The Last Firework Show is a short documentary about Berlin’s non-official fireworks display happened during 2019 New Year’s Eve.
Berlin's usual orderliness shift to the wildness of its New Year celebrations sparked a citywide debate. Concerns over air pollution caused by the fireworks and when in recent years revellers have targeted fireworks at firefighters and paramedics as they try to respond to emergencies. Foreseeably causing Berlin’s city council to initiate, in the near future, a ban on the independent firework displays, similar to other German major cities like Hannover and Dortmund.
Revellers take over different city centres, setting off their own fireworks in the streets and from rooftops and balconies; commuters force their way through the smoke-filled streets; firefighters block main roads and city workers clean the littered sidewalks. The Last Firework Show portrays, in a sequence of long static shots and by using on-location sound recordings, a series of peculiar moments happening during a period of what might, in fact, be “The Last Fireworks Show“ in Berlin.
Written & Directed by Greg Kotler
& Andy Abzah
Produced by Kasafilms
Cinematography Andy Abzah
Editor Greg Kotler
Sound Design Assi Sender
1AC Amnon Bikovsky
Artwork Sarah Vignon