“Unter dem Fluss der Schmutz” was created in 2025 as an artistic research project exploring the oil refinery in Schwedt, the River Oder, and dirt. A film based on the project is now being screened: “Die flüssige Stadt.” Archival footage and interviews with eyewitnesses recount a chapter in the history of PCK, from its founding to the present day.
The artists Christian Limber and Emmi Esefeld are interested in the transformation of East Germany following the end of the GDR and its socio-political repercussions up to the present day. Using research methods, film, sound, and performance art, they created a complex network of knowledge from their encounters with local people—covering the visible and the invisible, resource use, the relationship between nature and humans, and political as well as personal changes.
The project was developed in the spring of 2025 as part of the Borderland Residency Program of Ponderosa e.V. and was funded by the Ministry of Science, Research, and Culture of the State of Brandenburg.
Cast: Ursula Patz. Hildegard Becziczka, Günther Tuchan, Eleonore Höpfner
Director: Emmi Esefeld, Christian Limber
Texte: Wolfgang Rodewald, Manfred H. Schmidt
Fotografien: Herbert Werner Brumm, Rudolf Hartmetz, Christian Limber, Aerophoto
Found Footage: PCK Raffinerie Schwedt GmbH (2004)
Zeichnung: B. Klempnow
Montage: Christian Limber
Special Thanks: Siegfried Mehl, Margot Mehl, Helmut Zahn, Evelyne, Isy und Team, Lauren Fitzgerald, Anke Grodon, Gudrun Eger, Katrin Boßdorf, Bianca Berlin, Susanne Rieck, Elli Limber,
Additional Support: Kulturverein Die Brücke e.V., Kulturpark Stolpe, Ponderosa e.V., Pizzeria Pane e piu, Nationalparkhaus Criewen, Nationalpark Unteres Odertal, Stadtarchiv und Stadtmuseum Schwedt/Oder
Thanks: Lara Dade, Mona Horst, Piera Hartung, Marie Esefeld, Quirin Fürbeck
Production: Emmi Esefeld, Christian Limber
Context: Artistic Research
Funding: Borderland Residency Program of Ponderosa e.V, Ministry of Science, Research and Culture of the federal state Brandenburg
