ANIMATION
ALL THE WORLDS A STAGE
(Hannes Rall) 1.30Min 2016
An animated adaptation of the famous Shakespeare poem “All The World's A Stage”narrated by the renowned Shakespeare actor and director Samuel West (Royal Shakespeare Company).
COMPARTMENTS
(Daniella Koffler & Uli Seis) 15.00Min 2017
Netta, a young Israeli woman wishes to immigrate to Berlin. Her father, the son of Holocaust survivors, is horrified by her decision to live in the land that killed her ancestors. He refuses to speak to her again if she leaves. Based on Daniella Koffler’s personal story, “Compartments” is the first German-Israeli animation co-production that wishes to explore collective memories of the Holocaust in the third generation, and how they shape both sides in ways we cannot predict.
EDGE OF ALCHEMY
(Stacey Steers) 17.15Min 2017
In Edge of Alchemy the silent-era actors Mary Pickford and Janet Gaynor are seamlessly appropriated from their early films of the 1920's and cast into a surreal epic with an upending of the Frankenstein story and an undercurrent of hive collapse. Comprised of over 6000 handmade collages, Edge of Alchemy is the third in a trilogy looking at the psychological terrain of women’s inner worlds.
SOG
(Jonatan Schwenk) 10.14Min 2017
The dystopic drama “Sog” is about the cruel efforts of a people of humanlike creatures to lash out viciously against a shoal of fish that had unintentionally entered their desolated land.
UGLY
(Nikita Diakur) 11.54Min 2017
An ugly cat struggles to coexist in a fragmented and broken world, eventually finding a soulmate in a mystical chief. Inspired by the internet story ‘Ugly the Cat’.
SHORT DOCUMENTARY 9
AUSSEN FRIEDEN, INNEN KRIEG
(Katja Berls) 29.00Min 2017
More than 70 years after the end of WW2, Hilde and her surviving sister speak about their experiences of sexual and physical violence perpetrated against them and their sisters by soldiers during the war. This film speaks about and to the violence and trauma perpetrated against women and girls in war and crisis zones around the world,
both past and present, and its impact on women’s lives.
DEN HIMMEL BERÜHREN
(Rosa Baches) 25.00Min 2017
A Catalan who lives in Germany since 20 years and her daughter belong to the first catalan human-tower-group in Hamburg. She rediscovers her cultural identity and pass her roots on to her daughter. The events of Catalonia independence movement has been having a great effect on the human-tower-group in Hamburg.
DIE GOLDENE STUNDE
(Claudia Vogt) 21.41Min 2017
Just like every morning a man unlocks the school gates. Just like every morning he starts his day with a strong tea. But today Khalid the school janitor experiences everything differently. On his walk through the empty school grounds he learns more about the student's dreams, fears and memories than ever before. This documentary
draws a picture of our generation's children using their own voices to convey the messages they, themselves, deem necessary to tell. May this be their desire abundance and riches or their memories of a Syria that lays in shambles.
EXIT
(Katharina Woll) 23.30Min 2017
Exit is a film about two women who left the ultra-orthodox community. Sara Murray became ultra-orthodox at the age of 17 when she moved to Israel from the US and met her future husband. She lived a strong religious and dedicated life before she couldn´t handle the rigidness of her faith any more. Leaving the ultra-othodox world she lost all her children, who she can now only meet 2 hours a week in a day care center watched by Rabbinical social workers.
MAMA ICH HAB MIR DIE HAARE GEFÄRBT
(Maximilian Preisig) 15.22Min 2017
The director is searching for his own rebellion. He wants to have an adventure, break out, go wild. But… how can he be a rebel if his parents were punks, heavily involved in the scene back then, creating havoc with their bands? When he and his parents go on a journey to Italy, he is looking for answers in his own family.
SWIMMING IN GOLD
(Thomas Pagliaro) 12.47Min 2018
Qassem and Abdullah were children when their family fled Afghanistan in the 1980s, to arrive in Iran as refugees. Now after 30 years and with families of their own, Qassem is risking it all for a brighter future and waits in a refugee camp in Berlin, Germany. Abdullah remains behind in Iran to struggle on, choosing his family’s safety over the uncertainty of going to Europe. Both Qassem and Abdullah put family first, as they balance their desire for safety with the hope of giving their children the opportunities they never had.
