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Trailers/Videos

Brief synopsis

PLAYLAND USA evokes memories of the global longing for escapism and illusion and portrays the continuing loss of grip on reality in the United States of America.

Benjamin Schindler’s exceptional documentary PLAYLAND USA takes us on a time travel through the United States as a country of unlimited narratives. It explores the great myths, stories and dreams that contribute to the creation of its identity, both past and present, influenced by the world’s largest entertainment industry.

Embedded in allusions to Hollywood movies and other symbols of pop culture, the film bows from the conquest of the New World to the settlement of alien planets, linking past and future, traversing various genres, epochs, and fictitious locations. One by one, a doomsday preacher, a ghost hunter, Santa Claus, an indigenous storyteller, a toothless western lady, a UFO-believing cinema owner, talking dolls lead us through the film. They all seem less concerned with authenticity than upholding the belief in the impossible.

Fantasy and magic clash with references to contemporary issues such as racism, populism and gun violence, exposing the mechanisms of global narrative traditions. The boundaries between fact and fiction, dream and madness are becoming increasingly blurred, opening up a new level of reflection of a film in film.

Crew

ActivityNameComment
Director of photographyBenjamin Schindler
Additional photographyJan Wilde
DirectorBenjamin Schindler
EditorYana Höhnerbach
EditorYana Höhnerbach
EditorBenjamin Schindler
ComposerJan F. Kurth
ComposerLukas Truniger
ProducerBenjamin Schindler
ProducerFabian Wallenfels
ProducerLevin Hübner
Production managerSilke Abendschein
ScreenwriterBenjamin Schindler
ScreenwriterJan Wilde
Sound recordist (non fiction)Lukas Truniger
Sound re-recording mixerHolger Buff
Sound re-recording mixerJascha Viehl
Sound re-recording mixerAlexander Weuffen
Sound designerLukas Truniger
Commissioning editorDr. Sabine Rollberg
Commissioning editorJutta Krug

Production companies

CompanyComment
Hübner/Wallenfells GbR
Zeitgebilde Filmproduktion [de]
Koproduktion
Koproduktion
Arte [de/fr]
Senderbeteiligung
Senderbeteiligung
WDR - Westdeutscher Rundfunk [de]
Senderbeteiligung
Senderbeteiligung

Distribution / Sales companies

CompanyComment
Zeitgebilde Filmproduktion [de]
Deutschland
Deutschland

Awards

Award winnerYearAwardCategory 
Benjamin Schindler2019Max Ophüls Preis [de]
Dokumentarfilm
DokumentarfilmNominated

Festivals

YearCountryFestivalComment
2019Germany40. Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis

TV-broadcast

TypeCountryStationDate / TimeComment
First showingGermanyarteMonday, 26/10/2020, 11.55 PM

Cinema releases and premieres

TypeCountryDateComment
Theatre releaseGermanyThursday, 26/09/2019