Die Flutung von Viktoria

With a bizarre procession, the inhabitants of the Victoria Plains celebrate being relocated in preparation for the permanent flooding of the area in which they live. A group of tourists travel by coach one last time through the dream landscape, in which antique ruins and futuristic greenhouses bear witness to human civilization's faith in progress. But then the coach has an accident and the group of travellers is suddenly marooned in the wilderness with no hope of rescue. The utopian Victoria district becomes the backdrop for a surreal drama in which archaic motifs and modern lifestyles collide.

These contradictions can also be seen among the protagonists: while the urbane tour guide, Henkel, is planning a diving expedition in the future underwater world, the melancholy man in the yellow suit is longing for water as a possible return to mankind's origins. The use of puppets transports the oppressive scenario to the realm of fantasy and fairytale, conveyed by the expressive faces and the real movements of the figures. (Stefanie Stallschus)