Retrospective: Weekender – Memories of Acid House & 90s Rave Scenes

This year's British Shorts Film Festival Retrospective "Weekender – Memories of Acid House & 90s Rave Scenes" brings together music films, documentaries and video clips that show the origins of the Acid House and rave scenes in the UK in the late 1980s and 1990s. While showcasing immersive depictions of the music and the associated lifestyles, it also focuses on social aspects such as the moral panic created by the tabloid press and the illegalisation of raves by the conservative government, which even went so far as to ban the public performance of music containing "repetitive beats" with the Criminal Justice Act of 1994.

The programme depicts various developments, including the free festivals of the Freetekno movement and events by queer party collectives that consciously distanced themselves from the increasing commercialisation of house and techno music, and forges a bridge to the influences that these warehouse raves of the 90s have had on contemporary pop culture.

At Sputnik Kino we are showing a repetition of the sold-out screening at Gretchen.

Flowered Up – Weekender (Music Video), D.: WIZ, 19:19 Min.

World in Action: A Trip Round Acid House (Documentary), D.: Granada Television, 26:05 Min.

Orbital – The Box (Music Video), D.: Jes Benstock & Luke Losey (Technobabble), 05:00 Min.
New 4K scan from the original 35mm print: Tilda Swinton in the legendary Orbital music video from 1998 (part of the “British Shorts” retrospective 2024 “Weekender - Memories of Acid House & 90s Rave Scenes)

Techno Babes (Documentary), D.: Kim Maddever, Satia Birdi, Karla Goodman, Yvonne French, 09:57 Min.
Prod.: Toral Dixit

Rave (Documentary), D.: Torstein Grude, 11:48 Min.

Chase and Status – Blind Faith (Music Video), D.: Daniel Wolfe, 09:14 Min.

Bicep – Glue (Music Video), D.: Joe Wilson, 04:45 Min.