PROGRAMME FOR ENGLISH-SPEAKING AUDIENCES

Germany, Spain 2021 | fiction | colour | 95 min. | German, English, Spanish with English subtitles | world premiere

Director, screenwriter, cinematographer: André Szardenings
Editor: Antonia-Marleen Klein
Music: NOIA (Eduardo Noya Schreus)
Sound: Lukas Rabl
Producers: Katharina Kolleczek, Lea Neu, kalekone film, Julius Nitschkoff
Production: ifs internationale filmschule köln
Cast: Julius Nitschkoff, Lana Cooper, Karin Hanczewski, Moritz Führmann, Zoe Trommler

For as long as 21-year-old Bruno can remember, there has only been him and the unconditional love of his mother Toni, who is 15 years older. Nothing else seems to find room in the chaotic life of the two. It is only when Hannah, Toni's new partner, moves into the bungalow they share in Spain that Bruno is in danger of losing his mother's essential love. Displaced from the bed they share, Bruno must realize that his previous sense of responsibility for Toni, is a greater burden for him than he thought.  Faced with the decision between his own life and the suffocating relationship with his mother, Bruno realizes that this will be the first decision he has to make on his own...

You can purchase and watch the film here.

Germany, Netherlands 2021 | fiction | colour | 92 min. | English with German subtitles | German premiere

Director: Marten Persiel
Screenwriter: Marten Persiel, Aisha Prigann
Cinematographer: Felix Leiberg
Editor: Maxine Goedicke, Bobby Good
Music: Gary Marlowe
Sound: Jos ten Klooster, Marten Negenman
Producers: Katharina Bergfeld, Martin Heisler
Production: Flare Film
Cast: Noah Saavedra, Jessamine-Bliss Bell, Paul G. Raymond, Wim Wenders, Markus Imhoof

In a dystopian 2054, three young rebels go on a journey to find traces of the long lost beauty of nature, hoping to discover what happened to their planet. The answer lies in the past and when they find the key to a decade – the 2020s – when a colourful future was still possible, everything changes. In this unusual road movie, fiction meets scientific fact to explore the most pressing question of our time: extinction.

You can purchase and watch the film here.

Germany, Spain 2022 | fiction | colour | 80 min. | German, English with English subtitles| world premiere

Director, screenwriter: Roman Toulany
Cinematographer: Constantin Campean
Editor: Roman Toulany, Constantin Campean
Music: Lukas Mayfloor, Jonas Lechenmayr
Sound: Jonas Lechenmayr, Kai Unger
Producers: Roman Toulany, Constantin Campean, Pit Bukowski
Cast: Salber Lee Williams, Pit Bukowski, Timo Fakhravar, Carmen Molinar

A cab stops in a quiet island panorama. A young woman gets out, the cab driver speeds away. She notices that the streets are deserted. Not a soul, not a sound. The cityscape seems lifeless, the stores are mute. Her walking steps echoe between the empty hotels and houses. Her calls remain unanswered, only a few distant birds answer - until a hand touches her shoulder. 

A young man stands in front of her, with an innocent look and a knife in his hand. He just wants money, nothing else. A mysterious secret surrounds him, just like the island. And like the island, he gives no explanation. 

Just like the ominous cab driver who brought the woman here. They guard a secret that the young vacationer discovers when she encounters a motherly woman who is open to her concerns and welcome her with open arms. 

You can purchase and watch the film here.

Germany 2021 | fiction | colour | 85 min. | German, English with English subtitles | German premiere

Director, screenwriter: Zora Rux
Cinematographer: Jesse Mazuch
Editor: Zora Rux, Kalle Boman, Henning Stöve, Martin Herold
Music: Ben Roessler, Mister Milano, Jonathan Ritzel
Sound: Robert Hefter
Producers: Leonie Minor, Roxana Richters, Fred Burle
Production: Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB)
Cast: Elisa Plüss, Thomas Fränzel, Sebastian Schneider, Judith van der Werff, Lola Klamroth and others

Completely overwhelmed by her boyfriend Julian proposing to her, Marie escapes to the countryside in order to collect her thoughts. But instead of finding peace, she is blindsided by her personified thoughts, her "thought people". Be it her mother listing baby names, a melancholic poetry-composing lady in a sari, or her ex-boyfriend climbing from trees – everyone is talking to her incessantly. Things get really complicated when Julian shows up - with his own "thought people" in tow. ICH ICH ICH is a surrealistic story that coherently and humorously explores the resilience of a relationship and the pursuit of the true self.

You can purchase and watch the film here.

Germany 2022 | fiction | colour | 97 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiere

Directors, screenwriters, producers: Paula Knüpling, Marina Prados
Cinematographer: Paul Holdsworth
Editor: Aletta von Vietinghoff
Music: Fee Aviv Marschall
Sound: Jona Hamann
Production: Ladybitches Productions
Cast: Celine Meral, Christoph Gawenda, Benny Claessens, Asad Schwarz, Luisa-Céline Gaffron

Ela, a young actress, gets a role with the well-known theatre director Franz Kramer. The production is a great opportunity for Ela, but also comes with pressure. Kramer constantly oversteps Ela’s boundaries, and the situation worsens when Kramer sexually harasses her. Ela struggles to reconstruct her role as a self-confident character—and realizes that in order to do so, she has to take the same steps of self-empowerment in her real life.

You can purchase and watch the film here

Austria, France, Belgium, Taiwan 2021| fiction | colour | 120 min. | Mandarin with English subtitles| German premiere

Director, screenwriter: C.B. Yi
Cinematographer: Jean-Louis Vialard
Editor: Dieter Pichler
Music, sound: Yun Xie-Loussignian
Producer: Barbara Pichler, Gabriele Kranzelbinder, Guillaume de la Boulaye, André Logie, Patrick Mao Huang
Production: KGP FilmProduction
Cast: Kai Ko, Chloe Maayan, Yufan Bai, JC Lin

Fei makes a living in the big city working as a Moneyboy. His world collapses when he realizes that his family accepts his money but not his homosexuality. Broken-hearted, Fei struggles to create a new beginning in his life.

You can purchase and watch the film here.

