VERNISSAGE: Exhibition Lichter Art Award

The 14th LICHTER Art Award Edition is truly multidisciplinary. The spectrum of productions ranges from stagings of real events to the creation of fictional worlds and contemporary analyses.

Exhibition Lichter Art Award

The 14th LICHTER Art Award Edition is truly multidisciplinary. The spectrum of productions ranges from stagings of real events to the creation of fictional worlds and contemporary analyses.

In der Luft, da bleibt Deine Wurzel

The documentary In der Luft, da bleibt Deine Wurzel follows Holocaust survivor Eva Szepesi. She and her family embark on an emotional search for clues. The film sensitively shows trauma that manifests itself in a family over generations. After the film, Eva Szepesi, who was recently a guest in the german Bundestag, and the director Mario Morales will be present for a discussion with the audience.

OPENING FILM: Shahid

The award-winning hybrid film by director Narges Kalhor begins with a question: how can Narges, who was born in Iran, get rid of her middle name Shahid? Shahid means something like martyr, and she doesn't want anything to do with the sanguinary idea of a martyr’s death. And she definitely does not want to carry that in her name. The film explores Narges’ family history and its entanglement with the history of Iran.

Exhibition Lichter Art Award

The 14th LICHTER Art Award Edition is truly multidisciplinary. The spectrum of productions ranges from stagings of real events to the creation of fictional worlds and contemporary analyses.

Shahid

The award-winning hybrid film by director Narges Kalhor begins with a question: how can Narges, who was born in Iran, get rid of her middle name Shahid? Shahid means something like martyr, and she doesn't want anything to do with the sanguinary idea of a martyr’s death. And she definitely does not want to carry that in her name. The film explores Narges’ family history and its entanglement with the history of Iran.

Favoriten

Spending three years with a classroom of elementary school kids in a migrant working class neighbourhood in Vienna allowed Ruth Beckermann to capture both everydayness and decisive moments in the lives of 7 year olds. With tenderness, Favoriten follows their teacher through thick and thin as she helps them in finding a place in a world in which they often feel they don’t belong. What future lies ahead for these children? Can education truly be emancipatory if children cannot be freed from societal constraints?

Eines Vaters Liebe

What does emotional suppression, drama and speechlessness do to a family? Director Leon Noel Schardt films himself on a journey of discovery to the roots of his family and his depression. Little by little it becomes evident how father-son relationships of several generations have shaped his own image of masculinity and emotions.

Zeit Verbrechen: Der Panther

The true story of an informant in the drug cartel. Lars Eidinger is the panther, constantly drifting through the German worlds under pressure. Jan Bonny has succeeded in making a sensational gangster flick in the same vein as ''Heat''. All of a sudden, the backdrop of Leverkusen seems to resemble the LA suburb.

Nordparkfestival

Nordpark - and the Nordparkfestival - is located on the Nidda Island between Bonames and Frankfurter Berg: every summer since 2021, artists and musicians have been reclaiming the public space here.

Exile never ends

Because of a threat of deportation after serving his prison sentence, Taner applies for an early transfer to Turkey. How does that affect his parents and siblings, who came to Germany as Kurdish-Alvi refugees 30 years ago? And what prospects await Taner in Turkey? Exile never ends is an impressive and intimate portrait of director Bahar Bektaş’ family that tells the story of an ongoing uprooting.

The Beast (La Bête)

2044. Emotions are nothing more than handicaps. Undergoing a procedure to get rid of her feelings, Gabrielle remembers her past lives, and the signs of a preordained fate shake her to her core. Time-travelling through three eras tinted by a deep existential angst, The Beast is an engaging and off-beat sci-fi about losing the sentimental core that makes us humans. Isn’t it dangerous to know the future?

Regional short films I

Frankfurt, Kassel, Mainz, Offenbach, Wiesbaden - aspiring and established filmmakers from all over Hesse and the Rhine-Main area compete in the regional short film competition to take home the coveted LICHTER-Bembel and 1,000 euros in prize money. Come celebrate short films with us through three programmes filled with masterful cinema.

