A poetic memoir and political report, shot in Berlin and Leipzig, and in landscapes around the British Isles. The film’s narrative builds out from the events of the Reichstag Fire in Berlin in 1933 in which the pioneering German-Jewish sound recordist, Ludwig Koch, on whom the film ultimately centres, plays a minor role, placing him and his family in danger. The film is structured in two parts, juxtaposing Koch’s persecution in Nazi Germany with his experiences as a refugee recording bird song and other sounds in Britain.
The film’s images of contemporary urban and rural terrains, and of objects and documents, create a collision between past and present. Shifts in time are further emphasised through the use of Koch’s original sound recordings from Germany and Britain which feature throughout the film.
Belfast breeds fighters. But none like Eamonn Magee. Born in 1971 as the city exploded into violence, Eamonn’s life was forged in the flames of ‘the Troubles.’ Raised amid bombings, riots, and sectarian hatred, he joined the IRA youth wing as a teenager - wielding petrol bombs by day and boxing gloves by night. Attacked, shot, stabbed, and left for dead more than once, survival became his first fight. Despite a chaotic double life of street warfare and addiction, Eamonn’s talent in the ring propelled him to the top. He became a world welterweight champion—“The Miracle Man” who defied the odds. But the demons that haunted him never left. A brutal beating in a high-speed car chase shattered his leg, but not his will. He returned to defend his title in one of sport’s most astonishing comebacks. Redemption seemed possible when his son, Eamonn Jr., emerged as a clean-living, gifted boxer. But when Junior was murdered in a senseless attack, Eamonn spiraled into despair. Now, with doctors warning he has months to live, he's a man tormented by memory, addiction, and violence.
