The Empty Plan examines the political and aesthetic dimensions of the work of Bertolt Brecht and the relationship between theory and practice, art and revolution. Co-supported by City Projects

Reconstructing four productions of his play, Die Mutter, from Weimar Germany to the GDR, and contrasting these with scenes from Brecht's exile in Los Angeles during the 1940s, the film traces the changing context for his work, as theatre is superseded by cinema and the revolutionary movements that informed Brecht are destroyed and betrayed.

The film deploys improvisation, documentary and cinematic modes and was shot in Los Angeles and in historic theatre locations in London and Southend.

Producer - Kate Parker from City Projects
Camera - Matthew Noel-Tod
Editor - Anja Kirschner and David Panos