Hymn From The Hive

Hymn From The Hive tells the story of the Transylvanian Saxons, an ethnic minority overwhelmed by the pace of a globalised society and disappearing due to mass emigration.

WHAT IS THE FILM ABOUT?

A Saxon woman goes back to her ancient community in Transylvania to visit the only Saxon left in the village and to reclaim her heritage. Susanna is the last woman to be married to a Saxon in her native village before the Saxon exodus. The couple flee Romania for West Germany after the collapse of Ceausescu regime. Like them half a million of Transylvanian Saxons, victims of one of the most astonishing ethnic emigration in modern Europe, leave behind eight centuries of history and a vast abandoned beautiful landscape made up of Medieval villages and wild nature. Having gone from their ancestral land on a quest for a new motherland, the plan to integrate in Germany doesn’t work out as they planned. In West Germany, Susanna and Udo now live with their two daughters. Their relationship has fallen apart. In the silence that populates the routine of their daily life their inner battle between their identity and a strong sense of belonging emerge. Udo is now a German, Susie instead, belongs to her village in Transylvania, and wants her daughters to hold on to their traditions but them already lost the use of the language. Georg is a young Saxon living in Germany, near Susanna’s house, where he’s making a new life for himself. In fact, he’s the only Saxon musician that raps in Saxon dialect. With his lyrics he wants to bring the traditions of his culture to the younger generations.

WHAT IS THE FILM REALLY ABOUT?

The film was born from the desire to address the feeling of abandonment and identity crisis of those who are divided between their homeland and the promised land. My intent is to under- stand this condition as part of a globalised and ever-growing society. Question the meaning of keeping a sense of identity within a globalized world. A transitional path towards an uncertain future. Will the new generations be able to maintain a link with their own roots?