It’s all in the family

A talk with the blended family of the filmmakers behind ‘Familie sein.’

Filmstill aus dem Film "Familie sein." – Filmstill aus dem Film "Familie sein". Eine Gruppe sitzt zusammen auf dem Sofa.

What defines a family today? In their film ‘Familie sein.’ (Being family), Theo Thiesmeier and Ernest Thiesmeier explore different family structures: blended families, queer families, extended families, single-parent households, adoptive families, and families with pets.

The film navigates the tension between self-description and external attribution. It reveals how roles are defined and identities formulated, and how closeness is formed. At the same time, it opens up a space for projections. Categories emerge in the viewer’s gaze, are examined, shifted and dissolved.

Visually, the footage is arranged as group portraits. In the Living Room, they can be viewed together as a continuous video loop. This creates a polyphonic picture of the contemporary family: open, precise, questioning.

On 1 May, the two directors will bring their own patchwork family to the Humboldt Forum. In a joint discussion, they will explore the ideas that led to the production of this work. How do the family concepts shown relate to the directors’ own family structures? What prompted them to engage with their own familiy? What makes it unique?

Participants: Ernest Thiesmier, Theo Thiesmeier and further family members

Host: Laura Goldenbaum

- Price: free admission

- Place: Exhibition space "Living Room", ground floor

- Age: 12 years and older

- Language: German

- Films with subtitles

- belongs to: Given or Chosen?, Living Room and Family Matters

Next date:

• Date Friday, 01/May/2026 16:00
• Venue Humboldt Forum
• Address Schloßplatz, 10178 Berlin-Mitte