Schmelzdahin (Meltaway) is a group of three filmmakers. Formed in 1979, its members, Jochen Lempert, Jochen Müller and Jürgen Reble, carried out joint research in the fields of camera work, montage and material processing. In conjunction, lengthy experiments with the effects of bacteriological decomposition, disintegration and chemical processes on film emulsion were also carried out. Before breaking up in1989, they collected all sorts of super 8 films and exposed them to a variety of chemical and mechanical treatments, producing about 20 short films in this manner.
One day, Schmelzdahin discovered a super 8 film called City in Flames. They didn’t like it, so they threw it into a corner of the garden, after having worked it over with a sewing machine. When they rediscovered the copy six months later, bacteria had caused the colour layers to burst open and the colours themselves to mix. Fascinated with this new look, Schmelzdahin selected the material and copied each frame four times in an overheated optical printer. None of the copies were identical, making the film look like it was pulsating.

(Programme note Cinémathèque Ontario, “City in Flames” –Experimental Visions, curated by Karola Gramann, 1997)