THE SAD MONK
(Diana Frankovic)11.23Min 2016
In Western culture, when we find ourselves in crisis, it's natural to question our existence and the meaning of life. We are suffering; we want to change. Eastern philosophies, yoga and meditation are keys to happiness, or so preach the countless Western adherents of these far Eastern practices. Buddhism is one path to enlightenment. Following this path to Nepal we meet the young Tibetan buddhist monk, Tenzin, representative of a new generation, who is grappling with recognisable questions of modern life.
.
TOPOGRAPHIE EINER AUTOBAHNAUSFAHRT
(Oliver Gilch) 6.27Min 2017
Brightly colored business parks flourish at the connection points of German autobahns, to make life easier and nicer. This film screens a lightly satirical study about the change of our landscape.
WINTER IN LVIV
(Mayer Styrnol) 17.25Min 2017
„Winter in Lviv“ is a short-documentary about the situation of four Ukrainian women, trying to get by in a country that is struggling with an escalating conflict on the Eastern border as well as a heavy economic crisis.
MID-LENGTH DOCUMENTARY
HEIM
(Robert Schulzmann) 34.31Min 2017
A Russian-Jewish immigrant is searching for his Germaneness and wonders about why his family is celebrating Christmas with a stolen Christmas tree. An autobiographical soul-searching through suburban Germany.
HINTER DER MASKE
(Jutta Tränkle) 59.02Min 2017
Once a year, a whole small town in Southern Germany is losing its mind. Strange sounds like bear roar are heard from behind the corners. Figures in disguise dance around a large fire and punch others with pig's bladder. Is this “cage aux folles” an ancient tradition of a distant tribe? There you're mistaken. It is carnival in Black Forest in the heart of Europe. Some 1800km further south, in a small town in Sardinia, a similar old custom is being retained.
IMAGO KRZYSIA
(Adam Janisch, Barbara Janisch) 44.26Min 2017
KRZYSIA'S IMAGO is a film portrait of the polish performer, painter and educator Krzysztof Jung (1951-1998). The authors of the film – his godchildren – are trying to capture the phenomenon of Jung's personality, who fascinated people in his environment, through the passion he had for everything he did. What emerges is the picture of a highly creative and versatile artist with great sensitivity and awareness.
THE HAPPIEST MAN
(Jasmin Lord Gassmann) 55.00Min 2017
The story of a personal journey. A 24-year old woman flies from 2 Germany to Sydney, Australia, to portrait the 94-year-old Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku, who after more than thirty years of silence speaks to people from all walks of life about his experience. By sharing his life story, he transforms the pain of the past into joy and happiness and teaches especially younger generations how happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times.
THE NEW CITY DAS BUNTE DRESDEN
(Javier Sobremazas) 32.37Min 2017
In the last few years, Dresden (Germany) has got the reputation of a right wing extremists and conservative city, where PEGIDA demonstrates every Monday evening and refugees and foreigners feel sometimes “not welcome”. But there is another Dresden. The colourful one.
VALENTINA
(Maximilian Feldmann) 51.00Min 2016
A slum in a Romani neighbourhood. Ten-year-old Valentina invites us to meet her family. What follows are bizarre anecdotes, daydreams and documentary observations – a film as lively as its roaming heroine. “Do you want me to tell a story?“, Valentina asks. She is wearing army pants and a track-suit top. Her hair is wild with a tiny clip. She entrusts us with why she wasn’t born a boy, as it should have been.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
DER MENSCH IST EIN SCHÖNER GEDANKE
(Siegfried Ressel) 82.10Min 2017
What kind of societal relevance does a memorial place of a former concentration camp have 72 years after the end of the war? The historian Volkhard Knigge has been the director of the Buchenwald memorial foundation for the past 20 years. Time and again he reflects upon the meaning and significance of this place of remembrance.
The architect Karina Loos has described the buildings and facilities of the former concentration camp in terms of their functionality –these texts are read by Corinna Harfouch. An own cinematic level develops additionally, also due to her linguistic laconism, that illustrates how Weimar’s Ettersberg, “an ordinary place, turned into something murderous” (V. Knigge).
