972 Breakdowns - Auf dem Landweg nach New York (972 Breakdowns)
Germany 2020

Opening 3 Sep 2020

Directed by: Daniel von Rüdiger
Writing credits:

What a ride this film is! A group of young international artists decide to take a road trip from Halle, Germany to New York City via the Bering Strait. The choice of transportation is an Ural 650, a soviet motorcycle with a sidecar.  This motorcycle is native to most of their trip (the Soviet Union) and can easily be repaired (if you are in an inhabited area or maybe someone just happens to come along in the middle of nowhere and has something that can be used as a part) , modified (an amphibious motorcycle?) and can take a beating.

The journey starts in the country of Georgia where parts need to be found for the most recent breakdown. Here we are also introduced to the five travelers who each have a specific function in the trip/film (such as documentation, filming, doctoring). Through narration, animation, music and sometimes a drone we get to ride along on the fascinating road trip and experience first-hand the joys and challenges of the trip. The path to follow can be straightforward such as an endless road in Mongolia or almost non-existent such as the old Road of Broken Bones in Siberia.

The main area focused on in the movie is eastern Siberia where there is more improvisation than civilization. Along the way our traveling artists meet up with numerous breakdowns, discovering not only the forces of Mother Nature but also the helpfulness and kindness of strangers.  Since there is almost nothing in the film about their time traveling through the US (except some time spent in Alaska), I hope that a second part of the journey will come out on film. (Alana Leichert)