Original title: Soljaris, Director: Andrei Tarkowski, Soviet Union 1972, 167 minutes, 35mm, Original version with German subtitles, original language: Russian

Friday, April 11, 2025, 7 pm

Blue Salon, Room 012, HfG Karlsruhe

Free admission, donation requested

“In his endless search for truth, man is condemned to knowledge.” Sent to an aging research space station orbiting the planet Solaris, psychologist Kelvin is sent to investigate the human condition inside and outside the spheres of Earth. There he discovers that the crew of scientists in the sprawling spaceship are trying to understand an extraterrestrial intelligence which takes the form of a vast ocean on the titular alien planet and can seemingly materialize the memories, fears, hopes, desires and thoughts of the space travellers.
Tarkovsky's masterpiece meditates on our relationship to the planet, the cosmos and the unknown in poetically powerful images. It is also about hope, hopelessness, fear and shame. The burden of knowledge and the cursed questions to which we may never have answers.

In the supporting program: La jetée
Director: Chris Marker, France 1962, 28 minutes, 35mm, original French version

The Kino im Blauen Salon, the student cinema of the Hochschule für Gestaltung, has been run by students since 2017 and has been a registered association since the beginning of 2024: https://kinoimblauensalon.de/de/news.

More about the film series in summer semester 2025:

Kino im Blauen Salon, the student cinema of the Hochschule für Gestaltung, invites you to the new program for the summer semester! Our film program, which was awarded 1st prize by the Deutsche Kinemathek, is now in its 18th semester! Time to take a brief look back... In our early days, cineastes were few and far between in the Blauer Salon, whereas today the room seems almost too small. But we have always remained true to our ideals: Analog film screenings in 35mm & 16mm, joint voluntary work with free admission and a relaxed HfG atmosphere. And the summer open-air cinema on the lawn in front of the HfG is already in its 6th round, this time at the end of May! So it's time not to look back, but to look forward: To another summer semester full of cinematic-poetic cinema highlights:
Our main interest this summer is poetry, because the nights are getting longer, the horizon endless and there's something in the air. But what does cinema have to do with poetry? Find out in our “Cinema Poetico” series, in which we set off on multiple narrative strands, meandering perspectives, visual detours and everything that lies between the lines. The series presents a hand-picked selection of classics and hidden gems that form the silent branches of cinema.
There are also nightly excursions with our “Midnight Movies”, the legendary Kult Sneak, experimental short film programs, workshops, specials, guests and, of course, the highlight of the cinema year, the open-air cinema in front of the HfG, under the motto “Freedom in Change”. See you soon at the movies!