Film Beyond Cinema: The Dumpster Kid Experiment and Other Utopias

For over half a century, the filmmaker Edgar Reitz, one of the signatories of the Oberhausen Manifesto and a pioneer of epic film narration, has explored, as a practitioner and theoretician, the rules and limits of cinema, which he always seeks to break and extend in new ways. One example of his tireless search and research are the Geschichten vom Kübelkind, which he co-directed with Ula Stöckl in 1969/70, 22 absurdly funny, subversive and anarchistic short films of different lengths, which consciously oppose all conventions, with incredible success. The films remain unrivalled in their Dadaistic inventiveness.

Directed by Robert Fischer, Film Beyond Cinema: The Dumpster Kid Experiment and Other Utopias leans on a strong ensemble — Edgar Reitz, Ula Stöckl, Kristine De Loup — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 2018.