura (Violeta) Colombo, Research Assistant at CONICET (National Council for Scientific and Technological Research of Argentina).
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Open Design
Academic Encounters Online
Open Design – Academic Encounters Online. Copyright: Matters of Activity
Announcing the deferral of »Open Design« to the summer term 2021 was a very difficult decision. We were all so much looking forward to start the program with a fantastically diverse group of 32 international students from all over the world. But only few days after the arrival of some of the students to Buenos Aires it became clear to us that we would not be able to start as expected. Borders were being closed, travel authorizations withdrawn, and flights cancelled. Both universities, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Universidad de Buenos Aires, operated in emergency presence mode and peoples’ everyday mobility everywhere became limited
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Cutting
Fiber tractography delineating the white matter of the brain. Copyright: Lucius Fekonja, adapted by NODE Berlin Oslo.
Cutting is one of the oldest cultural practices. It is a fundamental way for human beings to enter into correspondence with materials. With these specific gestures and tools, people alter and reshape material boundaries and intertwine different entities. Those activities span across wide forms of tacit knowledge, from ancient craftsmanship to current high-tech procedures. In the domain of art, the cutting of text, music or film material produces new compositions that can provoke new insights. Similarly, in the domain of medicine, surgeons cut the body to understand and to heal it. Embedded in the way we think, write and speak, the act of cutting is ubiquitous: it means distinguishing and choosing between ›good‹ and ›bad‹ in a multitude of symbolic ways.
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Object Space Agency
Flour Cloud. Copyright: Clemens Winkler, adapted by NODE Berlin Oslo
In »Object Space Agency«, the researchers of the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« are gathered to examine the relationships of active materials in the sphere of objects, persons and architectural structures. Material objects appear to be temporally and spatially at once stable and changeable. Check out the brand new project website.
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ExC Matters of Activity
@exc_moa, 19.11.2020
RT @LuciusFekonja: Setting up the adaptive digital twin holographic displays for the upcoming exhibition (opening january) / showing e.g. p…
Playing Against the Crisis With »Singleton #WirBleibenZuHause«
Game Researchers from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Become Solution Enabler for »WirVsVirus«
Copyright: GameLab Berlin
Dr. Christian Stein, Research Associate in »Object Space Agency«, studied German and Computer Science and is co-founder of the »Gamelab.Berlin«. He submitted the game »Singleton« to the »Solution Enabler« program of the German government and is now looking forward to further development together with his team. With over 28.000 participants and more than 1.500 solutions, the #WirVsVirus Hackathon of the German government against the COVID-19 crisis was the biggest of this kind ever.
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Closed but Open
Veterinary Anatomy Theater now Shows Exhibition »Meshwork of Things« Online
Corrosion preparation, vessels of the left hand (red plastic). Preparators: Klaws (Kiel) and Heuckendorf (Berlin), 2003. Collection of »Fächerverbund Anatomie der Charité Berlin«. Copyright: Veterinary Anatomy Theater (Tieranatomisches Theater)
»The Meshwork of Things – Sammlungsschaufenster in the Tieranatomisches Theater« shows 80 objects from 26 collections – now online! Together with its partner Shoutr.Labs MoA's cooperation partner the Veterinary Anatomy Theater (Tieranatomisches Theater) offers you the complete permanent exhibition as a couchsurfing experience.
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Funding by European Research Council
Cluster Member Prof. Dr. Dr. Pulvermüller Received Funding for the Project »Material Constraints Enabling Human Cognition«
The European Research Council is the premiere European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. A total of 1881 proposals were submitted, of which 35 ERC Advanced Grants went to Germany. The project »Material Constraints Enabling Human Cognition« will be funded with 2.5 million euros and will use novel insights from human neurobiology translated into mathematically exact computational models to find new answers to long-standing questions in cognitive science, linguistics and philosophy.
