6th – 11th November 2007: The 23rd International Short Film Festival Berlin
30th Oktober 2007
From 6th – 11th November, interfilm Berlin presents the International Short Film Festival, the most important short film festival in Berlin.
The Festival is a showcase of all that's new and mentionable in the area of international short film. Established veterans, newcomers and shooting stars compete alongside each other for the coveted Short Awards. Of the approximately 3,800 submitted works from 88 countries, 542 films from 50 countries (148 from Germany) and from diverse genres – fiction, animation, documentary, children's film, music clip – were selected for the thirteen International Competition programs, three German Competition programs, and 48 special programs. Among the thirteen International Competition (IC) programs are three programs that make up the competition Confrontations – Films Against Violence and Intolerance. Further, two programs within the IC are dedicated to the documentary – this year's Festival Focus – as are two discussion panels. There will also be special country focus programs featuring short films from Romania and South Korea. For the past 25 years, the International Short Film Festival, a diverse cumulative exhibition, has provided international filmmakers with an ideal platform for the presentation of their work. While the Festival section “Around the World” concentrates on film productions from Italy, Croatia, Spain, Australia, South America, France und South East Asia, the seven programs in the category “Special Guests” aim to captivate film connoisseurs, making it the most innovative short film forum. In addition, interfilm will offer eight “interfilm Extra” programs that feature a wide spectrum of cross-media short film formats. The Youth and Children's Film Program KuKi, with three competition programs and five other programs, is more innovative and extensive this year than ever before.
Once again this year, more than 16,000 visitors are expected to attend Berlin's second largest film festival. The competition juries will present awards valued at a total of 40,000 €.
Festivaleröffnung
Festival Opening Night
Tue. 06 Nov. 21:00
Großer Saal der Volksbühne
Party from 00:00 at Roter Salon
Festival Lounge
On Wed. 7 Nov. und Thu. 8 Nov. from 23:00 at Roter Salon, festival guests can enjoy a colorful mix of screenings and clips, DJing, VJing and live entertainment.
Parallel to “Eject – Midnight Movie Madness” at the Volksbühne on Fri. 09 Nov. from 23:00, the Eject-Party will take place at Roter Salon.
Festival Party
Sat. 10 Nov. from 23:00
The main Festival Party will take place at Club 103, Falckensteinstr. 47. There will be top international live acts, DJs and spectacular video installations. A shuttle service will transport Festival guests directly from Kino Babylon Berlin:Mitte to Club 103.
Awards Ceremony & Winner Screening
Sun. 11 Nov. 19:30 & 22:30
Babylon Berlin:Mitte Saal 1
Closing Party
Sun. 11 Nov. from 22:30 at Roter Salon
Members of the press are invited to meet filmmakers on the following days:
Documentary and animation filmmakers on Thu. 8 Nov. 07, 13:00-14:00, Foyer Kino Babylon Berlin:Mitte, 2nd floor.
Filmmakers from Romania and South Korea on Fri. 9 Nov. 07, 13:00-14:00, Foyer Kino Babylon Berlin:Mitte, 2nd floor.
International and German filmmakers on Sat. 10 Nov. 07, 11:00-12:00, Foyer Kino Babylon Berlin:Mitte, 2nd floor.
The Festival Office and the Press Office (opening times: Tue. 6 Nov., 12:00-18:00, Wed. 7 Nov. – Sat. 10 Nov., 12:00-21:00 and Sun. 11 Nov., 14:00-16:00) are located at Kino Babylon Berlin:Mitte. interfilm offers international film business visitors and journalists the opportunity to view all submitted films during the Festival at the Film Market (opening times: Wed. 7 Nov. – Sat. 10 Nov., 12:00-18:00, Sun. 11 Nov., 12:00-16:00), also located at Kino Babylon Berlin:Mitte.
From 6 – 11 November, Festival visitors can view 542 films and take part in numerous events at the following locations:
Babylon Berlin:Mitte - Hackesche Höfe Filmtheater - Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-PLATZ - Roter Salon in der Volksbühne - 103 Club in Berlin-Kreuzberg.
The complete program is available at www.interfilm.de
International Competition
IC 01 Assaults and Accidents, IC 02 Animated, IC 03 Fatal Life, IC 04 Love and Insanities, IC 05 Surrealities, IC 06 Family Affairs, IC 07 Digital Delusion
107 competitors from 44 countries
107 films will compete for interfilm Short Awards in the categories Best Film, Best Animation, Best Fiction, Best Documentary, and Best Film Against Violence and Intolerance. The international jury includes Deutsche Kinemathek curator Rolf Giesen, actress Roswitha Schreiner, editor and contributor for the French short film magazine Bref Fabrice Marquat, Capalbio Film Festival director Tommaso Mottola, and screenwriter Sergio Barrejon (Eramos pocos, 2005).
