Based on the Low German novel “De Strunz” from 1902, the short film western, which is set in the Münsterland region at the end of the 19th century, focuses on the mining of the mineral strontianite, which in the 1870s also triggered gold rush-like conditions in parts of Westphalia. The short film was produced by the film collective “wenndienaturnichwill” in co-production with the LWL Media Centre for Westphalia. After several public screenings, the Westphalian western can now be seen on the YouTube channel “Westfalen im Film” (see below).
Production:
wenndienaturnichwill
The short film was shown as part of the Westfalen Connection at the Münster 2023 film festival.
The story is centred on the strontianite rush, which briefly caused an economic boom in the region at the end of the 19th century. The white mineral was used in the extraction of sugar from molasses, which was far from affordable for all sections of the population at the time. As a result, numerous small to medium-sized mines were formed in the Münsterland region, which extracted and sold strontianite. However, this “boom” did not last long, as other methods of sugar extraction became established shortly afterwards. The strontianite frenzy came to an end after around ten years.