As part of a special programme at the Hamburg Documentary Film Week, Jan Peters’ film „34 Jahre, aber den Sinn des Lebens habe ich immer noch nicht rausgefunden“ will be screened (Germany 2026, 100 mins, German with English subtitles).
Since 1990, when he was 24 years old, Jan Peters has pointed a camera at himself once a year.
He chats away, talking about love and work; sometimes he dances or sings. He plays a self born of the ontological peculiarities of cinema. It is both an intoxicating TikTok parody avant la lettre and an essay on the perception of time. Inscribed within it is a small history of filmic material. In the style of a fleeting diary film, a self-portrait unfolds that moves the viewer, as if the brief snippets of footage were the only proof that one truly exists. The version shown in Duisburg in 2006 has grown by twenty years. “Why did it go so fast, all these years have passed?”, as the filmmaker once sings. (ph)
Following the screening, there will be a discussion with, among others, Jan Peters.
The 23rd Hamburg Documentary Film Week takes place from 14–19 April 2026. The festival presents around 50 national and international documentary films characterised by aesthetic and political depth.
Date & Venue:
17 April 2026, 9 pm
B-Movie Kino, Hamburg