By Michael LaFond In the middle of a city of millions sits an autonomous region of 65,000 square feet. It's both urban village and neighborhood center, with cafes, schools, clinics, a children's farm, theaters, alternative cinemas, innovative ecological p~ojects, model community self-help programs, ' and housing for 60 residents and 40 visitors. It's also an international cultural and s'ocial attraction, drawing 300,000 people a.year with its festivals, performing groups, and circus troupes. UFA Fabrik is Berlin's premier multicultural experiment in living, working and laughing together. From seven people in 1972, the Fabrik eommune has grown into an adventurous extended family of musicians, dancers, acrobats, clowns, Page 8 RAIN Summer 1994 Volume XIV, Number 4 craftspersons and other artists. The members pnde themselves in being as diverse as the larger world around them. They are a "free" commune in that they have no particular set of beliefs or religion. They come together to explore alt~rnatives and help . build an active culture: As German news fills.with neo-Nazis, failing economies and dying forests, it's good to see the UFA folks succeed. They work well, cooperatively and with a sense of humor. These grounds have seen less tolerant times. In 1917, they became the UFA film studios, Universal Film AG. The company produced German propaganda during World War I and II. In peacetime, movies for profit and entertainment replaced those for patriots. In the 1920s, during Berlin's heady experimental years,
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