The last department of the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam was to move to the new Kiepenheuerallee campus in the winter semester of 2017/18. In order to capture the mood of the university students and staff as well as impressions of the building shortly before the move, the short film “Kurz vor Schluss” (Shortly before the end) was made in the summer semester of 2017. It features the last weeks of the university building on the Friedrich-Ebert-Straße.
The move and demolition of the 1970s GDR building was extremely controversial in Potsdam. After filming for seven days in June and July 2017, we had actually planned one last day of filming, but in mid-July the building was occupied by activists. After the eviction, the university site was then no longer open to the public. In 2018, the building was finally demolished.
The premiere of the film took place on 21 October 2017 as part of the “Kehraus” farewell event at the Alter Markt market square in Potsdam.