Foreign Language (Langue Étrangère)

As part of a German-French exchange program, teenagers Lena and Fanny see each other for the first time in person after a long time of being pen-pals. At first, they don’t get along, despite suffering similar problems with their parents and their shared interest in left-wing activism – until they exchange a fateful French kiss at a house party under the influence of mushrooms. Where foreign tongues, foreign languages touch and mingle, that is where it grows: the future of Europe.

Scorched Earth

Professional gangster Trojan has been at it for a while. Quiet, suspicious, and full of caution, he moves through the criminal underworld. His next case seems to be going according to plan as well. With his accomplices, he steals a painting by Caspar David Friedrich from a museum in Berlin. But the dubious client thwarted their plans. The handover fails and soon, it is not about money anymore but instead about their very survival.

Schleimkeim – Otze und die DDR von unten

The punk band Schleimkeim, formed around Dieter „Otze“ Ehrlich, disrupted the GDR with their rough sound, hand-made amplifiers and a neat anti-attitude. However, harassment from the state security service, alcohol and drug excesses and the hole left by the 1989 revolutions have left their marks. The documentary follows the tragic story of „Otze“ together with former band members, punks and companions.

Exhibition Lichter Art Award

The 14th LICHTER Art Award Edition is truly multidisciplinary. The spectrum of productions ranges from stagings of real events to the creation of fictional worlds and contemporary analyses.

Exhibition: VR Interactive Storytelling Short films

This year, the 8th VIRTUAL REALITY STORYTELLING AWARD has a great new feature: our international competition will not only show 360° films - for the first time, there will also be interactive VR experiences that allow you to delve even deeper into virtual worlds. The VR INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING AWARD, which was created for this purpose, is presented by a high-calibre jury (Franziska Nori, Sebastian Oschatz and Philip Hausmeier).

Screening: VR 360 Storytelling Short films

The 8th VIRTUAL REALITY STORYTELLING AWARD will once again show 360° films from all over the world. As last year, the prize for the best VR film, the VR 360 STORYTELLING AWARD, will once again be awarded by you, our valued audience!

After Work

There are great disparities in the global work-life balance: In South Korea, people are having their computers forcibly shut down to be prevented from systematically working themselves to death. At the same time, companies like Amazon cunningly pit their workers against each other with absurd tactics, only to replace them with automation soon after. Instead of discussing the absence of work ethics, we should be asking: what should a fair labour market look like in the future?

Nam June Paik: Moon Is The Oldest TV

Years before The Buggles proclaimed "video killed the radio star" on MTV, someone had already set out to understand the medium of video and to destroy it from within: Equipped with the radical attitude of the avant-garde and inspired by countercultural figures like John Cage, the pioneering video artist Nam June Paik wages a bitter battle against the self-proclaimed "high arts."

Frank Meyer

Learning to love through cinema, in this case: Frank Meyer. The documentary follows the former bodybuilder for over ten years.He had already survived one stroke then.. At the start of filming, he prefers to operate the camera himself. But eventually, the young filmmakers emancipate themselves from Frank Meyer's instructions and thus give him and the audience a gift: he gets to understand himself better and becomes more capable of questioning his armored masculinity.

Ivo

Ivo, an outpatient palliative care nurse, faces imminent death every day. With pragmatic professionalism, she supports the seriously ill in their most intimate moments and does not shy away from the request for assisted suicide - not even when it comes from her close friend Solveigh. Inspired by the work of the Berlin School, the film glides through the everyday life of a strong personality, avoiding all morality and drama and instead focusing entirely on the people, their relationship conflicts, longings and last wishes.

The Boy who owns the World

Basilio (Julian Pollina aka Faber) lives alone in an abandoned Sicilian mansion and writes music. He is haunted by a mysterious mentor (Denis Lavant) who pushes him to find his “true poetry”. When, shortly thereafter, Basilio meets the equally mysterious Karla (Chiara Höflich) his world begins to transform more and more into a poem. “The Boy Who Owns the World” by Robert Gwisdek is a film “that impresses with its atmospheric, surreal and fantastic imagery, defies convention and paves its own way both aesthetically and dramaturgically“

The Nature of Love (Simple comme Sylvain)

After 10 years together, habits seems to weigh on the academic couple Xavier and Sophia like a shroud. So, it’s no wonder that midlife crisis is looming. This takes the form of the simple handyman Sylvain, who encounters Sophia during the renovation of her country house. A fiery affair can provide temporary distraction, but does the mismatched couple have a future?