International Competition - Confrontations
IC CON 01 Violent Encounters, IC CON 02 About War, IC CON 03 Daily Fears
A special jury of active contributors to film and politics will present awards in the competition programs “Confrontations” to the two Best Films Against Violence and Intolerance. Jury members are Daniel Kothenschulte (film and art critic, author and silent film pianist), Barbara Kisseler (director of the Senate Chancellery of Berlin), Dorothee Wenner (filmmaker, journalist and director of the Berlinale Talent Campus), Bernd Scherer (intendant at the House of World Cultures) and Jördis Triebel (actress).
International Documentary Competition
IC DOC 01Passionen, IC DOC 02 From Work to Work
An additional separate jury, including Uli Gaulke – winner of the German Film Award 2001 for Best Documentary, “Havanna, mi amor”, Angelika Krüger-Leißner – member of German parliament, Dr. Gabriele Weyand – author and ZDF editor, and Marcus Winterbauer – cameraman for the award-winning film “Full Metal Village” will select the two Best Documentaries.
German Competition
GC 01 Die Regeln des Spiels, GC 02 Dickes Ende, GC 03 Von Sinnen
21 competitors from Germany
The German Competition is a special forum for local short film productions. The jury members – actor Florian Lukas, TV presenter Janin Reinhardt, producer Thomas Wöbke and “Behind the Couch” director Veit Helmer – will select the recipient of an interfilm Short Award in the category Best German Film. For the first time this year the German Competition will also include the Skoda Short Film Award and an Audience Award.
Youth and Children's Film Program KuKi – Kurze für Kids
Children's Film Competition
KuKi 01 Competition Program (age 6+), KuKi 02 Competition Program (age 8+), KuKi 03 Competition Program (age 10+)
35 competitors from 21 countries
Since 2000, interfilm has been presenting short film for children and young people. The three individual programs present different aspects of and perspectives on childhood and youth. This program promises to be a lively film experience, during which a special youth jury (Nina, Sofie, Max and Sam) will select the two Best Children's Films from the competition programs for children age 6 and up, age 8 and up, and age 10 and up. Additionally, the audience will have the opportunity to select their favorite film for the Audience Award.
KuKi 04 School Program (age 8+), KuKi 05 Circus Cabuwazi, KuKi 06 Film Workshop, KuKi 07 Is this the right place? – Theme Program (age 10+), KuKi 08 Look at the World! – Documentary Film Program (age 10+)
200 children from seven Berlin schools wrote impressive stories on the topic “Is this the right place? Being Foreign – Being Different”. The winning story was be adapted for the screen in the writing workshop, and the finished script was filmed by and with 10 children at a Film Workshop during the Fall Break 2007. The result, “Spitzenflieger”, directed by Jack Rath, will be presented in the KuKi program on the same topic, as well as open each KuKi program.
In addition to the School Programs (tickets: tel 030 – 3087 2510, FAX 030 – 3087 2512), interfilm presents two special programs: the first on the production workshop theme Is this the right place? Being Foreign – Being Different, and a second, Look at the World!, a documentary film program for children and young people age 10 and up as a part of this year's Festival focus on the documentary. This complex subject will also be discussed by media pedagogues and documentary filmmakers in a special panel (for details, see Panels).
interfilm will also present the competition program for children age 6 and up on Sat. 10 Nov., and for children age 8 and up on Sun. 11 Nov., each at 16:00, at Circus Cabuwazi in Berlin – Kreuzberg.
Eject
IC EJECT Eject X – Midnight Movie Madness
Once again, the audience will decide which short is the strangest of the strange shorts at Eject on Friday, 9 November 2007, 23:00 at the Volksbühne. Eject – Midnight Movie Madness is the platform for the most unique submissions to the Festival and celebrates its 10th birthday this year with absurdities abound.
The bizarre/kitsch Eject Party will take place parallel to Eject (Friday, 9 November 2007 from 23:00) at the Roter Salon, with DJ Alan Always (rock, trash, pop).
