A bridge that has become a real political issue: in “Sternbrücke Forever”, filmmaker Christian Hornung (Manche hatten Krokodile) documents the last two years of the iconic structure, which was home to clubs, bars, shops and the residents of the Schanzen district. Almost coinciding with the opening of the new bridge, the Documentary will celebrate its world premiere at Filmfest Hamburg 2026.
In recent years, Christian Hornung has often spoken to people from all over Germany. At first, hardly anyone could understand why a single bridge – the Sternbrücke in the heart of Hamburg – should stir up such strong feelings. But for many Hamburg residents, the area is a genuine microcosm, the likes of which cannot be found anywhere else in Hamburg. And it was this microcosm that Hornung wanted to capture on film: “For over ten years, I cycled under the bridge almost every day on my way to work. When the design for the new bridge was unveiled in 2020 and demolition suddenly became a real possibility, I felt a growing urge to make a film about this special place before it disappears for good.”
Es wurden viele Kundgebungen an der Sternbrücke abgehalten. Copyright: jip film & verleih
The residents of Sternbrücke
Once the funding was in place, filming began in 2022. But before Hornung and his team set off with the camera, he approached the structure from various angles. His first stop was a small kiosk under the bridge, where he simply bought something to drink and struck up a conversation with the kiosk owner, Martina. “That was a very good starting point for me. Martina knew lots of people from the neighbourhood and, through her, I got to know other interesting people. From there, I put out feelers,” says Hornung. That’s how he met Andreas, for example, who’d been living there for many years and was a regular at the kiosk. Or Robert, who always had a perfect view of the junction from his skylight. Or Stefan, with his car repair shop, who is one of the film’s main characters. Often, Hornung had to leave filming sessions empty-handed despite having made arrangements – sometimes simply because nobody was at home, or the club hadn’t even opened yet. “The people at the Sternbrücke had their own rhythm,” say the Directors.
Stefan (r.) hatte eine Werkstatt an der Sternbrücke. Copyright: jip film & verleih
Das Fundbureau war einer von mehreren Clubs, die ausziehen mussten. Copyright: jip film & verleih
Filming at the clubs under the Sternbrücke required considerably more coordination and preparation time. “These are, after all, safe spaces – which is why we didn’t so much film the visitors there, but instead focused on the bouncers, for example,” says Christian Hornung. He used to go there himself sometimes in his 20s – though, as the 49-year-old points out with a laugh, that was quite a while ago now. For many, however, the area – home to the Fundbureau, Waagenbau and Astra Stube – is part of their youth. It’s only natural that this fosters an emotional attachment and fuels the lack of understanding regarding the bridge’s demolition.
(Not) a political film
Hornung filmed around 250 hours of footage in several shooting blocks between 2022 and 2024. As it was unclear for a long time exactly when the bridge would actually be demolished, they filmed with many people on location, and not all of them and their stories made it into the finished film.
Das Team hat die Brück aus unterschiedlichsten Winkeln in den Blick genommen. Copyright: Johnny Johnson
Hornung did not actually intend to make a political statement with his film. The political dimensions were only added bit by bit. “Restoring the historic bridge would certainly have been very difficult; a new bridge would probably have been unavoidable. But the question was always: why this design? With more careful planning that took the surrounding area into account – perhaps even an architectural competition – a bridge could have been created that integrated much better into the neighbourhood!” says Hornung. Consequently, scenes in which the residents are shown the designs for the current bridge also made it into the film. For many, the visualisations seemed like a bad joke.
Made in Hamburg
During filming, Hornung was usually on set with Director of Photography Marvin Hesse and Sound Designers Timo Selengia and Jan-Peter Scholz – he edited the film himself in his office at the Fux Co-operative in Altona. The sound was mixed at Freudenhammer Sound Studios, whilst the colour grading took place at Post Republic. The production company is also based in Hamburg: Tamtam Film, with whom Hornung had previously collaborated on “Manche hatten Krokodile” around ten years ago.
Under the Bridge: v.l. Timo, Christian und Marvin bei den Dreharbeiten
And the wait for his new film has been worth it: even though there was no happy ending for the Sternbrücke in the end, Christian Hornung has created a cinematic tribute to the building and its residents that once again has the potential to become a cult film. Many of the people featured in the film will be seeing it for the first time at Filmfest Hamburg. “I’m really very excited, because I also feel a great sense of responsibility towards the protagonists in the film,” says Hornung. But he is looking forward to this home screening before the Germany-wide cinema tour begins on 4 October. And we’re looking forward to it too. The world premiere will take place on 26 September at 2.30 pm at Cinemaxx Dammtor.
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