Best Feature Documentary Film
The documentary film, “Every Line Becomes A Circle” celebrates the extraordinary life of 93- 93-year-old post-war German artist, Inge Besgen who began to pursue her dream of becoming an artist at age 50 against the conventions of her time. In our documentary, we explore how Inge broke from the typical conventions that prevailed and were expected of women in the 1950s in West Germany. In the 70’s she went alone to Italy and Corsica in search of herself and her artistic skills, unheard of in a time when a husband or father had to sign a woman’s work contract in order for them to take a job. Women didn’t just leave and go to find themselves by themselves. For her, this spiritual journey was an awakening and realization that she WAS the artist she dreamed of being. She decided to apply to art schools in Germany to get formal training as a painter. This was in the early 1980s and all the art schools she applied to in Germany rejected her as too old as a 50-year-old woman. Yet, this didn’t stop her. In true Inge form, she set her sights on and applied to one of the best art schools in Europe, the Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, and was accepted! She graduated at age 54, top of her class! The film is intended to illuminate her inner journey, using private and artistic archival footage by Ed van der Elsken, interviews from the current day, and showing a lot of her artwork and the area she grew up in and lives today. One of Inge’s philosophies is that there is a common thread that runs through one’s life. In German, this is referred to as a ‘” red thread.” This is why we chose a red line that sews and connects the chapters of her life together. Furthermore, we wanted to honor Inge’s first job as a seamstress for men’s clothing in a male-dominated profession and her fascination for haptic materials, structures, and textures. It is about recognizing her artistic potential and her decision to become an artist and to live outside of the confines of what was expected of her. Now the “lines” of her life have come full circle and through her story, we see how Every Line Becomes A Circle.