Focus on the Documentary
FOC 01 Jan Peters Exhibit 1 - Ghost in the machine, FOC 02 Jan Peters Exhibit 2 - Außer Atem, FOC 03 Kasseler Doocumentary Film and Videofest, FOC 04 No Comment, FOC 05 Reality Bites, FOC 06 Realities Rewind – Highlights, FOC 07 Animadok Leipzig
The documentary is the thematic focus of the 23rd International Short Film Festival Berlin. Eight special programs offer Festival visitors the opportunity to discover the possibilities of new forms and film developments in documentary production. With 81 films, interfilm aims to illustrate that the documentary is just as capable of delivering suspense, joy in experimenting, memorability and entertainment value as other short film genres.
interfilm presents an exhibition of Jan Peters' body of work from more than 16 years of filmmaking in the programs Ghost in the machine and Außer Atem. A guest at interfilm this year will be the Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival, which will present three short film productions from the 2006 festival. Also, DOK Leipzig will show an exemplary selection of films from the past ten years of its program Animadok. The program No Comment will feature films from the past three years that forego dialogue or commentary. Reality Bites presents films that play freely with reality and presentation. A selection of masterpieces and award-winning films from the past 5 interfilm Documentary Competitions will be on display in Realities Rewind. And finally, this year's festival includes a documentary program for youth and children age 10 and up: Look at the World!
Additionally, the program Immaginale 2 – Italian Masterpieces, part of the festival section “Around the World“, will feature historic short documentaries by master craftsmen like Antonioni, Risi and Rossellini.
Further, international guests will participate in the two panels “Look at the World! Documentary Film for and by Youth and Children” and “Mirror Reflections. The Autobiographical Documentary Film”, discussing specific questions on the subject of documentaries (for details, see Panels).
Country Focus: Romania
RO 01 Stadt, Land, Strand, RO 02 Irrlichter
New Romanian cinema is taking the film world by storm. After the turn of the millennium, young filmmakers created the first productions of a Romanian film revival. The International Short Film Festival offers a tour through life in Romania in two programs: Stadt, Land, Strand features films with a critical perspective on the lively and upheaval-wrought world of this new addition to the European Union. Irrlichter reflects – often tragic-comically – life in modern Romania, marked by extreme contradictions.
Country Focus: South Korea
SK 01 Home... Or: Where the Fear Grows, SK 02 Looking-glass upon the Wall..., SK 03 Sugar, spice and everything nice, SK 04 Animaniacs!
In recent years, a film landscape has emerged in South Korea – practically from nowhere – that shows enormous potential. Blossoming with innovative energy, the South Korean film scene is currently the most vivacious in Asia. A young generation of filmmakers produces technically brilliant animations and short features which reflect the tensions between traditional forms of thought and modern (city) life. In four diverse programs featuring numerous German and European screening debuts, interfilm presents the many-layered short film landscape of South Korea.
In the program Home...Or: Where the Fear grows are seven productions that focus on family and relationships with parents or grandparents. Mercilessly and painfully, the six short films and animations in the program Looking-glass upon the Wall... scrutinize gender roles, taboos and hierarchies in a society that still functions according to strict Confucian laws of authority. Sugar, spice and everything nice features mostly sticky-sweet and rosy love relationships, and Animaniacs is a thematically diverse animation program.
Special Program “Around the World”
SP 01 Australia 1 - Not Drowning, Waving!, SP 02 Australia 2 - The F Word ... Friends & Family, SP 03 AsiAnima – Asia, SP 04 Tabor Film Festival – Croatia, SP 05 Retrospective Zagreb School of Animation – Croatia, SP 06 Cortitos – South America, SP 07 La vida en corto – Spain, SP 08 Paris Parcour(t)s – France, SP 09 Immaginale 1 - Children, Football and Tragedies – Italien, SP 10 Immaginale 2 - Italian Masterpieces - Italy
Once again this year, interfilm provides an important film platform for intercultural exchange between countries, people, projects and ideas - especially through its comprehensive selection of international short films.
Films from Australia (selection of the newest Australian short films), Asia, Croatia (new short films and historic animation films), South America, and Spain will be in the spotlight, as well as films from and about Paris, and from Italy (Festival Immaginale).
Australia
This year, Australian film productions are more diverse than ever. interfilm presents two programs in cooperation with the St. Kilda Film Festival, featuring the newest highlights from Down Under. Not Drowning, Waving is a selection of films on refusing to lose, and The F Word … Friends & Family focuses on the protagonists in our midst.
Asia
Beyond the Country Focus program on South Korea, the program AsiAnima is dedicated to the enormous scope of Asian animation film. Whether traditional opera from China, or absurd abstractions from Japan, Asian animation combines tradition with the future, history with knowledge, and art with criticism to create a unique film aesthetic.
