Farewell Comrades! (Interactive)

News

• 05/2012 - FOCAL Int. Award goes to "Farewell Comrades! Interactive"

  A tribute for the outstanding archive research: For “Farewell Comrades!” we researched in 40 archives in eastern Europe and made [...]

  A tribute for the outstanding archive research: For "Farewell Comrades!" we researched in 40 archives in eastern Europe and made a pre-selection of 430 hours. A great deal of work, which got honoured with the FOCAL International Award. Our web format "Farewell Comrades! Interactive" received the prize within the category 'Best Use of Footage on Non-Television Platforms' yesterday in London. Congratulations to all comrades and researchers!

  FOCAL International Awards
  

  
  

• 04/2012 - "Farewell Comrades! Interactive" nominated for the Franco-German Prize for Journalism

  The Franco-German Prize for Journalism 2012 annouced their nominees and we are part of it with our documentary web format [...]

  The Franco-German Prize for Journalism 2012 annouced their nominees and we are part of it with our documentary web format "Farewell Comrades! Interactive". The Franco-German Prize for Journalism is classified as one of the most renowed awards for journalism. The award ceremony will be held on June 28th in Berlin.

  Franco-German Prize for Journalism
  

  
  

• 04/2012 - "Farewell Comrades!" nominated at BANFF MEDIA FESTIVAL

  “Farewell Comrades!” goes for the renowned Rockie Awards at BANFF WORLD MEDIA FESTIVAL. The first episode “Victory 1975-79″ of our [...]

  "Farewell Comrades!" goes for the renowned Rockie Awards at BANFF WORLD MEDIA FESTIVAL. The first episode "Victory 1975-79" of our six-part series was nominated within the category 'History & Biography Programm'. The Banff World Media Awards - affectionately known as The Rockies - are an internationally-recognized awards program celebrating within 26 categories the very best in international content production in television and digital media. The popular Rockie Awards will be presented during the festival from 10th to 13rd of June 2012 in Banff, Canada.

  Rockie Awards nominee showcase / category 'History & Biography Programm'
  

  
  

Parts

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Press Echo

• ARTE Magazin reports on "Farewell Comrades! Interactive", "Europe's biggest historical web format draws an extensive picture of the communism and its collapse. (...) Offering interviews, photographs and original documents, life behind the Iron Curtain becomes an interactive experience."

  ARTE Magazin December 2011

Related Films

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Farewell Comrades! (Interactive)

The Soviet Bloc, one of history’s largest empires, shaped the face of Europe for almost half a century and stretched across over 22.4 million km² – almost a sixth of the world’s territories – before it collapsed in virtual silence in 1991.

December 1991: The Soviet head of state, Mikhail Gorbachev, holds long-distance calls with political leaders of the Western world. Shortly thereafter, Gorbachev speaks on television, stating: “Hereby I quit my position as President of the USSR.”
It is quite a banal finale for the grandiose communist vision of the “new era” that had kept the world busy since the October Revolution in 1917. In 1975, the utopia seemed closer than ever: The communist world was at the pinnacle of its geographical expansion and controlled or influenced almost half of the planet’s population.

But why did the Soviet Empire collapse only 16 years later?
What forces were behind the creeping erosion and the sudden disintegration?
Why could no one foresee the inevitable?
The fall of the Soviet Union is still one of the biggest mysteries of contemporary history, hiding untold stories of the people behind it.

Even today, there is no ONE single truth; no ONE single story; no ONE single reason.

“Farewell Comrades!” is an ambitious European cross-media event on television, online and in print, which will be launched in 2011 on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the collapse of the USSR. Alongside the 6 x 52-minute TV series, “Farewell Comrades! Interactive” is the second main pillar of the media event.

“Farewell Comrades! Interactive” is an immersive documentary web format that asks our audience to recreate the bigger picture and takes them on an emotional, interactive journey into the Eastern Bloc and throughout the countries of the former Soviet Union to unveil outstanding stories about friendship, passion, rebellion and beliefs.

The user is introduced to the personal stories and fates through “open letters” – real postcards written during the last 15 years of the Soviet Empire. These postcards unlock the stories of our protagonists, and they are the communication triggers of the simple game mechanics that weave the stories together.
All personal stories, in context with the main historical events, facts and movements of the period between 1975 and 1991, lead to the bigger picture.

Combined with a wealth of personal and official archive footage, we offer a unique insight into how life unfolded beyond the Iron Curtain and allow our users to review their perspective on the common facts.