Looking for Action in Hessen, Germany

Director Linus de Paoli and film maker Johannes Thomsen go on a cinematographic research journey through Hessen and map the world in moving images. They want to prove that you can find cinematic images with the simplest tools at the most unexpected locations with an 8 mm camera. Following the analogue projection, we are pleased about the insights into the work of film historian and archivist Christoph Draxtra. Researcher Klára Feikusová provides a theoretic perspective on the convergence of cinema and television.

Shahid

The award-winning hybrid film by director Narges Kalhor begins with a question: how can Narges, who was born in Iran, get rid of her middle name Shahid? Shahid means something like martyr, and she doesn't want anything to do with the sanguinary idea of a martyr’s death. And she definitely does not want to carry that in her name. The film explores Narges’ family history and its entanglement with the history of Iran.

Screening: VR 360 Storytelling Short films

The 8th VIRTUAL REALITY STORYTELLING AWARD will once again show 360° films from all over the world. As last year, the prize for the best VR film, the VR 360 STORYTELLING AWARD, will once again be awarded by you, our valued audience!

International Short Film Programme

Faces, landscapes, cities – words, gestures, conversations: When they become images, they can open up new ways for us to observe, interpret, and put them into perspective. The short films of this program offer us the chance to create unexpected, perplexing, and joyful moments that prompt us to ponder and question them.

Exhibition Lichter Art Award

The 14th LICHTER Art Award Edition is truly multidisciplinary. The spectrum of productions ranges from stagings of real events to the creation of fictional worlds and contemporary analyses.

Exhibition: VR Interactive Storytelling Short films

This year, the 8th VIRTUAL REALITY STORYTELLING AWARD has a great new feature: our international competition will not only show 360° films - for the first time, there will also be interactive VR experiences that allow you to delve even deeper into virtual worlds. The VR INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING AWARD, which was created for this purpose, is presented by a high-calibre jury (Franziska Nori, Sebastian Oschatz and Philip Hausmeier).

Nomaden der Lüfte

The documentary shows spectacular flight and movement footage of birds around the world, following various bird species on their journeys between breeding and wintering grounds over the course of a year. As a tribute to the wonders of nature, the film pleads for a life in harmony with it.

Gotteskinder

In Hannah’s life, the rules of everyday life and growing up are dictated by the evangelical community to which the family belongs. Her supposedly perfect world begins to crack when Max moves into the neighbourhood, to whom she feels drawn to and who makes her question her faith. After Hannah’s brother Timo also has conflicts of his conscience with the evangelical community’s views, the situation escalates.

Regional short films II

Frankfurt, Kassel, Mainz, Offenbach, Wiesbaden - aspiring and established filmmakers from all over Hesse and the Rhine-Main area compete in the regional short film competition to take home the coveted LICHTER-Bembel and 1,000 euros in prize money. Come celebrate short films with us through three programmes filled with masterful cinema.

Film & Media Meetup LIVE!

Would you like to network, but preferably live and in color? The digital networking event Film & Media Meetup goes live: In a relaxed atmosphere over a drink, you can discuss projects with other filmmakers, make contacts or simply hear what's going on. We have everything you need to get started in the film and media industry.

Screening: VR 360 Storytelling Short films

The 8th VIRTUAL REALITY STORYTELLING AWARD will once again show 360° films from all over the world. As last year, the prize for the best VR film, the VR 360 STORYTELLING AWARD, will once again be awarded by you, our valued audience!

Robot Dreams

“Are you alone?” addressed by a TV commercial, the lonely DOG buys himself a robot friend and from then on, they spend every minute together. But when they are unexpectedly separated, the future of their friendship is suddenly at stake. The fact that this animated film has no dialogue is quickly forgotten amid the touching moments and infectious dance scenes.

Architecton

Stone or concrete - Victor Kossakovsky’s film Architecton is a poetic journey to the world of construction materials. His explorative view at the megalomania of humans and their precarious relationship to nature raises urgent questions: How do we build, and how can we build better in the future, before it is too late? The visually stunning documentary shows that between the stones and the dust of past civilizations, there might be found an architecture of hope.

