Kleine Freiheit

The allotment gardens on the outskirts of the city of Zurich provide hundreds of unpropertied men and women with a home which they are unable to find in the impersonal rented blocks in which they live. The gardens represent their hobby, their freedom and their living space, which exists side by side with hard work. They cannot however own these "homes" and the film shows the chronicle of the events which took place in 1976 - 77 when construction of the Zurich wholesale market hall destroyed 150 gardens and made many people "homeless". This portrait of a group is complemented by the stories of three individuals: Franz Sailer, 65, has constructed the water supply of a small Swiss town and spends his free time building model steam engines. Alex Bruggmann, 42, is an unskilled labourer whose hobby is carving totem poles. His wife Trudy is a waitress whose hobby is her family. Bruno Giezendanner, 31, looks after a machinery workshop and has been the unbeaten Swiss champion in model aeroplane flying for the past 11 years.