Farewell Comrades! – Interactive web format

Author and Creative Director
Lena Thiele

Audiovisual Realisation
Pierre-Olivier François

Interactive Concept
Christian Beetz, Lena Thiele, Sonja Schmidt

Executive Producers
Christian Beetz
Olivier Mille

Supervising Producers
Benjamin Landsberger-Isaac, Georg Tschurtschenthaler

Project Managers
Sonja Schmidt

Project Coordinator
Dominique Treilhou

Production Administration
Kathrin Isberner, Victoire Buff

Business Affairs
Aurélie Mattlé

Development
Lena Thiele, Michael Rueger, Sebastian Baurmann, Benjamin Landsberger, Jens Schmidt

Interface Design and programming
MOCCU GmbH & Co. KG, KREATIVAGENTUR FÜR DIGITALE MEDIEN

Production Managers
Marc Bruenjes, Sonja Schmidt

Design
Jens Schmidt, Sebastian Büsching

Backend Programming
Andreas Hug, Marko Scherlock

Frontend Programming
Norman Rusch, Richard Bausek, Sascha Feldmann

Editorial Coordinator
Alessandra Bogi, Diana Arnold

Production Assistants
Katya Panova, Anastasiya Kozlova

Scriptwriting Consultant
Jörg Ihle

Texts written by
François Gallice, Pierre-Olivier François, Laurent Gayme, Olivier Dautresme, Alessandra Bogi, Diana Arnold, Sonja Schmidt, Ulrike Rechel

Archive Coordinator
Cécile Croizat

Archive Researchists
Sarah Dabaghy, Antje Boehmert, Karin Fritzsche

Editing
Claude Clorennec

Interviewers
Polina Fomina, Ilinca Belciu, Katarína Farkašová, Pierre-Olivier François, Radosław Gębicz, Marian Kiss, Filip Remunda, Galina Stepanova, Monika Tamla

Chief operators
Alexey Khizhnyak, Pierre Bourgeois, Slava Fiofelaktov, Jakub Halousek, Tauno Peit, Alexandra Pustynnova, Rafael Skurka, Michał Ślusarczyk, Alexandru Solomon, Martin Langner

Sound
David Nagy, Tomáš Kobza, Martin Langner

Production coordinators Interviews
Cristina Ivan, Tereza Horská, Marián Dalkovič

Fixers Interviews
Małgorzata Wojdyga

Interns
Ruth Stolzewski, Marine Le Gouvello, Léo Hamelin

Translations
Nada Clontz, Polina Fomina, Radosław Gębicz, Lisa Häfner, Ilona Hausmann, Anastasiya Kozlova, Lauri Lippmaa, Katya Panova, Svetlana Pogodina, Stephan von Pohl, Kateryna Ruban, Péter Ruzsa, Galina Stepanova, Katalin Szebenyi, Dagmara Konsek, Rolf Simmen, Bryin Abraham, Corinne Thomas, Küster Übersetzungsservice Berlin, Katalin Szebenyi, Dagmara Konsek, Rolf Simmen, Bryin Abraham, Corinne Thomas, Küster Übersetzungsservice Berlin

Color correction videos
Claude Clorennec

Additional mix
Marie-Odile Dupont

Assistant editor
Henry-Pierre Rosamond

Music
Universal Publishing Production Music

Archives
Russian State Documentary Film and Photo Archive
Gosteleradio - Russian State Fund of TV and Radio programs
Robert-Havemann Gesellschaft
Bundesbeauftragte für die Unterlagen des Staatssicherheitdienstes der ehemaligen DDR
BDIC – Fonds France-URSS
Tritona
Česká televize
MTVA - Magyar Televízió
STV (Slovenská televízia)
TVP (Telewizja Polska)
TVR - Romanian Television
RTS – Radio Télévision Suisse
Emission « Temps Présent » (1974, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982)
Collections particulières / Private Sammlung / Private collections

All rights reserved / Alle Rechte vorbehalten / Tous droits réservés

Special thanks
Thomas Houdaille, Marie-Christine Bonneau-Darmagnac, Patrice Desenne, Mark Washeim

Co-produced by
Gebrüder Beetz Filmproduktion Berlin GmbH & Co. KG: Christian Beetz
Artline Films: Olivier Mille

ARTE France
David Carzon
Joël Ronez
Susanna Lotz
Marianne Lévy-Leblond
Anne Pradel
Marie Chevalier

ARTE G.E.I.E.
Florian Hager
Anne Bidaux
Nicola Hellmann
Sandrine Heitz

ZDF / ARTE
Martin Pieper

Česká televize
NRK
RTS – Radio Télévision Suisse

In co-production with

Eureka Media Poland
Co-Producer: Krzysztof Kopczyński

Havas Films
Co-Producer: Ágnes Havas
Associate Producer: Julianna Ugrin

Hi Film Productions
Co-Producer: Alexandru Solomon

Hypermarket Film
Co-Producer: Filip Remunda​

Piraya Film
Co-Producer: Torstein Grude
Web Project Manager: Karina Lavik

Trigon Production
Co-Producer: Patrik Pass

With the support of

Centre National de la Cinématographie et de l'Image animée

Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg

Norwegian Film Institute: Maria Fuglevaag Warsinska-Varsi

In partnership with

SCEREN CNDP-CRDP

Bibliothèque Internationale de Documentation Contemporaine

Robert-Havemann Gesellschaft

Developed at The Pixel Lab: The Cross-Media Film Workshop 2010

Developed with the support of the MEDIA Programme of the European Union

Concept
films and graphics

© ARTE France / ARTE GEIE / ZDF / Artline Films / gebrueder beetz filmproduktion / 2011

Texts

© ARTE France / ARTE GEIE / ZDF / Artline Films / gebrueder beetz filmproduktion / SCEREN CNDP-CRDP / 2011

Coproduction

Cooperation

Sponsors

• Farewell Comrades! Interactive

  Launching on January 10th 2012
  www.farewellcomrades.com