Crew Call

There are 7 virtues and 7 deadly sins, but also 7 wonders of the world and 7 dwarves. And there are 7 years of Crew Call Frankfurt. Lucky number or hocus-pocus? For us, the matter is clear: we are delighted that a small idea has developed into a firm tradition that unites the entire Hessian film industry. The Crew Call is organised by Crew United, the largest online portal of its kind in the German-speaking world. Its managing director Oliver Zenglein received the German Film Critics' Innovation Award at this year's Berlinale for his tireless work (for the good). Congratulations!

Party with Sibylle & Yvette

You gotta fight for your right to party! – Who can't remember this magical night in April 2023? Lichter headed towards its climax on Friday, dancing to the music of Sibylle and Yvette. Of course, we want to repeat that and possibly turn it up a notch. Sibylle? Yvette? Are you ready for a second time? We fight for the right to party and rely on the power of music to inspire, touch and unite us.

Blondi

The young mother Blondi and her teenage son Mirko share an extraordinary relationship. They are like best friends, sharing joints and their circle of friends, and enjoying their time at concerts. But as Mirko slowly begins to consider his own future, the two suddenly find themselves on a road trip to retrieve Blondi's sister, who has disappeared into a commune.

Ellbogen

In Berlin Wedding, we meet 18-year-old Hazal – including all her contradictions and raging. The film adaption of Fatma Aydemir’s debut novel was enthusiastically celebrated at the Berlinale: Ellbogen shows us the story of a young woman cast out by society. She has to flee to Istanbul to redefine her life. You want to run with her through the night, you want to know what will happen to her and to all of us.

Good News

"Only bad news is good news." With this motto, journalist Leo searches for a story in Thailand that will help him regain his former reputation. He reports on the militant rebels living there but is unable to gain access to them. So he prefers to fabricate a spectacular false report. But when Julian suddenly turns up to take the photos for the article, this could reveal Leo's story to be fake news, forcing him to make a desperate dash for the front.

Regional short films III

Frankfurt, Kassel, Mainz, Offenbach, Wiesbaden - aspiring and established filmmakers from all over Hesse and the Rhine-Main area compete in the regional short film competition to take home the coveted LICHTER-Bembel and 1,000 euros in prize money. Come celebrate short films with us through three programmes filled with masterful cinema.

Dead Man

Jim Jarmusch’s ant-western is a journey towards death: the accountant William Blake (Johnny Depp) intends to take up a position in the small-town Machine but is caught in a shootout and flees mortally wounded. He meets the Indian Nobody, who admires him for his shooting abilities. Shot in harsh black and white and set to Neil Young’s distorted guitar sounds, Dead Man is a meditative and Kafkaesque journey through the Wild West.

Screening: VR 360 Storytelling Short films

The 8th VIRTUAL REALITY STORYTELLING AWARD will once again show 360° films from all over the world. As last year, the prize for the best VR film, the VR 360 STORYTELLING AWARD, will once again be awarded by you, our valued audience!

Magic Music Making

It’s getting loud at the festival centre! Techno, rap, dry humour, and, above all, Hack are on the menu when Jasper Wiedhöft and Tobias Schmekal bring their band back together for the mockumentary Magic Music Making. True to the motto: Hack is trump!

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

Ghost Dog is a hitman and a lonely one at that: He receives his cases through carrier pigeons, his only media consumption is an old Japanese book about the codex of the Samurai. He lives off the assignments of a mafioso but at some point, his own head is wanted by the mafia. Jim Jarmusch’s gangster film starring Forest Whitaker is a homage to the film noir and it impresses with its somnambulate atmosphere.

Kim's Video

Due to the extinction of video libraries, New York lost one of the biggest and most diverse movie collections in the world with the offer of Kim’s Video. Years later, a former regular is searching for the 55,000 lost films. Gradually, his film references take the helm and steer the documentary towards a course that becomes more and more surreal and entertaining.

Solo

“With a taste of your lips, I’m on a ride.” The young drag queen Simon stalks across the catwalks of Montréal’s drag scene with natural grace, until he meets charming Oliver and falls in love – head over heels. But his other half proves to be an insidious manipulator. Simon quickly becomes addicted to him and his love. ”I’m addicted to you. Don’t you know that you’re toxic?”

