Russian director Ilya Khrzhanovsky to rebuild Berlin Wall for art project Dau: Freedom

Russian filmmaker Ilya Khrzhanovsky will reconstruct a full-scale replica of the Berlin Wall in Berlin's Mitte district, as part of his controversial art project Dau: Freedom. The wall will be inaugurated on October 12, 2018, and dramatically demolished on November 9, 2018, the 29th anniversary of the original wall's fall. During the project, the area between Bebelplatz and Kommandantur will be divided into East and West sectors, with residents and workers allowed free passage but others required to apply for permits online and undergo security checks. Street signs, lighting, and other urban elements will be replaced with period-accurate replicas. The project is organized by Berliner Festspiele and produced by Phenomen Film. Khrzhanovsky will also screen his experimental film Dau, shot in secrecy since 2008 in Kharkov, Ukraine, where he reconstructed a replica of 1950s-60s Moscow. The announcement comes shortly after the chance discovery of an unknown section of the original Berlin Wall in Mitte, confirmed by Berlin's urban development councilor Ephraim Gothe during a walk. The wall, built on August 13, 1961, divided the city until 1989.