When Charlie Chaplin’s film “The Kid” hit German cinemas in 1923, the country had reached a high point in inflation, and child poverty had grown out of proportion – certainly one of the reasons why Chaplin’s story of a down-and-out tramp who adopts an abandoned child, facing the hardships of life together with him, was such a success: “Because this film appeals to our primeval instincts; because the protagonist needs to win in a world where only remnants of civilization persist. Because we observe someone who has overcome the odds: although he is a member of the underclass, he does everything in his power to triumph.” Kurt Tucholsky described the film’s charm with those words in a review for the Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. This year, in collaboration with the Lichtburg cinema in Essen, we present Chaplin’s silent film in an exclusive performance featuring music improvised live at the piano by the fantastic all-round talent Helge Schneider. This wonderful humorist, actor and multi-instrumentalist is Chaplin’s kindred spirit: Tucholsky’s description of Chaplin could also apply to Schneider. “Like all great comedians, he is a philosopher. And he shows how ridiculous it is to be an adult when we take ourselves too seriously. Don’t miss this film. You will die laughing, and for that laughter you will be grateful the rest of your life!”