Croatia
interfilm presents a selection of Croatian films from the last Tabor Film Festival, bringing the magic of Tabor to Berlin. In addition, a restrospective dedicated to the Zagreb School of Animation will show eight historic animation films, which feature an overzealous photographer, a grim detective and a love-struck beach tourist in the award-winning film “Surogat” by Dusan Vukotic.
South America
Prepare for turbulence – this year's cross-section of the Latin-American short film scene promises to be tumultuous. The program Cortitos includes two Argentine comedies that show what kind of withdrawal symptoms may arise after soap opera addiction, a Columbian film that features a reporter and his criminal schemes, and a Chilean production on the long-term damage of military dictatorship. The Brazilian and Mexican productions are mentionable as well.
Spain
Viewers will recognize the absurd and sometimes tragic situations in life portrayed in the program La vida en corto. Perhaps that's because the protagonists don't give up either.
Paris
Interfilm invites viewers to a tête-à-tête with the French capital, presenting a ramble through 50 years of short film art from and about Paris. Besides Jean-Luc Godard's French little rascal par excellence, Paris Parcour(t)s includes images that transcend the City of Lights myth, like some newer productions that show how hard it is to find love – even in Paris.
Italy
Immaginale turns 10 this year, and has been at home at interfilm for many years. A festival within a festival. Besides current Italian films in the program Children, Football and Tragedies, the program Italian Masterpieces shows historical short documentaries from cinema masters like Antonioni, Risi and Rossellini, in cooperation with the short film festival Capabio.
Special Program “Special Guests“
SP 11 Retrospective Simon Ellis – Great Britain, SP 12 European Film Academy Short Film 2007 - Prix UIP 1,
SP 13 European Film Academy Short Film 2007 - Prix UIP 2, SP 14 Autour de Minuit - Digital Wonderlands,
SP 15 QuickFlick World, SP 16 Daumenkino – The Big Screen in Miniature, SP 17 100 Years of Berlin in 3-D Photographs
The Festival section Special Guests features a number of “visiting” filmmakers and festivals. Retrospective Simon Ellis takes a look at 14 of Ellis' 18 short films from the past 10 years. His film “Soft”, which has left a lasting impression at numerous international film festivals, is also a competitor in the International Competition Family Affairs and in the European Film Academy Short Film 2007 – Prix UIP 2. Ellis will be present at the screenings.
As an initiative of the European Film Academy (EFA) and distributor United International Pictures (UIP) in cooperation with thirteen festivals all over Europe, all films awarded with the Prix UIP are automatically nominated for the category Short Film in the European Film Award competition. The winner is announced at the Awards Ceremony in Berlin on 1 December 2007. interfilm presents the nominees for the European Film Academy Short Film Award – Prix UIP in two programs.
A selection of animation films by the producer Nicolas Schmerkin, founder of the short fim production company Autour de Minuit, will be shown in the program of the same name: Autour de Minuit – Digital Wonderlands. The company's films stand for visionary digital work, on the threshold between animation and experimental film. Schmerkin will be present at the screenings.
QuickFlick World is a global, digital film festival that takes place once a month simultaneously in a growing number of cities all over the world. A global network of filmmakers concentrates on a certain subject and technical parameter every month, giving their imagination free creative reign. This year, interfilm presents a colorful program of current QuickFlicks and many classics from 10 cities around the world.
In the program Daumenkino – The Big Screen in Miniature, self-titled flipbookographer V. Gerlin combines film, photography and stage performance. By projecting his flipbook mini-movies onto the screen, Gerling draws sensitive portraits of the people and places he encounters on his travels.
Over 150 projected photos make the history of Berlin seem strikingly real. Using modern computer technology, Meisterstein lends even old glass-plate photos impressive quality. Berlin close enough to touch: 100 Years of Berlin in 3-D Photographs. This program is complemented by the exhibition obstacle course Mitte im Glück at 16 locations between the cinemas Babylon Berlin:Mitte and Hackesche Höfe Filmtheater in Mitte.
Special Program “interfilm Extra“
SP 18 Experimental, SP 19 Shocking, SP 20 Control - A Program About Surveillance, SP 21 Soundso - New German Music Videos, SP 22 Champion Sound - New International Music Videos, SP 23 The Radar Festival - Next Generation Music Video, SP 24 Clip it! - Music, Art and Animation, SP 25 Commercials for a Concept
interfilm Extra offers a comprehensive spectrum of cross-media short film formats. Emotional roller-coasters and surreal moments are captured in a beguiling storm of images in Experimental. Fans of masochistic entertainment can test their bounds of tolerance in Shocking.
