HOW IT STARTED

In January 2000 I bought a digital video camera, somewhere in one of those huge and crazy malls for electronic goods in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. That is, where this project started. From that day on I almost always had my camera with me. I took it to bars, parties at friends houses, gallery openings, subways and concerts. From Potsdammer Platz in Berlin to the bathroom of a bar in New York City, after a punk rock concert. And pretty much all the people I got to know during those months, had a story to tell, or something to say about my topic: alcohol.

ALL ABOUT ALCOHOL

I collected stories of people getting arrested for various reasons (peeing, drinking, robbery) in various cities. I learned to understand the habits of young people in Finland on saturday evenings, and how you should not treat a rabbit with a cold.

WHY ALCOHOL?

"Why did you choose this topic?" - was a common question. There are a number of reasons, why alcohol seemes to be so interesting for me.

I have my own experience. I grew up in Bavaria. Bavaria is famous for its beer drinking culture.

I am still undecided about alcohol. Is it good or is it bad?

Everyone has an opinion. Everyone has something to say about it.

Alcohol is part of many cultures. Having people talk about alcohol is having them talk about themselves.

Everybody is on something, Victoria said.

FOOTAGE

I used different sources for my material. Most of the material I shot myself, but I also had help from other people such as Ralf Jesse, who did the second camera when we filmed the Jim-Avignon-vodka-concert. I also used TV footage. Another great source for video footage was the American National Council on Alcoholism in New York City. They were very helpful and provided me a great variety of anti alcohol and drug TV advertisements.

THE TITLE

The expression [korsakow syndrome] is a medical term, which describes a serious brain damage. It is a damage of the short time memory, which is typical for very heavy alcohol abusers. Korsakow Syndrome patients often compensate their lack of memory with an outstanding story telling talent. It is the link of alcohol and story telling which gave me the idea to borrow this expression. Also I think it fits quite well to the way in which this interactive database narration works.