Austria 2022 | fiction | colour | 76 min. | Austrian German with English subtitles | world premiere

Director, screenwriter: Elena Wolff
Cinematographer: Vivian Bausch, Ella Knorz
Editor, producer: Julia Windischbauer
Music: SALÒ, Annika Stein, KUOKO
Sound: Lukas Benedicic
Cast: Julia Windischbauer, Elena Wolff, Selina Graf, Melanie Sidhu

Jasmin and Lee have been lovers for three years. When they decide to go on a hiatus in Lee’s mother’s home on the Austrian countryside, they are accompanied by their friend and documentary filmmaker Amira, who wants to capture queer love for her graduation film. Soon Amira falls under the unequal couple’s spell and through her presence exposes what has been hidden.

You can purchase and watch the film here.

Germany 2022 | fiction | colour | 84 min. | German, Austrian German with English subtitles | world premiere

Directors: Genia Leis, Gerald Sommerauer
Screenwriter: Isabella Oliveira Parise Kröger
Cinematographer: Francisco MeCe
Editor: Jonatán Loerincz
Music: Andor Sperling
Sound: Nuno Barroso
Producers: Andrea Bautista, Gerald Sommerauer, Genia Leis
Production: Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB)
Cast: Sofia Falsone, Lorenz Klee, Thomas Sommerauer, Rainer Spechtl, Sophia Burtscher

The young, ambitious Eva came to Vienna from Germany to study architecture. At the end of her studies she begins an internship in the office of the influential architect Andreas Hummel. Her everyday life now revolves around designing an art park, and in the process she gets to know the hierarchies of a male-dominated workplace. She observes the dynamics between the architects and gradually becomes part of the subtle power games.

As the time elapses, she understands that she should correspond to an image that her environment makes of her: to be a young and available woman. Eva is confronted with the power and scope of this ascription and is forced to define her position clearly.

You can purchase and watch the film here.

Switzerland 2021 | fiction | color | 110 min. | Swiss German, French, Japanese with English subtitles| German premiere

Director, screenwriter: Lorenz Merz
Cinematographers: Fabian Kimoto, Lorenz Merz
Editors: Lorenz Merz, Noemi Preiswerk
Music: Fatima Dunn, Julian Sartorius, Laszlo Ovlinksy
Sound: Patrick Becker, Oscar van Hoogevest, Lorenz Merz, Manu Gerber
Producer: Simon Hesse
Production: Hesse Film
Cast: Pablo Caprez, Art Bllaca, Ella Rumpf, Tonatiuh Radzi, Luna Wedler and others

In a delirious summer rush, teenage father Gabriel falls in love with enigmatic Corey, the girlfriend of his best friend Joel. Overwhelmed with the decision of his life Gabriel is catapulted into the unforgiving wilderness of his heart, where imagination is more real than reality.

You can purchase and watch the film here.

Germany 2021 | fiction | colour | 90 min. | German, Finnish, English with English subtitles | German premiere

Director: Laura Lehmus
Screenwriter: Ruth Toma
Cinematographer: Anne Bolick
Editor: Andreas Menn
Music: Boris Goltz
Sound: Claudio Demel
Producers: Markus Kaatsch , Nina Poschinski, Michael Grudsky, Christian Becker, Oliver Schwabe, Laura Lehmus, Eva Habermann, Margarita Amineva
Production: Zeitgeist FilmProduction
Cast: Friederike Kempter, Lena Urzendowsky, Florian Lukas, Mareile Blendl, Lasse Myhr and others

Frida unexpectedly falls pregnant and Felix, the father of her child, breaks up with her to re-unite with his ex. Although some serious health problems caused by the late pregnancy force Frida to rest, she still tries to get Felix back, using methods which are absurd, exaggerated and sometimes hilarious.

You can purchase and watch the film here.

Germany 2022 | documentary | colour | 94 min. | German with English subtitles| world premiere

Director: Uli Decker
Screenwriters: Uli Decker, Rita Bakacs
Cinematographer: Siri Klug
Editors: Amparo Mejías, Frank Müller
Music: Anna Kühlein
Sound: Philip Hutter, Ludwig Fiedler, Jannik Flieger, Silvio Reichenbach
Producers: Katharina Bergfeld, Martin Heisler, Isis Struiksma, Nadja Smith
Production: Flare Film

Little Uli wants to become a pirate or the Pope, but in no way does she want to fit into the role stereotypes of her Bavarian village. After her father dies, her mother hands her his "secret" box as an inheritance. The contents suddenly change her view of her father, herself, her family and the society in which she grew up.

A true story about family secrets, gender roles and a childhood in the Bavarian province - told as a tragic-comic rollercoaster ride through animated and documentary images.

You can purchase and watch the film here.

Germany, DR Kongo, Austria 2022 | documentary | colour | 77 min. | German, French, English, Lingala, Mashi, Swahili with English subtitles | World premiere

Directors: Jan-Christoph Gockel, TD Jack Mahamba Muhindo
Screenwriters: Jan-Christoph Gockel, Yves Ndagano
Cinematographers: TD Jack Mahamba Muhindo, Eike Zuleeg
Editor: Christoph Otto
Music: Matthias Grübel
Sound: Tavis Jean-Batiste
Producers: Jan-Christoph Gockel, Kathrin K. Liess
Production: peaches&rooster

Yves Ndagano is a former child soldier and coltan miner from the east of DR Congo. For COLTAN FEVER: CONNECTING PEOPLE, he travels back to the places of his childhood to recapture his traumatic past. Ndagano meets his kidnappers, he returns to the coltan mine and even to the place where he was forced to become a murderer. He tries to uncover the connection between his fate and the global trade in raw materials. Finally, he confronts his family, who had rejected him for years. Then, during filming, the volcano Nyiragongo erupts.

You can purchase and watch the film here.