Surveillance has become a daily reality, and fear of terrorism has opened the door to diverse forms of civil rights curtailment. Filmmakers from Canada, Taiwan, France and Germany focus on this subject in different ways – sometimes playful, sometimes serious – in Control – A Program About Surveillance.
The program Soundso – New German Music Videos presents a selection of the best German music videos of the past few years, while Champion Sound – New International Music Videos invites viewers to take in an international collective of pure music enjoyment. In the program Radar Festival – Next Generation Music Video, 18 finalists from the first Radar Festival in London will be screened. C. Bottomley, founder of the festival, will be present during the program. Clip it – Music, Art and Animation is a collage of animation and video clips. Commercials for a Concept features ads – not for consumer products, but for ideas, concepts or utopian product suggestions. Artists and short film or video directors were invited to create clips on the subject “Ideas for Europe”, and these 24 entertaining and experimental ads are the result. Commercials for a Concept is a project by Graw Böckler for the 53rd International Film Festival Oberhausen 2007, and was sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Panels
PAN 01 Look at the World! Documentary Film for and by Children and Youths
PAN 02 Mirror Reflections. The Autobiographical Documentary – Searching, Finding, Inventing
Panel 01
Look at the World! Documentary Film for and by Children and Youths
Sat., 10 Nov. 2007, 16:00 Roter Salon at Volksbühne, Rosa-Luxemburg-PLATZ
The documentary offers children gentle access to subjects, questions and problems in the world, and the opportunity to discuss them: What kinds of different realities are there? How do people in other cultures live? What joins them together? How do they deal with conflicts and crises? Taking these questions one step further through hands-on filmmaking can open up a new perspective for young people – on themselves, their environment and the media.
The documentary as a key to the world? How do filmmakers, editors, festivals and pedagogues take on the opportunities and responsibilities of children's documentary film? Who decides which subjects and imagery are interesting or appropriate? How do children and youth experience the results? What can working with youth in film accomplish, and in what setting can it best take place?
Using examples in film, children and adults exchange ideas on these and similar questions.
Participants:
- Mark Aitken, documentary filmmaker, producer and director of Polkadotsonraindrops, a youth documentary workshop in London
- Alessandro de Filippo, documentary filmmaker, member of the film collective Cane Capovolto and instructor at the University of Catania. Has implemented numerous workshops on “educazione all'imagine” (education in pictures).
- Oliver Rauch, author and director of documentary and short films with children, editor and dramaturgical consultant, trustee of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.
- Leopold Grün, documentary filmmaker (“Der rote Elvis“), manager of the Institut Jugend Film Fernsehen Berlin, member of the selection committee of doxs! at the Duisburg Film Week.
- Isabel Šuba, director of the short film ”12. Etage“, student at HFF Potsdam.
- selected children
Moderation:
N.N.
Panel 02
Mirror Reflections. The Autobiographical Documentary – Searching, Finding, Inventing
Sun., 11 Nov. 2007, 16:00 Roter Salon at Volksbühne, Rosa-Luxemburg-PLATZ
Making a film about what is most dear to oneself sounds easy, but treacherous terrain and unforeseen traps await those who turn the camera on themselves, making their own lives the subject of observation. How far must one go to ensure that everyone recognizes him or herself in a film self-portrait? What happens to the protagonist? Does the distance from oneself grow with the intimacy of the film? Does one's life become fiction? What discoveries can be made by looking through a camera into a mirror – and for whom?
Participants:
- Jan Peters, filmmaker and co-founder of the filmmaking collective “Abbildungszentrum,” maker of film diaries since 1990.
- Maria Mohr, filmmaker, director of the short personal documentary “Cousin Cousine“ about a love that couldn't be.
- Bin Chuen Choi, filmmaker, returned to his hometown Hong Kong with „Lost property Hong Kong“ (2006).
Moderator:
- Cornelia Klauß, curator for the Leipzig Animation and Documentary Film Festival and for the Short Film Festival Oberhausen, dramaturgist, author
Under the slogan Das Kurze Glück, interfilm offers an interactive online platform that combines the wonders of Berlin: Original photos, films and websites make up a playful network of the city. Awards will be presented on Thursday, 8 November 2007 at 23:00 at the Lange Nacht des Kurzen Glücks at Roter Salon. The Kurze Glück film countdown began on 14 October.
interfilm Berlin is sponsored by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and the Media Program of the EU.
