In the run-up to the 2026 state elections, we are reacting to growing social polarization and the loss of spaces for discussion, particularly in rural areas. Many people no longer feel politically heard and are withdrawing from democratic exchange. With the "Not indifferent." project, we are holding five public cinema evenings at Mittelhof Gessin between spring and summer 2026. Documentary and narrative films will be shown on topics such as social cohesion, responsibility, conflict and participation. We are kicking off the film series with "Im Osten was Neues": documentary about an unusual soccer team
It is the story of Thomas "Eichi" Eichstätt, who trains refugees and people with a migration background on a voluntary basis in Torgelow (Vorpommern-Greifswald district). The players of the "FC Pio" team struggle with finding a job, acceptance and their past. Their coach: a tall man with a bald head and tattoos, who was violent and far-right at the time, but left the scene years ago. The director of the award-winning documentary "Im Osten was Neues", Loraine Blumenthal, has a German-Ghanaian background and grew up in Altentreptow in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Her film shows how soccer and personal commitment can create togetherness and closeness where others divide with "cityscape" statements and demands for deportation.