Switzerland 2021 | documentary | colour | 80 min. | Swiss German, French, Italian with English subtitles | German premiere

Directors, screenwriters: Camille Budin, Jela Hasler, Annie Gisler, Thaïs Odermatt, Wendy Pillonel, Anna Thommen
Cinematographer: Gabriela Betschart
Editor: Anja Bombelli
Music: Adrian Pfisterer
Sound: Salomé Wüllner
Producers: Judith Lichtneckert, Liliane Ott
Production: Emilia Productions

50 years after the introduction of women's suffrage in Switzerland, the issue of equality is far from settled. In this collective documentary project, six filmmakers delve into the everyday lives of six women from different professional backgrounds and explore what it means to be a woman in today's Switzerland.

A retiree in Lugano struggles to make ends meet with her meagre pension and finds herself falling in love anew. A woman from South America fights to become a nursing specialist while working in a canteen. A professor in Lausanne juggles her career and raising her three children. An opera singer in Zurich is confronted with stereotypical gender roles in her professional world, while her partner manages the household of the family of four. In Geneva, a student takes the liberty of exploring her sexuality in a non-binary way, and a schoolgirl questions gender stereotypes in her everyday life.

Alternating glimpses into the lives of these "everyday heroines" show how the protagonists consciously resist role attributions and fight for their personal goals against social barriers.

You can purchase and watch the film here.

Germany 2022 | documentary | colour | 95 min. | German with English subtitles | World premiere

Director: Eric Esser
Screenwriter: Eric Esser, Evelyn Rack
Cinematographer: Julia Geiß, Florian Baumgarten
Editor: Evelyn Rack
Sound: Hannes Richter, Billie Jagodzinska, Ludwig Peter Müller
Producers: Eric Esser, Simon Stein, Isabell Wackers
Production: Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF                                           

A family treasure of photo albums and home movies reveals a swastika pinned on the beloved grandfather’s lapel in a clip from the 1940s. How does a symbol that stands for millions of murders change the way we view a loved one? How much do we know about our grandparents, and how can archival material unravel a puzzle of memories, photos, footage, and family narratives? A documentary about a personal struggle with memory in which family stories meet history.

You can purchase and watch the film here.

NEVERINLAND
Austria 2022 | fiction | colour | 45 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiere

Director, screenwriter, editor, producer: Fatih Gürsoy
Cinematographer: Lennart Hüper
Music: Shirin Majd
Sound: Igor Frntic
Cast: Zaman Kahn Shahin, Alireza Noduschani, Barıs¸ Bilen, Mflinge Nyalsui, Jörg Bergen

Four refugees are waiting in their accommodation for their asylum decision in Vienna. One evening, one of the residents is invited to a costume party. While searching for their Neverland, the four men dress up - "Everyone can be who they want to be" - but the party turns out to be a letdown and so they wander through the city. Especially Mohammed shows courage towards living his true identity.

 

ME MYSELF ANDI
Germany 2022 | fiction | colour | 43 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiere

Director, screenwriter, producer: Lili Zahavi
Cinematographer: Maciej Rolbiecki
Editor: Michel Linzer
Music: Frederic Hellmann
Sound: Frederic Hellmann, Paul Powaljaew
Production: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Cast: Lisa A., Burak Yigit, Julian S.

Lisa is in her 14th semester of studying to be a teacher. She’s been trying to write her bachelor’s thesis for years. So we make a deal—to document her progress on film. It will help her structure herself and to keep her eye on the goal. Then it should definitely be manageable in six weeks! But it’s summer, it’s hot and she has to take care of her dog and her plants and yet again her mother has gone missing for months. Her circle of friends insists she must relax - no one functions under pressure - and Lisa gets carried away by the endless possibilities of procrastination. The intended documentation of progress turns into a kaleidoscope of inner conflicts.

You can purchase and watch the film here.

MATRATZEN
Germany 2022 | fiction | colour | 36 min. | German, Korean with English subtitles | world premiere

Director, editor: Florian Schmitz
Screenwriters: Thomas Empl, Florian Schmitz
Cinematographer: Martin Paret
Music: Benedikt Schmitz
Sound: Sophie Menacher, Torsten Büttner
Producers: Florian Schmitz,Thomas Empl, Sophia Lorena Gamboa, Julia von dem Berge
Production: Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln (KHM)
Cast: Timo Kählert, Sandrine Zenner, Recai Hallaç, So Won Lee, Gu Sim Chang

It’s so difficult for him to get into the day. „Leutnant“ no longer manages to get up in the morning: a man who has lost something, a man suffering from transcendental homelessness. What do they think of him – the others, the teacher Alba, his colleagues? He keeps ordering new mattresses, sending the old ones back. One day, the carrier enters Leutnant's apartment.

 

BRISE
Austria 2022 | fiction | colour | 26 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiere

Director, screenwriter: Anna Lehner
Cinematographer: Paul Sprinz
Editor: Julia Willi
Sound: Ines Vorreiter, Flora Rajakowitsch, Lenka Mikulowa
Producer: Catrin Freundlinge
Cast: Alexandra Schmidt, Berta Kammer, Michael Mayr, Karoline Bergmair

College student Flora goes home for the weekend to celebrate her mother’s birthday. While she helps her grandma in the kitchen, witnesses her teenage brother’s life and listens to the conversations at the party, she slowly begins to rethink her priorities.


STÖRENFRIEDA
Germany 2022 | fiction | colour | 26 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiere

Director: Alina Yklymova
Screenwriter: Lisa Brunke
Cinematographer: Christian Neuberger
Editor: Lukas Wengorz
Music: Maximilian Schieder
Sound: Henrike Sommer, Maximilian Schieder
Producers: Jana Klingseisen, Paul Hartmann
Production: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Cast: Katharina Abel, Massiamy Diaby, Thomas Krutmann

In the Ruhrpott, the couple AVA and SASCHA run the FLINT* pub STÖRENFRIEDA. A project of their hearts that serves as a safer space for the community but also as a home for the couple. This closed world enters Ava’s father GUNTER, a former miner who needs a place to stay for a couple of weeks. Based on this loaded constellation, the film depicts the inclusivity and exclusivity of safer spaces and critically examines supposedly feminine and masculine spaces.

You can purchase and watch the films here.