The 23rd International Short Film Festival Berlin takes place under the patronage of Klaus Wowereit, governing Mayor of Berlin.
From 6th – 11th November, interfilm Berlin presents the International Short Film Festival, the most important short film festival in Berlin.
The Festival is a showcase of all that's new and mentionable in the area of international short film. Established veterans, newcomers and shooting stars compete alongside each other for the coveted Short Awards. Of the approximately 3,800 submitted works from 88 countries, 542 films from 50 countries (148 from Germany) and from diverse genres – fiction, animation, documentary, children's film, music clip – were selected for the thirteen International Competition programs, three German Competition programs, and 48 special programs. Among the thirteen International Competition (IC) programs are three programs that make up the competition Confrontations – Films Against Violence and Intolerance. Further, two programs within the IC are dedicated to the documentary – this year's Festival Focus – as are two discussion panels. There will also be special country focus programs featuring short films from Romania and South Korea. For the past 25 years, the International Short Film Festival, a diverse cumulative exhibition, has provided international filmmakers with an ideal platform for the presentation of their work. While the Festival section “Around the World” concentrates on film productions from Italy, Croatia, Spain, Australia, South America, France und South East Asia, the seven programs in the category “Special Guests” aim to captivate film connoisseurs, making it the most innovative short film forum. In addition, interfilm will offer eight “interfilm Extra” programs that feature a wide spectrum of cross-media short film formats. The Youth and Children's Film Program KuKi, with three competition programs and five other programs, is more innovative and extensive this year than ever before.
Once again this year, more than 16,000 visitors are expected to attend Berlin's second largest film festival. The competition juries will present awards valued at a total of 40,000 €.
Festivaleröffnung
Festival Opening Night
Tue. 06 Nov. 21:00
Großer Saal der Volksbühne
Party from 00:00 at Roter Salon
Festival Lounge
On Wed. 7 Nov. und Thu. 8 Nov. from 23:00 at Roter Salon, festival guests can enjoy a colorful mix of screenings and clips, DJing, VJing and live entertainment.
Parallel to “Eject – Midnight Movie Madness” at the Volksbühne on Fri. 09 Nov. from 23:00, the Eject-Party will take place at Roter Salon.
Festival Party
Sat. 10 Nov. from 23:00
The main Festival Party will take place at Club 103, Falckensteinstr. 47. There will be top international live acts, DJs and spectacular video installations. A shuttle service will transport Festival guests directly from Kino Babylon Berlin:Mitte to Club 103.
Awards Ceremony & Winner Screening
Sun. 11 Nov. 19:30 & 22:30
Babylon Berlin:Mitte Saal 1
Closing Party
Sun. 11 Nov. from 22:30 at Roter Salon
Members of the press are invited to meet filmmakers on the following days:
Documentary and animation filmmakers on Thu. 8 Nov. 07, 13:00-14:00, Foyer Kino Babylon Berlin:Mitte, 2nd floor.
Filmmakers from Romania and South Korea on Fri. 9 Nov. 07, 13:00-14:00, Foyer Kino Babylon Berlin:Mitte, 2nd floor.
International and German filmmakers on Sat. 10 Nov. 07, 11:00-12:00, Foyer Kino Babylon Berlin:Mitte, 2nd floor.
The Festival Office and the Press Office (opening times: Tue. 6 Nov., 12:00-18:00, Wed. 7 Nov. – Sat. 10 Nov., 12:00-21:00 and Sun. 11 Nov., 14:00-16:00) are located at Kino Babylon Berlin:Mitte. interfilm offers international film business visitors and journalists the opportunity to view all submitted films during the Festival at the Film Market (opening times: Wed. 7 Nov. – Sat. 10 Nov., 12:00-18:00, Sun. 11 Nov., 12:00-16:00), also located at Kino Babylon Berlin:Mitte.
From 6 – 11 November, Festival visitors can view 542 films and take part in numerous events at the following locations:
Babylon Berlin:Mitte - Hackesche Höfe Filmtheater - Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-PLATZ - Roter Salon in der Volksbühne - 103 Club in Berlin-Kreuzberg.
The complete program is available at www.interfilm.de
International Competition
IC 01 Assaults and Accidents, IC 02 Animated, IC 03 Fatal Life, IC 04 Love and Insanities, IC 05 Surrealities, IC 06 Family Affairs, IC 07 Digital Delusion
107 competitors from 44 countries
107 films will compete for interfilm Short Awards in the categories Best Film, Best Animation, Best Fiction, Best Documentary, and Best Film Against Violence and Intolerance. The international jury includes Deutsche Kinemathek curator Rolf Giesen, actress Roswitha Schreiner, editor and contributor for the French short film magazine Bref Fabrice Marquat, Capalbio Film Festival director Tommaso Mottola, and screenwriter Sergio Barrejon (Eramos pocos, 2005).
