VIVA MEGALOPOLIS Four cities and the four ages of man. DIGITAL-Video.
Script/Direction/Editor/Soundmix: Manfred Hulverscheidt Camera: Manfred Hulverscheidt, Antje Schäfer Sound: Simin Mohammadi, Georg Eisenmenger, Maria Zastrow Voice: Thomas Vogt (german version) Architectural Advisor: Felix Zwoch Research: Kathrin Wildner (Mexiko), Diane van Buren Jones (Detroit) Cartography: Anne Birr Translators: Mexico: Miguel Salguero, South China: Connie Cheuk, for english subtitles: John Burgan and Nick Ash Music: Jeff Mills, Augustus Pablo & Vivian Jackson, King Tubby, Red Crayola (with the Familiar Ugly), Yuji Takahashi, Giacinto Scelsi, Toshio Hosokawa, Ludwig van Beethoven, Louis-Claude Daquin, Aphex Twin, World Saxophone Quartet, Henry Cowell, Mouse on Mars, The Beatles, CAN, King of Dub, Martha & The Vandellas, György Ligeti Commissioning Editor: Kathrin Brinkmann Das Kleine Fernsehspiel Produktion: HDTVideo in collaboration with ZDF/Arte 2000. Length: 99:00.

In order to explore the destiny of huge urban regions I took four locations /targets in my sights: Mexico City, with its 16 million inhabitants; the completely urbanised area between Hong Kong and Canton at the Pearl River Delta, the classic and archetypal metropolis of London, and the venerable yet not very old industrial metropolis of Detroit, Michigan.

The attempt is to piece together the four ages of man - childhood, youth, adult-hood and old age - with the way we perceive and experience these cities. Starting with the simple fact of being born and growing up in Mexico through to the association of Detroit with the death and decay of the body, we encounter a whole range of adventures in the public spaces of these "urban agglomerates."

But alongside the subtle narrative line (which convincingly manages to avoid dominating the pictures), it's ultimately the musical choreography and montage which takes us on this odyssey through the jungle of cities.