STEH AUF DU SAU!
Austria 2022 | fiction | color | 31 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiereDirector: Florian Moses Bayer

Screenwriters: Florian Moses Bayer, Marie Luise Lehner
Cinematographer: Maximilian Smoliner
Editor: Lea Sorgo
Music: Fabian Bachleitner
Sound: Jón Geirfinnsón, Flora Rajakowitsch, Alex Siegl, Sophie Wasserburger
Producer: Caroline Liebhart
Production: Filmakademie Wien
Cast: Laurin Saied, Antonia Baumgartner, Felix Oitzinger, Suse Lichtenberger, Thomas Mraz, Christian Strasser; Casting: Saskia Arth

Gery makes the leap from the youth soccer team to the testosterone-overloaded combat team. He is pushed into desired futures from all sides - he tries to meet all of them without knowing what he actually wants himself.

 

ALLE GLAUBEN FEST DARAN
Germany 2022 | fiction | colour | 30 min. | German, Turkish with English subtitles | world premiere

Director, screenwriter, editor: Övünç Baran Güvenışık
Cinematographer: Paul Maximilian Näther
Sound: Hans Christian Paul, David Gómez
Producers: Övünç Baran Güvenışık, Simona Kostova, Ceylan Ataman Checa, Jörg Daniel
Production: Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB)
Cast: Tolgahan Kaftan, Alfred Hartung, Sercan Bilinç Güvenışık, Güneş Arslan, Yadigar Uzun, Alexander Gregor

Disillusioned and in search of a secure foundation of life, the late thirties Tolga visits his hometown and finds himself in the kitchens and living rooms of his shattered family presence. He stoically counters the subtle attempts of others to include him in their own unavoidable concepts of life. But gradually a feeling of rootedness spreads in him...

You can purchase and watch the film here.

UNTER DER WELLE
Germany 2022 | fiction | colour | 39 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiere

Director, screenwriter: Veronika Hafner
Cinematographer: Holger Jungnickel
Editor: Nanette Foh
Music: Michael Lauterbach
Sound: Andreas Goldbrunner
Producers: Natalie Hölzel, Sandra Hölzel
Production: Elfenholz Film
Cast: Sidonie von Krosigk, Nicole Marischka, Isabella Wolf, Thomas Lettow, Vanessa Eckart

Louise (28) and her team are on a team-building course in a secluded retreat, led by Yin-Yoga coach Verena (48). However, what begins in a feel-good atmosphere increasingly becomes a compulsion to disclose their innermost fears and issues. One after the other, the participants share their traumatic memories during the exercises, hoping to free themselves from their past and thus perform better in their job. Despite being pressured by Verena, Louise struggles to follow suit and becomes more and more of an outsider.

 

SPIT
Germany 2021 | fiction | colour | 27 min. | German with English subtitles | German premiere

Director, screenwriter: Sarah Miro Fischer
Cinematographers: Selma von Polheim Gravesen
Editors: Sarah Miro Fischer, Selma von Polheim Gravesen
Music: Steve O'Connor
Sound: Nils Plambeck
Producer: Maximilian Seidel
Production: Rudel Film
Cast: Malaya Stern Takeda, Aram Tafreshian

One morning Livia wakes up, with a violent phantasy about a man physically abusing her. When her friends take her for a night out, she has various encounters with different men. She feels that she needs to fight for her ability to be touched and tries to understand, where the border between passion and violence lies.

MÆRE
Germany 2022 | fiction | colour | 30 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiere

Directors: Lisa Reich, Josef Zeller
Screenwriters: Maya Duftschmid, Lisa Reich, Josef Zeller
Cinematographer: Felix Riedelsheimer
Editors: Gesa Jäger, Jessica Rudolph
Music: David Reichelt, Tim Engelhard
Sound: David Benke, Dominic Titus, Fabian Krebs
Producers: Tanja Schmidbauer, Andreas Schmidbauer, Michaela Mederer
Production: Schmidbauer-Film, Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München (HFF)
Cast: Lina Schuldeis, Lisa Schuldeis, Lynn Kremer, Liliane Amuat, Jonas Brachmann, Marisa Growaldt

Whenever Rosa (11) is left alone by her mother Nicole (27), she gets haunted by an ominous, shadowlike creature. One day, Rosa’s friend Sophie (11) stays over and Nicole sneaks out to spend the night with her lover. The next day her mother is still nowhere to be seen. Now faced with her biggest fear, Rosa begins to realize that the creature is far more than a harmless childhood fantasy.

You can purchase and watch the films here.

FLUFFY TALES
Germany 2021 | fiction | colour | 15 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiere

Director, screenwriter: Alison Kuhn
Cinematographer: Antonia Pepita Giesler
Editor: Eva Geib
Sound: Larissa Kischk
Producers: Sarah Dreyer, Laura Zeuch
Production: Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF
Cast: Alexandra Sagurna, Hyun Wanner, Nadine Dubois, Lorenz Krieger, Anne Thoemmes

Model Ella was booked for the advertising campaign of a new brand of dog food. Because her animal colleague acts unprofessionally at the photo shoot, the photographer and the client decide for Ella to take on its role. Before realizing what is happening, she finds herself on all fours, looking into the relentless flashlight.

 

ABSPRUNG
Austria 2022 | fiction | colour | 23 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiere

Director, screenwriter: Valentin Badura
Cinematographer: Patrick Wally
Editor: Andreas Moser
Sound: Tobias Drechsler, Chris Kuchner
Producer: Chris Dohr
Cast: Sebastian Wendelin, Werner Aljoscha Wultsch, Julia Koch

In order to dissolve the deceased grandfather's household, Philipp and his father set off for their place of origin, Eisenerz. What Philipp initially wants to get over quickly turns out to be a journey into a past that lives on.

 

VOTE!
Austria 2022 | fiction | colour | 20 min. | without dialogue | world premiere

Director, screenwriter: Lisa Hasenhütl
Cinematographer: Bernhard Schlick
Editor: Moritz Stieber
Music: Angel Vassilev
Sound: Ken Rischard
Producers: Victoria Herbig, Lisa Hasenhütl
Production: Filmakademie Wien
Cast: Felix Kreutzer, Anna Suk, Markus Schleinzer

It was her voice that made him want to stay. Only first he has to win everyone’s vote. Downvoted by the community a young man learns how to play by the rules of a bizarr jazz club, lobby to the top and all for love and glory. Yet can one persevere in society without losing one's soul?

