Das brennende Dorf

The border zone of Southern Carinthia in Austria is inhabited by a German-speaking majority and a Slovenian-speaking minority. In the little theatre of Trotamara, a few amateur actors have the boldness to rehearse Lope de Vega’s play "The Burning Village" – in the Slovenian language. While the Slovenian speaking troupe are symbolically acting out the revolution against the oppressor on stage, the German-speaking patriots are planning their festivities for their national holiday, celebrating the defensive action against the Slovenes in 1920 and praising their regional “governor”, right-wing populist politician Jörg Haider. They are protesting against bilingual schools and place name signs, although these are established in the Constitution. The war on bilingual signs has a long history in Carinthia. The whole controversy started when a man refused to pay a speeding fine in a village because the village sign was invalid, since it was not bilingual. The polemic on bilingual signs seems futile, especially in a European context, but it is a symbol for the eternal issues of national identity and belonging. (DOK.fest München)