One couple. A Nazi village. A rock festival as the ultimate middle finger.
The small village of Jamel in the northwest of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is considered a right-wing extremist stronghold. In the past, neo-Nazis have deliberately moved here. Using right-wing slogans and symbols, they openly claim dominance over the village. In the middle of it all: the artist couple Birgit and Horst Lohmeyer. In search of a rural idyll, the Lohmeyers moved to the village in 2004, underestimating the situation there, where they encountered right-wing extremist thinking and rejection, even threats. Instead of allowing themselves to be driven away, they make a statement against it every year with the "Jamel Rocks the Forester" music festival. After their barn was set on fire, they and their festival received prominent support from the German music scene. The documentary shows that the conditions in the village are not an isolated case and that folkish landgrabs by right-wing extremists are a widespread problem, but also how music can help fight for democracy.
Direction
Gross lets extremists expose themselves through their own words.
Production
Intimate access to a family under literal fire.
Director
Martin Groß
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Jamel became a symbol for Germany's 'village extremism' problem, with similar settlements documented across eastern states.
The Lohmeyers' festival strategy mirrors anti-fascist traditions from 1930s Swing Kids—using forbidden joy as resistance.
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