Exhibition Lichter Art Award

The 14th LICHTER Art Award Edition is truly multidisciplinary. The spectrum of productions ranges from stagings of real events to the creation of fictional worlds and contemporary analyses.

Ihre ergebenste Fräulein

Often overlooked in history, rarely considered in societal questions: the female perspective. In the essay film Well Ordered Nature, letters and monographies from botanist and teacher Catharina Helena Dörrien, who comes from the 18th century central-Hessian Dillenburg, are read aloud. In discourse with contemporary lawmaking of the aristocracy, an inconspicuous and yet direct critique of the supposedly progressive male sovereignty arises.

Exhibition: VR Interactive Storytelling Short films

This year, the 8th VIRTUAL REALITY STORYTELLING AWARD has a great new feature: our international competition will not only show 360° films - for the first time, there will also be interactive VR experiences that allow you to delve even deeper into virtual worlds. The VR INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING AWARD, which was created for this purpose, is presented by a high-calibre jury (Franziska Nori, Sebastian Oschatz and Philip Hausmeier).

Screening: VR 360 Storytelling Short films

The 8th VIRTUAL REALITY STORYTELLING AWARD will once again show 360° films from all over the world. As last year, the prize for the best VR film, the VR 360 STORYTELLING AWARD, will once again be awarded by you, our valued audience!

Von dem, was bleibt

In 1944, remaining traces of Johanna’s great-grandfather were lost in what is now known as Moldova, where he presumably passed away. The circumstances under which he passed are still unknown to his family. Equipped with her great-grandfather’s letters from the front, Johanna Groß attempts to find out more about her great-grandfather’s fate in her documentary and shows how the loss of a husband, father and grandfather affected the different generations of her family.

Where is the friend's house? (Khane-ye doust kodjast?)

Eight-year-old Ahmed accidentally takes his friend‘s assignment book, but for that, his friend could be punished. So Ahmed sets off to the neighbouring village in order to give the book back to his friend. An Odyssey begins. Kiarostami highlights a simple story in clear pictures and with quite palpable social criticism. A classic of the new Iranian cinema.

Screening: VR 360 Storytelling Short films

The 8th VIRTUAL REALITY STORYTELLING AWARD will once again show 360° films from all over the world. As last year, the prize for the best VR film, the VR 360 STORYTELLING AWARD, will once again be awarded by you, our valued audience!

My Favourite Cake (Keyke Mahboobe Man)

She doesn’t seem like a rebel at all – the widow Mahin lives a modest, solitary life in Tehran. She enjoys fondly reminiscing about her youth, when women didn't have to constantly fear the wrath of the moral police. So one day, after a fleeting encounter with the taxi driver Faramarz, the 70-year-old decides to plunge into a romantic adventure. But what future remains for the rebellious power of love in the shadow of the Iranian regime?

50 Jahre Otrag - Fly Rocket Fly

When Elon Musk was still in nappies, engineer Lutz Kayser was already developing a concept for low-budget rockets, which led him to found the world's first private space company in 1975. Orbital Transport- und Raketen AG, based in Neu-Isenburg, provided the necessary financial resources to get off to a flying start. Fly Rocket Fly is a crazy mixture of adventure film and political thriller, of rascal prank and business thriller.

Echo of You (Ekko af kærlighed)

Ghostly echos resonate through the empty rooms of the small Danish apartments. Between white tulle curtains and worn-out leather armchairs, an echo floats in the dusty air. An echo of past love, illuminated by warm sun rays. In intimate conversations, bereaved spouses remember their deceased loved ones and reinvigorate them and themselves for a moment.

Nathan Farb and the Cold War

New York photographer Nathan Farb pulled off a real coup in 1977: he took portraits of numerous people in Soviet Novosibirsk with his camera and smuggled his negatives through the Iron Curtain in a diplomatic pouch. The photographs went around the world. Some of them hang in the MOMA today. For the documentary, he once again embarks on a journey to Siberia, this time together with Frankfurt's Kinobrigada heroes Nathaniel Knop and Peter Rippl, carrying photo and film cameras.

Das Leben der Bohème (La Vie de Bohème)

Just like the films of Jim Jarmusch, the works of Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki belong to Pandora Film’s portfolio to this day. Kaurismäki’s heart beats for the unfortunate. The Bohemian Life is Kaurismäki’s most humorous film, which delves into the lives of three failed artists who have been brought together in Paris by chance.