 

ÜBER WASSER
Switzerland 2021 | fiction | colour | 12 min. | German, Swiss German with English subtitles | German premiere

Director, screenwriter: Jela Hasler
Cinematographer: Andi Widmer
Editor: Florian Geisseler
Music: Pest Control
Sound: Mourad Keller
Producers: Olivier Zobrist, Anne-Catherine Lang
Production: Langfilm
Cast: Sofia Elena Borsani

A city, in summer. The morning coolness in the river does not last long, the heat covers the city like a magnifying glass under which supposedly trivial everyday nuisances suddenly take on weight. Eli tries to escape the narrowness and agitation of the city – yet keeps being confronted with aggression. And her rage starts to build up.

You can purchase and watch the films here.

ZEITPUNKT X
Germany 2022 | fiction | colour | 24 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiere

Director: Simon Schneider
Screenwriters: Simon Schneider, Dario Haramustek
Cinematographer: Martina Di Lorenzo
Editor, Sound: Tim Egner
Music: Hannes Bieber
Producer: Franziska Wieden
Production: ifs internationale filmschule köln
Cast: Cornelius Schwalm, Annekathrin Bach, Theresa Berlage, Stephan Benson, Marc Fischer, Hanna Werth

A nearly finished construction site. The wiring is completed, the walls are painted, the final inspections are being done. The construction manager Thomas Zetzsche is proud of his achievement. The prestigious building he created is a modern dream come true. But suddenly that dream begins to crumble as more and more defects appear. Cables run into dead ends, the fire protection malfunctions and entire rooms go missing. Desperately Thomas is trying to fix the building until he finally accepts that the opening date has to be postponed. Now he must confront his own responsibility in this faulty system and draw the necessary consequences.
 

ZAUN
Denmark, Germany 2021 | fiction | colour | 12 min. | Danish, Swedish with English subtitles | German premiere

International title: HEGN
Director, screenwriter: Hilke Rönnfeldt
Cinematographer: Roxana Reiss
Editor: Matilda Henningsson
Music: Julius Pollux Rothlaender, Sigurlaug Thorarensen
Sound: Diana Queiros
Producer: Asta Stuhr
Production: Astar Film
Cast: Lisa Carlehed, Emilie Claudius Kruse

A fence is built between Denmark and Germany to separate wild boars from domestic farm pigs, to avoid the spreading of a deadly swine influenza. Ebba wakes, just an arm length away from her girlfriend Jona, the reminiscence of her dream about separation and a longing for unity takes its toll on them.
 

RETURN
Germany 2022 | fiction | colour | 16 min. | Arabic, Syriac with English subtitles | world premiere

Director, screenwriter: Ghiath Al Mhitawi
Cinematographer: Laura Titze
Editor: Juliano Castro
Sound: Moataz Al Qammari
Producers: Lukas Koll, Sebastian Herbst
Cast: Ahmad Kiki, Amal Omran

Damascus in spring 2013. The Syrian soldier Husam is visiting his family. He enjoys his mother's company and food. But he needs to get something off his chest. He wants to tell his mother what he really feels: the people that he is fighting for are corrupt and criminal. He is afraid of death and wants to escape military service. His mother, however, insists on portraying him as a hero fighting for his country and his family's honour.
 

NICHT DIE 80ER
Germany 2022 | fiction | colour | 17 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiere

Director: Marleen Valien
Screenwriters: Marleen Valien, Max Rauer, Christine Duttlinger, Ludwig Meck
Cinematographer: Max Rauer
Editor: Vreni Sarnes
Music: Jonas Vogler, John Ferrère
Sound: Johann Meis, Frederik Thomsen, Paul Powaljaew
Producers: Thomas Schadt, Christine Duttlinger, Ludwig Meck, Lotta Schmelzer, Markus
Krojer
Production: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Cast: Deniz Orta, Merlin Rose, Joshua Jaco Seelenbinder

Lucy likes Anton and Anton likes Lucy. As both are having two "cool looking drinks," Anton
reveals that he is HIV positive. Meanwhile Lucy has to realize that her HIV education is in
pretty bad shape.

You can purchase and watch the films here.

FRIDA
Germany 2021 | fiction | colour | 22 min. | German with English subtitles | German premiere

Director, screenwriter: Aleksandra Odić
Cinematographer: Albrecht von Grünhagen
Editor: Andrea Schönherr
Music: Micha Kaplan
Sound: Julian Cropp
Producer: Stanislav Danylyshyn
Production: Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB)
Cast: Vicky Krieps, Aenne Schwarz, Geno Lechner, Horst Günter Marx

An encounter between a young nurse and her patient Frida, who is the same age, on the border of professional distance and the desire for closeness.
 

KIPPENSCHNIPPEN
Germany 2022 | fiction | colour | 12 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiere

International title: FLICK-A-CIG
Director: Eléna Weiß
Screenwriter: Julia Dorit Mergel
Cinematographer: Matthias Pöltinger
Editor: Dennis Riebenstahls
Music: Lena Stoehr
Sound: Fabian Marquardt, Victor Majarres Gamke
Producer: Lea-Liya Wang
Production: HMS Hamburg Media School
Cast: Marie Rosie Merz, Lea Schmidt, Sebastian Jakob Doppelbauer, Christian Sabisch

Two teenage girls, Carina and Denise, try their best to flee the void and the pain of their harsh lives. After being caught stealing, endless hours of community service await them. While Carina picks up litter with little to no motivation, she runs across Nikolas, a homeless man lying amidst his belongings. But even though Carina only has eyes for the pills and smokes she could snatch, it's the fascinating and funny person that catches her interest. A tender bond is forming over cigarettes and common loneliness. And maybe there’s even a sort of perspective to be found, a perspective that Carina had been lacking for all her life and future.
 