OHNE DIESE WELT
(Nora Fingscheidt) 110.15Min 2017
Argentina, 2016: in a remote desert 700 Mennonites of German origin lead 18thcentury lives without electricity, music, or any of the amenities modern life affords. But is it really conceivable to reject modernity altogether? Without This World captures the portrait of a tranquil, contemplative society caught between tradition and change.
OPEN LAND
(Oehri Primus) 90.00Min 2017
Amazingly authentic, the film Open Land offers an intimate portrait of it's protagonist, living jazz legend John Abercrombie. This wonderful encounter is as poetic and dense as his music. Open Land is a very personal portrait that gives an insight into the life and work of this outstanding artist.
YALLA KHARTOUM
(Leitzke Lamoth) 64.34Min 2016
Life as an artist is tough in Sudans buzzing capital Khartoum, esp. for women. Inside the safe boundaries of an intercultural exchange program, the participants develop concepts to overcome the archaic norms of society. A film about the power of creative expression that aims to serve as a peaceful catalyst for emancipation & social change.
EXPERIMENTAL 3
PEACOCK
(Açıkgöz) 13.02Min 2017
23 international artists, One master shot, An experimental & surreal movie. “There is nothing to lose except your MASKS!”
NARRATION
(Taube) 46.00Min 2017
NARRATION links issues of social relevance, such as the systematic exploitation of workers on arab building sites, with questions of awareness and the perception of (constructed) narratives in our everyday lives.
8DOPPELPUNKT30
(Laura Nasmyth, Philip Leitner) 70.21Min 2017
A group of door-to-door salesmen get a train to a mysterious suburb, one of which suddenly finds himself in what seems to be an infinite loop, as he continuously returns to the same train station over and over again. 8:30 is a satirical gag about urban dislocation, capitalism, and Google Street View, the weirdness of identikit suburbia, and
the blurring of lines between reality and fiction in the digital age.
SHORT NARRATIVE 1-30 Min
WIR SIND WIEDER DA
(Shirel Peleg) 7.13Min 2018
The current generation is trying to live life surrounded by ruins of the past. WE'RE BACK AGAIN depicts one exemplary situation the new generation of Jews experience when trying to build new life in Germany.
YOU'RE WELCOME
(Rebecca Panian) 9.00Min 2017
You want to drink your coffee peacefully but instead you end up in a situation where people start to stir up hatred against refugees – what do you do?
While waiting for her train in a café a young woman (Olivia) suddenly ends up in a situation where the barista chases away a begging girl and starts to stir up hatred against refugees with two customers. Olivia has to decide whether to simply leave the place like another customer does or to take action.
BEING SISTERS
(Eyzad Panah) 19.56Min 2017
Escape, and two sisters from Afghanistan. To reach the border quickly, Wajma und Hana follow three men who know a short cut. To keep little Hana motivated, Wajma acts out a fairytale, even “pizza” is being made in the woods…
CUBEMAN
(Linda Dombrovszky) 18.35Min 2017
An elderly man is unable to accept that he is made to retire and his life takes a dramatic turn, when he realises that he cannot finish the work of his life.
EUNA
(Seung-Hyun Chong) 18.45Min 2017
Meet Euna, a young woman, working in a factory, seeing friends, trying to come to grips with her life. But why is it that she seems to struggle so much and why do some folks behave so oddly, when she is around?
FOR A GOOD TIME
(Aemilia Scot) 20.00Min 2016
FOR A GOOD TIME is the story of Jane who, grieving over the loss of her mother, has a meltdown in a flower shop. Out of options and out of her mind, she decides to call a number written on the wall. The person who answers is the last one you’d expect, and just the one she needs.
FRÜHLINGSKINDER
(Zara Demet Altan) 15.54Min 2017
When a bomb strikes near the house, a Syrian family and their six children decide to flee from Homs. Together they make it to the longed-for escape boat, but the boat cannot accommodate everyone. The parents stay behind, three of the brothers and sisters flee via Turkey and Bulgaria, the others hope to reach the Italian coast by boat.
