Rivers Film Festival

In film discussions, filmmakers explain their motivations for exploring this fluid element. The film festival is part of the Fluid Interdisciplinarities Festival.


Meanders or the Invented River

In the middle of summer, a group of friends decide to descend a river in a raft. The obstacles, both physical and living, that they encounter bear witness to the transformations and alterations of waterways by men. Both road-trip and scientific talk, the film weaves links between the immersed and submerged worlds whose multiple prisms engage a restorative encounter between humans and non-humans.

A film by: Marie Lusson (France), Émilien De Bortoli (France)

France | 2023 | 73 min | vostf

Sélection officielle 2024: Cap sur l’environnement
2024 / Prix Gaïa


Aquatopia on Tour – A performative journey into the world of water

Aquatopia on Tour is an interactive art project that creates creative meeting places with mystical water creatures in public spaces. Fascinating water creatures came into contact with people in Berlin, Frankfurt am Main and Neustrelitz on World Water Day 2025 to raise awareness of the topic of water and emphasise the importance of this element as a source of life. With water sounds and performative play, they demonstrated the many facets of water – from gentle drops to stormy oceans. The message: water is not only a vital element, but also a symbol of change, power and connection. Together, we are setting an example for the conscious and sustainable use of water and for the protection of our precious elixir of life. Water is a being from which we can learn a great deal, including how to live in harmony with our planet. Reflection cards made from recycled material were distributed to encourage physical and inner reflection on changing water awareness.


Bellerophontes Dream – Short film of a river journey

The film documents the two-day river trip undertaken by a ferryman, a filmmaker, an actor and a scientist in early October from the Spreewald to Berlin. The goal of the trip was to bring the research, the art works  and a tank of water directly from the natural harbor Raddusch to the urban river side venue Holzmarkt 25, Berlin. And all this with the help of the actor which connects both places – the Spree.

In text and image, the film reflects on the possibility of leaving one’s human point of view and taking non-human perspectives, a movement we know from myth. What happens when we question the centrality of the human and give space to the multiplicity of non-human actors? We enter the realm of metamorphosis…

A film by Oliver Rossoll (image) and Maximilian Grünewald (text). Featuring Steven Lehmann (barge ride), with support by Pauline Münch (organization), Diane Barbé and Jonas Dahm (audio).


Fluid Interdisciplinarities

Fluid Interdisciplinarities will take place in Berlin from October 23-25, 2025, bringing together researchers, artists, and practitioners working with water to explore diverse projects and perspectives. It will showcase collaborations across the natural and social sciences, arts, humanities, and civil society, fostering dialogue and exchange. It is being planned by the Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems (IRI THESys) and artist Regina Hügli  (One Body of Water), in cooperation with the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education,  the University of Montpellier, the Knowledge Exchange with Society team and the TAT – Tieranatomisches Theater at the Helmholtz-Zentrum für Kulturtechnik (HZK).

- free admission, no ticket required
- 14 years and older
- German
- Humboldt Lab, 1st floor
- Belongs to: On Water