BLACK HOLE LEGION
Greenland, Germany 2021 | fiction | colour | 12 min. | Danish, Kalaallisut with English subtitles | German premiere

Directors, editors: Jonathan Omer Mizrahi, Ariel Sereni Brown
Screenwriters: Jonathan Omer Mizrahi, Ariel Sereni Brown, Ruth Sørensen, Jane Sakæussen, Miannguaq Jensen, Heidinnguaq Jensen
Cinematographer: Jonathan Omer Mizrahi
Music: Anh Chi Trinh
Sound: Martin Andersen
Producers: Jonathan Omer Mizrahi, Ariel Sereni Brown, Ann Andreasen (Uummannaq Polar Institute)
Production: Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln (KHM)
Cast: Heidinnguaq Jensen, Miannguaq Jensen, Jane Sakæussen, Ruth Sørensen

On the foothills of Uummannaq mountain, four cybergoth teens are fighting depression. Water contamination spreads throughout the village pipelines and one cybergoth finds herself laying on a hospital bed. The film is a visual poem narrated by a group of young inuit women, reflecting on ongoing suicide attempts and the separation from their families. The cybergoths remind us of a post-apocalypse future, that is to say, the apocalyptic qualities of the present; a fragile reality where national, communal, environmental, and mental stability is at risk.

 

WARUM BEGEHT HELEN KOCH SCHWEREN KRAFTWAGENDIEBSTAHL?
Germany 2022 | fiction | colour | 22 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiere

Director, Screenwriter, Editor, Producer: Moritz Geiser
Cinematographer: Hannes Schulze
Sound: Marina Simones Palma
Producer: Milena Michalek
Cast: Anne Kulbatzki, Aurelia Schäfer, Wolfgang Michalek, Rahel Ohm, Kaspar Heger

Cranky teacher Helen and notorious problem student Mia hate the social roles they were assigned by the institution of highschool. When a seemingly harmless conflict between them escalates, the boundaries of their identity constructs and those of the cinematic narrative are blown. What follows is a genre-busting trip through nocturnal Berlin, driven by a longing for physical immediacy and a worthy sparring partner in an increasingly disembodied and virtual world.

You can purchase and watch the films here.

WENN IN EINER WINTERNACHT ZWEI REISENDE
Germany 2022 | fiction | colour | 17 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiere

Director, editor: Sara Summa
Screenwriters: Sara Summa, Jacob Hauptmann
Cinematographer: Moritz Friese
Music: Ben Roessler
Sound: Jonas Lechenmayr
Producers: Cecilia Trautvetter, Daria Wichmann
Production: Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB)
Cast: Robin Summa, Moritz Berg, Holly Biela

As Francesco and his six-year-old daughter Elisa drive through the Berlin night, they make a special encounter. Together with the severe policeman who stops their old and broken car, they embark on a magical journey through the darkness in search of intangible ghosts. Unexpected sympathies develop from this experience, even though the spirits around them never quite disappear.
 

NICHT NUR KÖRPER
Germany 2022 | fiction | colour | 18 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiere

International title: PULL IT OFF
Director, screenwriter: Frédéric Jaeger
Cinematographer: Tom Otte
Editors: Deniz Şimşek Frédéric Jaeger
Sound: Yankui Li, Changpeng Wang
Producers: Frédéric Jaeger, Linus Kreitling
Production: Frédéric Jaeger Filmproduktion
Cast: Jasper Engelhardt, Lisa-Marie Janke, Franziskus Claus, Dennis Kamitz, Ela Cosen and others

Levi arrives too early, Sarah is still working. He wants to take her out, she'd rather go straight to his. The flatmates lie on the couch and laugh. Levi would so like to throw himself into the relationship, but he doesn't dare. Sarah enjoys basking in his admiration, if only there wasn't this niggling feeling that they're too different. Maybe he should call the shots for once.
 

OVERHEIM
Germany 2022 | fiction | colour | 23 min. | German, English with English subtitles | world premiere

Director, screenwriter: Jouri Hoepfner
Cinematographer: Larius Kieninger
Editor: Bastian Faralisch
Music: Deadcrow, A.G. Cook
Sound: Jonathan Rösch
Producer: Leon Harms
Production: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Cast: Martine-Nicole Rojina, Norber t Junkes, Thilo Ulbrich, Schwäbisches Salonensemble

Martine-Nicole Rojina combines science, technology, music and art in her transdisciplinary work. We meet her in Munich at the Isar river. Martine bridges the transformation and temporality of our bodies through her necklace, from which hangs a small piece of a meteorite. In a sensory deprivation tank (floating) we listen to Martine in a state between sleep and wakefulness and join her on an inner journey into the unknown.

You can purchase and watch the films here.

PLATFORM
Germany 2022 | fiction | colour | 16 min. | English, Tamil with English subtitles | world premiere

Directors, Screenwriters: Steffen Köhn, Johannes Büttner
Cinematographers: Patrick Jasim, Phillip Kaminiak
Editor: Gines Olivares
Music: Johannes Klingebiel
Sound: Elias Hamman, Karl-André Goeters
Producers: Paola Calvo, Patrick Jasim, Phillip Kaminiak, Tara Afsah
Production: Tumult
Cast: Roberto Anjari Rossi, Tyrone Raymond, Boris Dikelo, Kumar Muniandy, Yasmin El Yassini

Luis is a Deliveroo driver in Berlin who meets a very strange customer. Ramesh delivers for Uber Eats in Hong Kong and gets ambushed. Hiro is working for Amazon Flex while pursuing his acting career when he receives a surprising offer from Amazon Studios. They are all connected through the chat function of an online pizza delivery simulator. They’re up to something. Only what?

 

LULLABY
Austria 2022 | fiction | colour | 21 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiere

Director: Magdalena Chmielewska
Screenwriters: Magdalena Chmielewska, Andreas Schiessler
Cinematographer: Manuel Prett
Editor: Luzia Johow
Music: Youth Novels
Sound: Sophie Wasserburger, Luzia Johow, Lisa-Maria Hollaus
Producer: Saskia Arth
Production: Filmakademie Wien
Cast: Magdalena Żak, Laurin Saied, Markus Zett, Christel Wieser

In her desperate search for sleep seventeen-year-old Eva does everything to stay the night at other people’s houses where she watches others while sleeping. When being awake through the nights, Eva takes us to the backside of normal life at the same time forcing her family and friends to develop a different perspective on what they thought is „normal“.

