Sound of Heimat

The Roots of German Folk Music

In the musical road movie SOUND OF HEIMAT New Zealand-born musician Hayden Chisholm sets off on a discovery trail of German folk music that takes him across the country. A foreigner with an unbiased eye on German culture and an open ear for the lyrics and melodies of modern and traditional music, he discovers a lively variety of regional customs and practices.

Directors Arne Birkenstock and Jan Tengeler also shed light on the widespread ambivalence in Germany toward folk music, and show their own view of Heimat-the place you come from: a way of living and thinking that in many places has fallen victim to past ideology and the "Heile Welt", the ideal world, portrayed in the Musikantenstadl, Germany's popular folksy TV show.