Exit to the Labyrinth (excerpt), a film by Eileen Yaghoobian

[Video Link] Eileen Yaghoobian says:

In the Spring of 2010, after showing my documentary about underground Indie-Rock Posters in Berlin, I was trapped under Iceland's clouds of volcanic ash, surrounded by wealthy artist types at some millionaire’s party. Having no interest in this world and not enough money to buy a twenty-euro cocktail, fortune had me stumble upon another gatecrasher... The man he drew me a map with no street names and told me I should go and find Peristal Signum's Labyrinth.

I blindly followed the hand-drawn lines through a dark and desolate part of East Berlin and found myself in the thick of an extraordinary group of artists and their extraordinary story. Tim Schneider, a painter, Georg Losch, a composer, and Andrija Bezosevic, a former underground train driver, took over a dilapidated building and out of the trash that surrounds it, rebuilt the labyrinth.

It took the outsider artists nine months to construct their labyrinth, which opened at the same time I was stranded in Berlin. Built in an unused part of an electro nightclub, the space was donated by the owners of the business. Working without any blueprints, Tim, Georg and Andrija threw fundraising parties and accepted gifts of money and industrial garbage to make their vision a reality.

So what is the labyrinth? Pay the 10 Euro ticket price and find out for yourself. They plan to keep the labyrinth open as long as the building stands, and there are no immediate plans to demolish it yet.

Exit to the Labyrinth

• [DIY]

  Go Eileen!  I remember your last documentary and it was amazing – simultaneously brilliant and slack and also beautifully shot.  I can’t imagine what this next one is going to be like – guess I’ll have to watch the video….  You’re going places, kid!

• [petsounds]

  I was just in Berlin last fall; wish I had known about this then!
  As I was traveling around Europe, Berlin seemed to be the city that every young person I talked to loved.

• [J.C.]

  This looks really cool, but it also looks like the opening scenes of a torture-porn movie.

• [Felicitas]

  I live in Berlin since 10 years now, and apart from that I’ve reached the state of whining about how “cool and independent and original” the city was when I came here, and how established and touristic it has become since then, I feel very at home here. 
  I maybe should go out more often since I never heard of this structure since it was built. It sounds amazing, though the entrence fee of 10€ (!) seems to be aimed mainly at tourists and not Berliners living off a few bucks..but well. Great artwork, both movie and Labyrinth! 
  Ah, almost forgot: The website of the Labyrinth itself! http://karmaweb.betabugs.de/

• [joshuef]

  I’ve been a couple of times. It is great for taking friends to and I assure you, you won’t feel like your 10 euros was badly spent. (unless you have any fear of small spaces… then it’s not for you)

• [booomer]

  I just experienced the labyrinth on my birthday this year. It was unforgettable. It’s creepy, dirty, dark, and fantastic! Like going into the belly of a giant underground beast.