International Competition - Confrontations
IC CON 01 Violent Encounters, IC CON 02 About War, IC CON 03 Daily Fears
A special jury of active contributors to film and politics will present awards in the competition programs “Confrontations” to the two Best Films Against Violence and Intolerance. Jury members are Daniel Kothenschulte (film and art critic, author and silent film pianist), Barbara Kisseler (director of the Senate Chancellery of Berlin), Dorothee Wenner (filmmaker, journalist and director of the Berlinale Talent Campus), Bernd Scherer (intendant at the House of World Cultures) and Jördis Triebel (actress).
International Documentary Competition
IC DOC 01Passionen, IC DOC 02 From Work to Work
An additional separate jury, including Uli Gaulke – winner of the German Film Award 2001 for Best Documentary, “Havanna, mi amor”, Angelika Krüger-Leißner – member of German parliament, Dr. Gabriele Weyand – author and ZDF editor, and Marcus Winterbauer – cameraman for the award-winning film “Full Metal Village” will select the two Best Documentaries.
German Competition
GC 01 Die Regeln des Spiels, GC 02 Dickes Ende, GC 03 Von Sinnen
21 competitors from Germany
The German Competition is a special forum for local short film productions. The jury members – actor Florian Lukas, TV presenter Janin Reinhardt, producer Thomas Wöbke and “Behind the Couch” director Veit Helmer – will select the recipient of an interfilm Short Award in the category Best German Film. For the first time this year the German Competition will also include the Skoda Short Film Award and an Audience Award.
Youth and Children's Film Program KuKi – Kurze für Kids
Children's Film Competition
KuKi 01 Competition Program (age 6+), KuKi 02 Competition Program (age 8+), KuKi 03 Competition Program (age 10+)
35 competitors from 21 countries
Since 2000, interfilm has been presenting short film for children and young people. The three individual programs present different aspects of and perspectives on childhood and youth. This program promises to be a lively film experience, during which a special youth jury (Nina, Sofie, Max and Sam) will select the two Best Children's Films from the competition programs for children age 6 and up, age 8 and up, and age 10 and up. Additionally, the audience will have the opportunity to select their favorite film for the Audience Award.
KuKi 04 School Program (age 8+), KuKi 05 Circus Cabuwazi, KuKi 06 Film Workshop, KuKi 07 Is this the right place? – Theme Program (age 10+), KuKi 08 Look at the World! – Documentary Film Program (age 10+)
200 children from seven Berlin schools wrote impressive stories on the topic “Is this the right place? Being Foreign – Being Different”. The winning story was be adapted for the screen in the writing workshop, and the finished script was filmed by and with 10 children at a Film Workshop during the Fall Break 2007. The result, “Spitzenflieger”, directed by Jack Rath, will be presented in the KuKi program on the same topic, as well as open each KuKi program.
In addition to the School Programs (tickets: tel 030 – 3087 2510, FAX 030 – 3087 2512), interfilm presents two special programs: the first on the production workshop theme Is this the right place? Being Foreign – Being Different, and a second, Look at the World!, a documentary film program for children and young people age 10 and up as a part of this year's Festival focus on the documentary. This complex subject will also be discussed by media pedagogues and documentary filmmakers in a special panel (for details, see Panels).
interfilm will also present the competition program for children age 6 and up on Sat. 10 Nov., and for children age 8 and up on Sun. 11 Nov., each at 16:00, at Circus Cabuwazi in Berlin – Kreuzberg.
Eject
IC EJECT Eject X – Midnight Movie Madness
Once again, the audience will decide which short is the strangest of the strange shorts at Eject on Friday, 9 November 2007, 23:00 at the Volksbühne. Eject – Midnight Movie Madness is the platform for the most unique submissions to the Festival and celebrates its 10th birthday this year with absurdities abound.
The bizarre/kitsch Eject Party will take place parallel to Eject (Friday, 9 November 2007 from 23:00) at the Roter Salon, with DJ Alan Always (rock, trash, pop).