 

SO WEIT SO GUT
Switzerland 2021 | fiction | colour | 13 min. | Swiss German with English subtitles | German premiere

Director, screenwriter: Leon Schwitter
Cinematographer: Robin Angst
Editors: Leon Schwitter, Lasse Linder
Sound: Daniel Bleuer
Producers: Filippo Bonacci, Jonas Ballmann
Production: Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK)
Cast: Denise Hasler, Felician Hohnloser, Peter Hottinger, Tobi Bienz, Maria-Rebecca Sautter and others

The sun glows over the hot asphalt. The air conditioning fails in the train carriage, Bluetooth speakers compete with each other by the river and a demonstration brings the trams to a standstill in the city centre. A couple crawls into the fan-cooled togetherness, a family escapes into the idyll of nature and a group of police officers languishes in the van. While the ice melts and tempers flare, no one sees that the water is already up to their necks.

You can purchase and watch the films here.

Germany, Peru 2021 | documentary | colour | 99 min. | German, English, Spanish with English subtitles | German premiere

Director, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, producer: Walter Schmuck
Music: Juan Pablo Gonzalez Tobón, David Windmüller
Sound: Finn Tödte
Production: Doc Schmuck

A murder case 30 years ago makes the young Don go on a journey to the place where it happened: Cusco, Peru. Driven by curiosity and the lust for adventure, in search of feelings, which go beyond the certainties of a Central European life, Don gets himself a motorcycle, he henceforth calls Rocinante. With this loyal but stubborn "mount" he tries to make his rocky and dangerous way through the jungle and over the Andes. On the journey he writes his diary and letters to his wife at home.

You can purchase and watch the film here.

Germany, Great Britain 2021 | fiction | colour | 81 min. | English

Director, screenwriter: David Preute
Cinematographer: Ahmed El Nagar
Editor: Philip Straetker
Music: Giovanni Berg, Dieter Schleip
Sound: Dominik Lange
Producers: Jan Linnartz, Fabian Carl
Production: La Piscine Productions
Cast: Ankie Beilke, Paulo Aragao, Tom Bowen, Oleg Kricunova, Patrick Dewayne

Inspired by true events. Tom Walker is a young and ambitious trader in a large investment bank. He quickly rises through the ranks of the firm and suddenly finds himself responsible for a complicated financial portfolio worth 60 billion dollars. Struggling to meet the troubled bank's enormous profit expectations, he comes up with a not entirely legal financial tool that allows him to bypass the bank's regulations. After making millions and single handedly saving the firm from insolvency, Tom's fraud spirals out of control and he has to realize, that he was but a pawn in a much larger scheme.

You can purchase and watch the film here.

Germany 2021 | fiction | colour | 94 min. | German, Kurdish, Turkish with English subtitles

Director, screenwriter: Florian Hoffmann
Cinematographer: Carmen Treichl
Editor: Marco Rottig
Music: Niklas Paschburg
Sound: Jakob Mäsel
Producers: Roxana Richters, Alexander Wadouh, Anna Werner
Production: Chromosom Film
Cast: Hadi Khanjanpour, Kristin Suckow, Aziz Capkurt, Jeanette Hain

When Berlin primary schoolteacher Khalil is shown war video footage from his Kurdish hometown Cizre he believes to recognize his sister. His orderly life starts unravelling as he tries by every means possible to get his sister to safety and to inform the public about the brutal war. When the conflict finally reaches Khalil’s class at school, he is forced to admit: it’s not only about competing in the realm of news media, but also about protecting his own life in Berlin. The film is based on real events. Starting point is the authentic video footage from the Kurdish war zone.

You can purchase and watch the film here.

THEORIE UND PRAXIS
Germany 2021 | animation | colour | 7 min. | without dialogue

Director, Screenwriter, Producer: Leonie Minor
Cinematographer: Faraz Fesharaki
Editor: Andreas Wodraschke
Sound: Clemens Nürnberger
Production: Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB)
Cast: Leonie Minor, Arthur Minor

A woman wants to get up. But the chairs she is sitting on won't let her go. The woman's room becomes her universe and the way out of it is, of all things, the armchairs.

DEAR DROWNING
Germany 2021 | fiction | colour | 10 min. | without dialogue

Director, Screenwriters: Daniel Sosniok, Tim Weiss
Cinematographer: Bastian Franz, Daniel Sosniok, Yanick Behrendt-Henn
Editors: Daniel Sosniok, Yanick Behrendt-Henn
Music: Yannick Uhl
Sound: Yannick Uhl, Tim Weiss
Producer: Daniel Sosniok
Cast: Jan Hillebrand

Adam – driven by the will to stay alive – escapes the tristesse of his everyday life and embarks on an arduous journey. Thus he finds himself in a world permeated by stress and the excessive demands of everyday life, as well as the restlessness of man.

DIE KLOHEXE
Germany,  La Réunion 2021 | fiction | colour | 30 min. | French, Creole with English subtitles

Director, screenwriter, Producer: Joey Arand
Cinematopgraphers: Alma Weber, Joey Arand
Montage: Joey Arand, Monika Kostrzewa
Music: Saodaj, Zétto
Sound: Eeva Ojanperä, Hannah Schrem
Cast: Anjalie Matchu, Enzo Manon, Vanessa Walter, Amalia Ange Damour, Jean-Christophe Goneau

Two children are locked up in the house with their alcoholic mother because of a cyclone on Reunion Island. To escape confinement with her, they create a fantasy world where they fight a witch in the toilet, whom they blame for their mother's fate.

You can purchase and watch the films here.

THE DOOR OF RETURN
Germany 2021 | fiction | colour | 30 min. | German with English subtitles

 Directors, screenwriters: Anna Zhukovets, Kokutekeleza Musebeni
Cinematographers: Florian Berwanger, Louis Dickhaut
Editors: Denize Galiao
Music: Ralph Heidel
Sound: Gerhard Auer
Producers: Lea Neu, Katharina Kolleczek
Production: kalekone film
Cast: Joyce Sanhá, Nancy Mensah-Offei

Do I really have to travel to 2020? Or can I still switch to another year? Two black women in a hologramm context. The year 2440. Place of residence: Saturn. Racism, sexism and capitalism have been overcome. The destination: Earth. The history of our past echoes into our future. Afro-German, that has been made invisible. The N-word that continues to be uttered in Germany, Germanness and Blackness as a contradiction, an error in the system. “The Door of Return” is an Afro-futuristic documentary. A thought experiment.

