Watch the film in German right here:
I’m sharing the film “Ada & Zangemann” by the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE).
This film is an Open Educational Resource (OER) and released under the Creative Commons License (CC BY-SA 4.0 International).
ℹ️ License Info (CC BY-SA 4.0)
“Ada & Zangemann – The Movie”
by the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE)
is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Source: https://ada.fsfe.org/movie</_
Plot Summary: Ada & Zangemann – A Fairytale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream
“Ada und Zangemann – Ein Märchen über Software, Skateboards und Himbeereis” is a children’s book written by Carla Diana, with illustrations by Manuel Sumberac (German edition published by O’Reilly Verlag). It’s a techie fable packed with themes like open source, digital freedom, and the power of hacking for good. Here’s a nerd-approved synopsis:
⚙️ The Story
In a fictional world not too unlike ours, a powerful inventor named Zangemann builds high-tech gadgets: tablets, toys, home robots – all super cool… but with a catch. They’re locked down. No customization, no mods, no fun. Basically, proprietary dystopia.
Enter Ada, a brilliant and curious girl with a soldering iron in one hand and a Raspberry Pi in the other. She loves tinkering, reverse-engineering, and understanding how things work. But Zangemann’s gadgets are black boxes – no root access allowed.
So Ada dives deep into the world of free software, open hardware, and the hacker mindset. She learns to code, hacks her own devices, and soon inspires other kids to join her. Together, they start building a community of makers, modders, and freedom-loving nerds. A digital rebellion is born.
Eventually, even the stubborn Zangemann realizes that collaboration and openness lead to cooler inventions than control and restrictions ever could.
🎯 Core Themes
- Digital Autonomy – Be the root user of your own life!
- Free Software & Open Source – Fork it, tweak it, share it.
- Tech as a Creative Playground – Not just consumption, but creation.
- Power to the Users – Especially the little ones with big ideas.
- Breaking Corporate Locks – One line of Python at a time.
👧🏽👦🏼 For Kids & Curious Adults
This story is perfect for kids aged 6 to 99. It’s whimsical enough for bedtime, yet deep enough to make any Linux user nod in solemn agreement. Plus, it was inspired by the legendary Richard Stallman himself – father of GNU, guru of free software, and wearer of epic beards.
In short: this tale is a love letter to hacking, sharing, and thinking outside the sandbox. Whether you’re raising a future dev or rediscovering your own inner geek, Ada & Zangemann is a delightful, empowering story that belongs on every shelf – analog or digital.