It is an escape under the most difficult conditions until all six of them meet again in a Berlin primary school in spring.
GIRL FACT
(Maël G. Lagadec) 16.28Min 2017
In the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, rape is used as a “weapon of war” for more than 15 years. Martha writes a teenage girl’s guide to surviving sex.
IRGENDWER
(Gadge) 14.30Min 2017
Germany, at the end of WWII. The Red Army fight for every inch of ground in the streets of the city. Greta and her family are hiding in a cellar hoping for mercy. Greta’s father, however, intuits for a very good reason that the Soviets will take brutal revenge. The short film “Irgendwer” (“Someone”) shows that a beginning is still possible, always and everywhere. The film is based on a true story.
SIGNATURE
(Kei Chikaura) 12.44Min 2017
An innocent young man from China is anxiously memorizing “his hope” in the middle of the noisy crowd in Shibuya (Tokyo, Japan). Something that might change his destiny awaits him.
THE LAST PARTY
(Angelucci) 18.25Min 2017
In the belief of being gay as a shameful sin, Jesus will prove how nothing could be more wrong during his last chance to admit who he truly is, in a journey into self-discovery, friendship and love.
DIE BESONDEREN FÄHIGKEITEN DES HERRN MAHLER
(Philipp)29.00 Min 2017
East Germany, 1987: The special investigator Mahler is said to have paranormal abilities. The police assigns him to solve the case of the 6-year-old Henry Kiefer, who is missing for weeks now, before this issue leads to political tensions with the West. But then he brings something to light that makes this family tragedy especially political…
DIE ÜBERSTELLUNG
(Grudsky) 22.24Min 2017
Erez, an Israeli commissioned officer, and two other soldiers have been ordered to transfer a prisoner to Megiddo prison. Along the way, a conflict arises that forces the young officer to surpass himself in order to solve the situation.
GESTRANDET
(Kai Sitter) 29.44Min 2018
Samira who fled from Syria, is known as impatient. She wants to leave her refugee hostel and probably even Munich to rebuild her life and find her place. She simply wants to be in charge of her own life. Why else did she move from the ruins of her native country?
HALIM
(Werner Fiedler) 30.00Min 2017
Elias is a shy boy who likes to talk to his bird rather than playing with other kids. When he meets the quirky artist Halim, a tender friendship develops between them but Elias’ mother does not approve. The unusual relationship comes to an abrupt end as Halim suddenly has to flee and it seems as though there is nothing Elias can do to help.
But the refugee has left the boy a valuable gift…
INDIAN
(Simonyi) 29.58Min 2016
Back in the late 70’s, somewhere behind the iron curtain, a young boy experiences the gloomy and strict life of a pioneer camp. Galambos, whose name means «pigeon», is a naive teenager, strongly influenced by his father’s fascination for Native Americans. His imaginary world contrasts with the reality of communist everydays. He is waiting for his father to return.
MIND YOUR BODY
(Engler) 22.21Min 2016
Jo is working as a trainer at the Fitness Company MIND YOUR BODY. His conciousness is slipping into the body of a customer and he is doing their sportsprogram for them. During this session Jo is not allowed to make any contact to the customer’s environment. Otherwise the exchange of conciousness could be disturbed.
NARRATIVE
THIS SIDE OF NOWHERE
(Schröter) 43.00Min 2016
„David, why do they want the people not to leave?“, “Because they are afraid”. A huge wall marks a borderline, but its original purpose is long forgotten. A country full of people who risk everything to survive. “This Side of Nowhere” is the fictional story of two siblings who are on the run and a border patrol soldier who prevents any escape attempts. The movie is about hopes and sacrifices of refugees and supporters of the
VERAS MANTEL
(Unterberger) 111.01Min 2017
Veras Mantel is about a successful writer who is prevented from leaving her house by agoraphobia. Sinister threats from a fan eventually lead to her uncovering the secret of her illness.
VOR LAUTER BÄUMEN
(Callisaya) 86.00Min 2017
Wood For The Trees is the story of Manuel, who like many others of his generation, despite the best circumstances and bright prospects for a fulfilled life, struggles to overcome what are supposed to be the best years of his life.