LAKE
Germany 2021 | animation | b/w | 3 min. | without dialogue

Director: Aladdin Gomaa
Screenwriters: Aladdin Gomaa, Rana Nasser
Music, Sound: Conan

A community of fishermen settled peacefully for ages by a Lake, when suddenly a group of intruders come to the Lake and take over the fishermen’s boats and put the boats to a strange use. The main character tries to resist and stands up against the intruders, but he could not put an end to the situation. The fishermen eventually give up and settle for what the intruders are doing with their boats, except of the main character who refuses to be transformed, but he leaves the community and departs far away from the Lake.

JUST IN CASE
Germany 2021 | fiction | colour | 2min. | without dialogue

Directors: Céline Ahlbrecht, Insa Meyer, Alina Saltheim
Screenwriter: Dominik Riemer
Cinematographers, editors: Luca Reppenhorst, Jonas Schmieta
Music: eeph, TI:ME:CO:DE
Sound: Henric Schleiner, Henning Großmann (TI:ME:CO:DE)
Producers: Lotte Ruf, Céline Ahlbrecht, Insa Meyer, Alina Saltheim, Carina Witte
Production: Lotte Ruf

At the almost magical production plant, cheese is cut, melted, shaped, washed, powdered and wrapped – merely to face a disastrous end… at least it was made with love.

The unique feature of our production: the entire movie sets were built with recycled packaging waste and leftover materials. If Charlie hadn’t specialized in chocolate, he would’ve done the same.

 

ALLES ÜBEL DER WELT
Germany 2021 | fiction | colour | 5 min. | German with English subtitles

Directors, screenwriters: Nicolai Zeitler, Marlene Bischof
Cinematographer: Rebecca Meining
Editor: Nicolai Zeitler
Music: Konrad Wehrmeister
Sound; David Benedek
Producers: Nicolai Zeitler, Philipp Zeitler, Rebecca Meining
Production: Nicolai Zeitler Filmproduktion, Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München (HFF)
Cast: Christian Erdt, Martin Weigel, Sarah Giebel, David Benede

A stressed man on a crowded sidewalk. Everything is too crowded. Too noisy. After a brief rude encounter with a stranger, he daydreams about how he could have reacted differently. What he should have said to the stranger. He gets carried away with his fantasies and conjures up his innermost demons.

PHLEGM
Switzerland 2021 | fiction | colour | 6 min. | without dialogue

Director, screenwriter: Jan-David Bolt
Cinematographer: Rokas Sydeikis
Editor: Lars Mulle
Music: Markus Schmied
Sound: Lars Wicki
Producer: Filippo Bonacci
Production: Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK)
Cast: Pascal Ulli, Patrice Gilly, Oliver Stärkle

Oscar is late. In the surrounding skyscrapers hands are shaken and contracts are signed. That's the last thing he needs right now. Where do these damned snails come from?

GIRL WHO CRIED WOLF
Germany 2021 | fiction | colour | 15 min. | German with English subtitles

Directors, screenwriters: Kevin Koch, Emma Holzapfel
Music, sound: Kevin Sliwinski
Producer: Jacob-Lucas Burckhardt
Production: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Cast: Langston Uibel, Amelie Hennig, Marcus Chiwaeze, Malaya Stern Takeda, Kristin Alia Hunold

It's lockdown in Germany. That's why the clique of friends around Vali is now meeting via Zoom so that they can continue to party. The five friends know each other from school days and went separate ways after graduating from high school. When they meet online, they drink together, talk about things that are on their minds or play games. At this meeting, however, the clique's friendship is put to the test by an unexpected twist.
 

You can purchase and watch the films here.

NACHRUF
Germany, Turkey 2022 | documentary | colour, b/w | 14 min. | German with English subtitles | world premiere

Direction, screenwriter, cinematographer, producer: Akin Sipal
Editor: Arne Körner
Sound: Stephan Konken
Production: Against Reality Pictures

After the death of his grandfather, the filmmaker travels to Istanbul to film one last time in the space where his grandfather lived for over 40 years while translating central works of the German literature into Turkish. A space of work and living filled with identity and memories  - memories of a life exemplary for the unknown aspects of the history of the Turkish-German relations. A cinematic obituary for the “Turkish voice of Kafka”.

 

ALLEINGANG
Germany 2021 | documentary | colour | 28 min. | German with English subtitles | German premiere

Direction, screenwriter, producer: Raphael Schanz
Cinematographer: Philipp Seifert
Editor: Marielle Pohlmann
Sound: Antonio V. Monge
Production: panther reh Seifert und Schanz

Every year, five to ten percent of all deceased Berliners are buried by the authorities. Most of them are put into the ground by mortician Bernd Simon going alone. But sometimes companions do turn up and say goodbye in their very own way. An observational documentary about an undertaker who actually wanted to become an entertainer, a bizarre city portrait and a mirror of how we deal with death, mourning and commemoration.

 

JAHR DES KRANICHS
Germany 2022 | documentary | colour | 12 min. | Chinese, German with English subtitles | world premiere

Director, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, producer: Tianlin Xu
Music: Timon Wawreczko
Sound: Erik Anker

My daughter was born on Christmas Day in Germany, shortly before COVID-19 broke out in my homeland China. The following year felt as if our public life was frozen, but many things happened within our little family: my daughter started to crawl, then walk; learned to fight with her older brother and spoke her first words; she celebrated her first birthday. On the other side of the globe, my parents celebrated two Chinese New Years without us and they had to say goodbye to my Grandma. It had snowed, it had blossomed, Trump was gone. All these moments that we weren't able to share together in real life – celebration or mourning - we shared them on the phone. All of these pieced together is this little film about my family about this odd year- the year of crane.

You can purchase and watch the films here.