From the International Festival of Animated Film in Stuttgart, Memory Hotel has led its way to Annecy as one of the European films in the Contrechamp competition.
This 100-minute German-French production tells the story of Sophie, a young girl who loses her parents and her memory while hiding from both the Russians and the Nazis in an abandoned hotel. While the Russians find Sophie and occupy the hotel forcing her to work as a cook, a figure from her past, who lives behind the walls, helps her regain her memories and find the strength to escape.
We interviewed director Heinrich Sabl about the journey it took to create this remarkable tale.
This is your first animated feature film, and it took you 25 years to bring it to completion. Where did the idea come from, and what motivated you to work on it for such a long time?
The idea for the film originated in the 1990s, a hedonistic era characterised by constant parties and the aftermath of the dark years on this side of the Iron Curtain. I thought the party would eventually end at some point, but I wondered: what happens after that? Will our history be forgotten forever? After all, a new millennium had just begun. Coming from the former GDR, I questioned whether my history and that of my compatriots would be reduced to marginal footnotes in history books. I also experienced the withdrawal of the Russian occupying forces in Germany. I found myself pondering whatwould happen to the young people returning to their homeland under Boris Yeltsin, the then President of Russia. How would they cope with this ‘loss’ in the future?
As for why it took me so long to complete this film, in the beginning, anything seemed possible: a performance, a theatre play, a book. In the end, I wanted to create something special, something unique; I didn’t believe Memory Hotel would work as a live-action film. I was in search of a distinct visual and linguistic style for the ensemble. This search for a unique language of animation kept motivating and driving me throughout the years, as did the support of good friends, colleagues, and a network of solidarity.
How did you work on a technical level of craft for this film? What techniques did you use?
I worked with an old Czech 35mm camera. I find that I don’t resonate with the perfection often seen in today’s stop-motion films; much of it bores me. The 35mm technique feels freer and more spontaneous. Often, I had to wait weeks for the results, and that uncertainty appealed to me. While I recognise the advantages of digital technology and do use it, I am primarily drawn to the unfinished and the imperfect. I embrace mistakes because they push me forward. Analogue film technology was ideal for this approach.
You’ve created something visually appealing yet disturbing at the same time. From an artistic perspective, your work intertwines visual elements reminiscent of Brücke expressionism, Socialist realism, and post-war art. What inspired such a unique artistic approach?
Living in East Germany, I was of course shaped by the influence of Socialist Realism, along with Friedrich Wolf’s quote about art as a weapon. I didn’t actively seek out references. Instead, I collaborated with my figure designer, Franck Michel, who shared a similar artistic vision. Our backgrounds were alike, and we often drew from our own experiences. This self-made mentality defined us and our work.
There is a strong connection to what might be described as “a dollhouse.” The characters are static, artificial, and move in a mechanical way, reminiscent of the unnaturalness of play. Additionally, the timeline seems to shift across both time and space. On a metaphorical level, they represent puppets in a reality defined by constraints larger than themselves. With Sophie being the only woman whom all the characters claim as “mine,” there is also an element of possession. What are your thoughts on this theme?
In the beginning, I wanted a model situation, which is why the hotel is situated on a platform in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t believe that figures could deliver feelings and emotions at first. That understanding developed later, as I began to explore the field of emotion. This exploration led to a clear commitment to the main character, Sophie. I was surrounded by strong women in my crew. Moreover, due to my past in the GDR, I experienced women as self-determined and largely equal, making it easier for me to develop Sophie as a character who fights her way through a militarized male world. The men, however, remain stereotypical and modelled.
From your poetic research as a director and animator, how important is the concept of memory and how can it be both something important and constraining at the same time?
As our lifetimes progress, the space for the future diminishes, while the space for the past becomes increasingly filled. Eventually, this too gradually blurs and disappears. With this in mind, we have created Memory Hotel.
