RAW- United we stay!
Documentary 2009. 32 min.
Director: Louise Culot.
Urban development since the fall of the wall in East Berlin has been a mostly grass-roots affair. In the early 90s, the former GDR structures were abandoned and many unused spaces and factories were reclaimed, renovated, and adapted for new uses. Although East Berlin was then considered unattractive for private and public investments, locals took matters into their own hands and started to reorganize the eastern neighborhoods according to their needs and interests. This is what has made East Berlin so well known, its self-organized infrastructure and grassroots productions. Through the process of gentrification, these same organizations have made East Berlin an attractive place for private real estate investors, and many of the groups and businesses are now being pushed out and threatened. This documentary film tells the story of the RAW temple, a local association of citizens who refuse to give up their rights to the city.