Brief History of a Family (Jia ting jian shi)

The private life of a family is thrown into chaos when Wei brings his classmate Shuo home. Shuo proves remarkably adept at fulfilling the paternal ambitions and maternal longings of Wei’s parents. Wei, initially happy to escape his parents' expectations in this way, soon sees his status within the family threatened. This leads to a silent struggle for the right to one's own future.

Alien Island (Isla Alien)

UFO panic in Chile – As the dictator Pinochet subjugates the country, people look up; scanning the night sky for the lights of flying saucers. Starting from the mysterious island “Friendship Island”, the alien craze spreads like wildfire. When a group of radio geeks make contact with the island’s strange inhabitants, they find themselves dragged deeper and deeper into a conspiracy of unprecedented proportions.

Screening: VR 360 Storytelling Short films

The 8th VIRTUAL REALITY STORYTELLING AWARD will once again show 360° films from all over the world. As last year, the prize for the best VR film, the VR 360 STORYTELLING AWARD, will once again be awarded by you, our valued audience!

The New Spirit of Whisky

Whisky, the Gaelic 'water of life', has symbolised the diverse character of the Scottish Highlands for centuries, yet the drink is mainly associated with men. This incomplete view is challenged by a new generation of female whisky makers, who provide detailed insights into the production of Scotland's national drink, showing enormous ingenuity in the process. The film screening will be accompanied by a whisky tasting.

Ein Engel an meiner Tafel (An Angel at My Table)

Even before the success of “The Piano”, distributors spread a second feature film by Jane Campion to German cinemas. An Angel at My Table tells the life story of author Janet Frame who was born in New Zealand in 1924. The film follows her teenage years, then another eight years she spent in a psychiatric ward, all the way to her journeys as an adult – it is the story of a woman whose life was possibly saved by her writing.

The Blue Star (La Estrella Azul)

Mauricio is one of the lucky few who can actually make a good living from their music, but the rock’n’roll musician is not completely satisfied with his current situation in the business. He goes on a trip to Argentina to search for inspiration and meets the Chacarera legend Carlos Carabajal. In addition to coming in contact with a different way of making music, this also shows him a new perspective on life and consequently their lives and creative paths mix for a while.

Cuckoo

17-year-old Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) has to move to a Bavarian Alpine resort with her father, her step-mother, and her young step-sister against her will. The parents have been friends with the manager of the atmospheric-picturesque property for many years and they are supposed to help the real estate to new success with their concept for a refurbishment. While the bored teenager takes on a holiday job at the reception, things soon prove to be much different from what they seem. Gretchen is being followed by a hooded woman on her way home from work at night and eventually ends up in the local hospital where the incidents escalate.

International Shorts - Future

The future will be very much about repairing the past. But that will not happen without some surprising twists along the way. This screening will present works that engage with the past while questioning and envisioning the future.

Max und die Wilde 7 ‒ Die Geister-Oma

Attention young film fans! Max und die Wilde 7 have a new case! After a very successful first part, the second adventure of the unlikely friends follows. The team gets to the bottom of topics such as courage and fear in a humorous and almost casual way. And the best thing: the location of the world premiere is none other than the LICHTER Film Festival. As befits a real premiere, we roll out the red carpet and warmly welcome not only you, but the cast as well!

Exhibition Lichter Art Award

The 14th LICHTER Art Award Edition is truly multidisciplinary. The spectrum of productions ranges from stagings of real events to the creation of fictional worlds and contemporary analyses.

Subject: Filmmaking

In 1968, the renowned filmmaker Edgar Reitz and a film crew created an environment for four weeks in which a class of Munich girls’ high school was able to get to know the medium of film and experiment with Super 8 cameras themselves. 55 years later, at a class meeting, they reflect on the films that were made back then. This illustrates how essential film is and always will be to personal development and school education.

Exhibition: VR Interactive Storytelling Short films

This year, the 8th VIRTUAL REALITY STORYTELLING AWARD has a great new feature: our international competition will not only show 360° films - for the first time, there will also be interactive VR experiences that allow you to delve even deeper into virtual worlds. The VR INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING AWARD, which was created for this purpose, is presented by a high-calibre jury (Franziska Nori, Sebastian Oschatz and Philip Hausmeier).

