As the Berlin institution turns 32, a new short documentary contends with its past, present and future. Tresor, one of Berlin’s oldest and consistently popular techno institutions, celebrates 32 years in 2023. Part history, part meditation on the club’s future, this new short film explores the wider implications for Berlin’s cultural landscape, as founder Dimitri Hegemann, like many others in the city, feels the pressures of rising gentrification and a precarious lease contract.

With Berlin’s real-estate market continuing to boil over, the current situation has inspired Hegemann to set up the Tresor Foundation, which aims to protect the presence of cultural and creative spaces in the centre of cities, preserving community access to these vital resources. Tresor: A Story of Survival was directed by Josiah McGarvie and produced by Emma Tracey, with support from the club commission.

Music (Courtesy of Tresor Records):
Shao – Reflection Pt.1
ES – The Road Less Travelled
Function – Distant Paradise
Surgeon – Oak Bank
Underworld – Born Slippy
Surgeon – Force & Form
Function – The Approach
Joey Beltram – Instant
Fireground – United

Director – Josiah McGarvie
Producer – Emma Tracey
Editors – Ida Bechtle, Cormac Dunne

Additional Footage:
Subberline, by Tillmann Künzel
Michael Andrawis

Thanks to:
Dimitri Hegemann
Laurens Von Oswald
Alan Oldham
Killa Schütze
Thomas Hoffman
Michael Andrawis
Tillman Künzel
Johanna Dahlroos
Scéal and Brisbane Documentary Company

H/T Resident Advisor.