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Where Analog Solutions are More Efficient than Digital Ones
Interview with Peter Fratzl in Austrian »DerStandard«
In »DerStandard« MoA's Co-Director Peter Fratzl is talking about the efficiency of analog solutions compared to digital ones. In his interview, the Director of the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces and Deputy Director of »Matters of Activity« also discusses information processing in nature and recycling problems. The article is available in German.
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ExC Matters of Activity
@exc_moa, 18.11.2020
Direct access to the talk and the knowledge room of @MpiciPotsdam and @BM_MPICI can also be found here:… twitter.com/...
Make It Real - Für Einen Strukturalen Realismus
Published by Karin Krauthausen and Stephan Kammer
Cover Make It Real. Copyright: Diaphanes
The publication »Make it Real. Für einen strukturalen Realismus« (Make It Real - For a Structural Realism) of the Cluster members Karin Krauthausen and Stephan Kammer deals with the relationship between structuralism and realism. The literary realisms of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries must – like structuralism itself – be understood via a tension that not only takes place between the formal-abstract structure and the diversity of empiricism or the contingency of history, but also captures and dynamises the concept of structure itself.
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Nature as Source of Inspiration
The Innovation Potential of Bio-inspired Materials
Stone Web – Spatial module system made from basalt fibre at the weissensee academy of art berlin (Idalene Rapp, Natascha-Katharina Unger, Christiane Sauer). Copyright: weissensee academy of art berlin, I. Rapp, N. Unger
Nature is a source of inspiration for the production of new materials. A project by acatech in cooperation with the Cluster Co-Director Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Peter Fratzl, which was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), highlights the innovation potential of bio inspired materials – from chemistry and energy to medicine and robotics, art and design.
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Open Science Statement
Since 2007, International Open Access Week is celebrated at hundreds of events around the globe. This year publishers, librarians, researchers, and institutions have discussed and organized events around the theme: »Open for whom? Equity in Open Knowledge«. With its own Open Science Statement »Matters of Activity« supports its members in opening up their research
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Brain Roads
Exploring the White Matter of the Human Brain
The Human Connectome. Copyright: Olaf Avenati
»Brain Roads« is an interdisciplinary French-German project for visualization and interactive exploration of the brain. It brings together graphic & digital designers from ESAD de Reims, engineers from Télécom SudParis, and researchers in Neurosurgery and Social Sciences from the Cluster »Matters of Activity« and Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Its ambition is to develop visual representations and interactive tools for exploring the white matter of the human brain.
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ExC Matters of Activity
@exc_moa, 18.11.2020
.@IGL_Berlin That looks great, we're looking forward to the film! Let's integrate it into our virtual Cluster space… twitter.com/...
Material Form Function
Wrinkled E Coli Biofilm making cellulose. Copyright: Diego Serra & Regine Hengge, adapted by NODE Berlin Oslo.
The research group of the project »Material Form Function« deals with the relationship between material, form and function in order to generate new design principles and insights for the Materials Sciences and Humanities.
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Weaving
Cellulose in E. coli biofilm. Copyright: Diego Serra & Regine Hengge, adapted by NODE Berlin Oslo.
The project combines expertise from the fields of Anthropology, Cultural History and Theory, Literary Studies, Biology, Design/ Architecture, Material Sciences and Mathematics. The researchers investigate resources, practices and forms of weaving, focusing on the activity that is structurally anchored in the materials and as a process.
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Filtering
Filters. Copyright: NODE Berlin Oslo
The project »Filtering« investigates filters using historical, experimental and computational approaches. What information, for example, can be enhanced by new filter techniques?
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Symbolic Material
Symbolic Material. Copyright: Myfanwy Evans, adapted by NODE Berlin Oslo
In the project »Symbolic Material«, researchers from various disciplines investigate the material foundations of symbolic processes in interaction with the symbolic dimension of materials.
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ExC Matters of Activity
@exc_moa, 17.11.2020
RT @IGL_Berlin: Excited to start filming interviews and viewpoints regarding our research for our new film project, which will (in part) be…