Screening: VR 360 Storytelling Short films

The 8th VIRTUAL REALITY STORYTELLING AWARD will once again show 360° films from all over the world. As last year, the prize for the best VR film, the VR 360 STORYTELLING AWARD, will once again be awarded by you, our valued audience!

Das Mädchen aus der Streichholzfabrik (The Match Factory Girl)

Iris (Kati Outinen) is a person who lives in the shadows, no one notices her. At home, she is bullied by her mother and stepfather. As she escapes for once and spends the night with a man, she unintentionally falls pregnant. However, her lover dumps her. Iris starts a revenge campaign. With lots of dark humour, Kaurismäki watches his lost protagonist in a combination of morality play and wicked fairytale.

Nomaden der Lüfte

The documentary shows spectacular flight and movement footage of birds around the world, following various bird species on their journeys between breeding and wintering grounds over the course of a year. As a tribute to the wonders of nature, the film pleads for a life in harmony with it.

Screening: VR 360 Storytelling Short films

The 8th VIRTUAL REALITY STORYTELLING AWARD will once again show 360° films from all over the world. As last year, the prize for the best VR film, the VR 360 STORYTELLING AWARD, will once again be awarded by you, our valued audience!

All Shall Be Well (Cóng jīn yǐhòu)

Angie and Pat have everything they could wish for. They live together, they share goals, dreams, and a future with each other. But then Pat suddenly dies and Angie’s world collapses. Subsequently, her home is troubled too. Although the two of them have been a couple for a few years, Angie has no claim to her partner’s inheritance. Angie wants to fight but there’s one question left: shall all be well?

Mountains

The dutiful demolition worker Xavier has one big dream: leave the old house in Miami’s Haitian quarter where he lives with his wife Esperance and their son Junior. Their new home shall be larger and more luxurious. But as his own employer's wrecking ball comes closer and closer to the family's old home, the consequences of gentrification becomes noticeable and Xavier's loyalty is put to the test. In her feature film debut, director Monica Sorelle creates a unique and lively study of Little Haiti and at the same time sets a style-defining mark for a new era of American indie film.

Nome

1969. A bloody war of liberation has torn Guinea-Bissau in two. While young men like Nome join the guerrilla troops to fight against Portuguese colonial power, the women stay behind in their villages. The pregnant Nambú must pray for the protection of a nature spirit in order to survive. The fate of a country and the future of its inhabitants are decided between threatening archive recordings and powerful images of the rainforest

Dying

A family that has not been a family for a long time. It is only when Lissy’s (Corinna Harfouch) husband Gerd (Hans-Uwe Bauer), who suffered from dementia, dies and she is struck down by an incurable illness that the mother and her two children are reunited. At the centre of this episodic film, however, is her son, conductor Tom (Lars Eidinger), who is working on his magnum opus with his depressive friend, composer Bernard (Robert Gwisdek). Finally, there is Tom’s highly intelligent sister Ellen (Lilith Stangenberg), a dentist’s assistant, whose love to dry martinis leads the viewer from one intoxication to the next. Sterben is tough and unsparing.

Award ceremony

Tusch, Bembel and champagne: The grand finale! We cordially invite you all to the award ceremony on Sunday evening! Let's celebrate the most impressive and touching films of the festival together from 7 pm in our festival centre!

Holy Motors

Eleven characters are played by Dennis Lavant in Holy Motors by French director Leos Carax. Mr. Oscar (Lavant) is a man whose job it is to slip into the lives of others for a short time. Holy Motors is a musical, drama, comedy, and thriller all in one – and if it isn’t all just a dream after all remains a mystery. In any case, Leo Carax is successful in creating a surreal frenzy of images.

No Future – Experimental Short Films About the Future

The future cannot be foretold, but that is not a reason not to try to do just that in experimental and avant-garde films. Reflections about the experience of time, playing with expectations, and the desire to develop “a new way of seeing” through the creative use of technology. This short film programme is dedicated to the various facets of the dialogue between future and experimental film work from the 1920s to the present of the 2020s. The focus shifts back and forth between small and large, from 16mm films to videos to 3D. – Programme curated by Karola Gramann, Heide Schlüpmann, and Björn Schmitt.