21/02/2025 - BERLINALE 2025: The show must go on in the directorial duo’s documentary, but what happens behind the scenes is even more important

Julia Lemke (left) and Anna Koch (© Dario Caruso/Cineuropa)

In their Berlinale Generation Kplus documentary Circusboy [+see also:
film review
interview: Julia Lemke, Anna Koch
film profile], Julia Lemke and Anna Koch introduce us to Santino, a boy who’s growing up in the circus – just like his father, and just like his grandfather. Santino can’t imagine another future for himself, but the job is getting harder and harder.

Cineuropa: It’s intriguing that you decided to talk about the circus. It has been widely criticised, and you address, and debunk, some of these concerns in the film – especially the treatment of animals.
Anna Koch: It’s many things at the same time. It’s a very magical place when you’re a child: such a wild, free, colourful world. At the same time, it’s really vulnerable right now. It doesn’t seem to fit in with our zeitgeist, and it’s easy to attack circus life with a “woke” mindset. We felt it was such a special way of growing up: you are always in the world’s best playground. At the same time, you’re part of a closed-off community that has suffered many insults. Circuses have always been under attack because they’ve always been “othered”. Their lifestyle is so different. They never fit in.

Julia Lemke: Kids’ documentaries can be so niche, but the circus is something that everybody can relate to, in a good or in a bad way. Everybody knows what a ringmaster or a clown is. But they have no idea what happens after the show. So here, we have both: we have the unknown and the very known. The next question was: “How does it feel to grow up with all of these traditions and a very specific identity?” You can really talk about collective memory here because these kids know their roots. Our kids don’t even know what their grandparents used to do for a living.

Everything is changing these days; this job pretty much stays the same.
AK: It’s preserved, like in a tin from the 1980s. They only tweak their lifestyle as much as they have to because they want to keep it the way it is. In that sense, it’s very conservative.

It’s surprising that children don’t question that. Family businesses are disappearing, but Santino is certain he will take over one day.
JL: It was something we discovered early on during our research. Everything there is about surviving. They’ve survived so many crises and wars. Questioning this lifestyle is just not an option. Older people told us that it has become really tough. But the kids? They are not always in touch with the outside world; they keep switching schools. They’ve always lived in this community. It’s all they have. It’s not like they’re not allowed to leave: some people did. But for them, this idea of going to live in a flat, all alone, is really not that appealing.

You added some animated parts, also to talk about terrifying issues like the Holocaust. Do you think it makes it easier for kids?
JL: The story about Auschwitz was never planned. It just happened. We always knew that a lot of circuses had Roma and Sinti people…

AK: …Hitler would have called them “asocial”…

JL: …But we didn’t know it was also this family’s experience. Their grandfather told us, and we couldn’t just leave it out. The Roma and Sinti genocide in Germany wasn’t recognised until the 1980s. We had to find a way to tell this to kids – because you can’t just drop a bomb on them – and to make sure they were not left alone with the weight of this story.

Do you think that once you forget about the circus, it could be a film about family?
AK: When it was finished, we talked about its essence. What is it for us? We said: “It’s about connectedness.” Sometimes, they’d yell across the field: “I love you!” Also the men. They’re trying to be tough, but they’re also gentle, tender and warm with each other, constantly assuring each other of their love. People have been telling us that they feel inspired to take this home and reconnect with their loved ones. It sounds cheesy when you say it, like it’s almost too earnest. But it’s also very pure.

You seem more interested in the backstage of it all than the actual performances. Why is that?
JL: The performance is an important part, but it doesn’t really change much. They are not going bigger and better. It’s more about protecting their lifestyle. It’s their job, and they do it proudly, but the crucial part is to survive. So much time and energy go into that.

AK: They are always working. In children’s books, you see a juggler practising in front of the caravan, or you see somebody stretching or trying something new. But it was just really hard work, and not for the show. The show is already there. It’s not the main act.

Were you following them all the time? It’s a life in transit, so how often did you show up?
AK: We wanted to shoot for a year, so we would come and stay for four or five days. There was this woman, Santino’s great aunt. She was just laughing at us, saying: “You have a horrible job. You just wait; I would hate that.” Their life is like going on a train: if you want to film them, you have to jump on it. But we always knew when it was time to leave and to go back to our caravan because they’re very direct.