Simon Graf

Several billion tons of earth are moved annually by humans - with shovels, excavators or dynamite. Nikolaus Geyrhalter observes people in mines, quarries, large construction sites in a constant struggle to appropriate the planet.

Several billion tons of earth are moved annually by humans - with shovels, excavators or dynamite. Nikolaus Geyrhalter observes people in mines, quarries, large construction sites in a constant struggle to appropriate the planet.

Brenner Pass, Alpine border, spring 2016: the Austrian government announces the construction of a border fence, expecting a shift of the refugee routes to Italy after the Balkan route is closed. The residents fear the fence just as much as the supposedly threatening influx of foreigners to their homeland. Two years later, the fence is still rolled up in a container, as the inrush of refugees never occurred.

A film about people who make a difference. They are committed to a lively political culture, to sustainable solutions in food and construction, to clarity in thinking about the economy, and to social justice.

A film about people who make a difference. They are committed to a lively political culture, to sustainable solutions in food and construction, to clarity in thinking about the economy, and to social justice.

A film about people who make a difference. They are committed to a lively political culture, to sustainable solutions in food and construction, to clarity in thinking about the economy, and to social justice.

Snow, sweat, testosterone and the sound of chainsaws. Every four years, over a period of three months in winter, wood is being cut in a steep mountain, high above Lake Ägeri, and prepared for log rafting. Neither economic change nor technology has been able to replace this traditional and sustainable craft in Switzerland.

A high-rise apartment built in the 1960s provides housing for 2500 people from 42 nations. Separated from the city by a river and bounded by towering sandstone cliffs, everyone attempts to live and survive in their own way. Foreigners who have a go at being Swiss, and Swiss who observe with scepticism. They meet in the corner shop run by an Iraqi living in exile, send their kids to a children’s club managed by a missionary, and old drinking mates meet regularly over a beer in the neighbourhood’s only bar. Despite all the differences, they are rather proud of the fact that they come from here.