Focus on the Documentary
FOC 01 Jan Peters Exhibit 1 - Ghost in the machine, FOC 02 Jan Peters Exhibit 2 - Außer Atem, FOC 03 Kasseler Doocumentary Film and Videofest, FOC 04 No Comment, FOC 05 Reality Bites, FOC 06 Realities Rewind – Highlights, FOC 07 Animadok Leipzig
The documentary is the thematic focus of the 23rd International Short Film Festival Berlin. Eight special programs offer Festival visitors the opportunity to discover the possibilities of new forms and film developments in documentary production. With 81 films, interfilm aims to illustrate that the documentary is just as capable of delivering suspense, joy in experimenting, memorability and entertainment value as other short film genres.
interfilm presents an exhibition of Jan Peters' body of work from more than 16 years of filmmaking in the programs Ghost in the machine and Außer Atem. A guest at interfilm this year will be the Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival, which will present three short film productions from the 2006 festival. Also, DOK Leipzig will show an exemplary selection of films from the past ten years of its program Animadok. The program No Comment will feature films from the past three years that forego dialogue or commentary. Reality Bites presents films that play freely with reality and presentation. A selection of masterpieces and award-winning films from the past 5 interfilm Documentary Competitions will be on display in Realities Rewind. And finally, this year's festival includes a documentary program for youth and children age 10 and up: Look at the World!
Additionally, the program Immaginale 2 – Italian Masterpieces, part of the festival section “Around the World“, will feature historic short documentaries by master craftsmen like Antonioni, Risi and Rossellini.
Further, international guests will participate in the two panels “Look at the World! Documentary Film for and by Youth and Children” and “Mirror Reflections. The Autobiographical Documentary Film”, discussing specific questions on the subject of documentaries (for details, see Panels).
Country Focus: Romania
RO 01 Stadt, Land, Strand, RO 02 Irrlichter
New Romanian cinema is taking the film world by storm. After the turn of the millennium, young filmmakers created the first productions of a Romanian film revival. The International Short Film Festival offers a tour through life in Romania in two programs: Stadt, Land, Strand features films with a critical perspective on the lively and upheaval-wrought world of this new addition to the European Union. Irrlichter reflects – often tragic-comically – life in modern Romania, marked by extreme contradictions.
Country Focus: South Korea
SK 01 Home... Or: Where the Fear Grows, SK 02 Looking-glass upon the Wall..., SK 03 Sugar, spice and everything nice, SK 04 Animaniacs!
In recent years, a film landscape has emerged in South Korea – practically from nowhere – that shows enormous potential. Blossoming with innovative energy, the South Korean film scene is currently the most vivacious in Asia. A young generation of filmmakers produces technically brilliant animations and short features which reflect the tensions between traditional forms of thought and modern (city) life. In four diverse programs featuring numerous German and European screening debuts, interfilm presents the many-layered short film landscape of South Korea.
In the program Home...Or: Where the Fear grows are seven productions that focus on family and relationships with parents or grandparents. Mercilessly and painfully, the six short films and animations in the program Looking-glass upon the Wall... scrutinize gender roles, taboos and hierarchies in a society that still functions according to strict Confucian laws of authority. Sugar, spice and everything nice features mostly sticky-sweet and rosy love relationships, and Animaniacs is a thematically diverse animation program.
Special Program “Around the World”
SP 01 Australia 1 - Not Drowning, Waving!, SP 02 Australia 2 - The F Word ... Friends & Family, SP 03 AsiAnima – Asia, SP 04 Tabor Film Festival – Croatia, SP 05 Retrospective Zagreb School of Animation – Croatia, SP 06 Cortitos – South America, SP 07 La vida en corto – Spain, SP 08 Paris Parcour(t)s – France, SP 09 Immaginale 1 - Children, Football and Tragedies – Italien, SP 10 Immaginale 2 - Italian Masterpieces - Italy
Once again this year, interfilm provides an important film platform for intercultural exchange between countries, people, projects and ideas - especially through its comprehensive selection of international short films.
Films from Australia (selection of the newest Australian short films), Asia, Croatia (new short films and historic animation films), South America, and Spain will be in the spotlight, as well as films from and about Paris, and from Italy (Festival Immaginale).
Australia
This year, Australian film productions are more diverse than ever. interfilm presents two programs in cooperation with the St. Kilda Film Festival, featuring the newest highlights from Down Under. Not Drowning, Waving is a selection of films on refusing to lose, and The F Word … Friends & Family focuses on the protagonists in our midst.
Asia
Beyond the Country Focus program on South Korea, the program AsiAnima is dedicated to the enormous scope of Asian animation film. Whether traditional opera from China, or absurd abstractions from Japan, Asian animation combines tradition with the future, history with knowledge, and art with criticism to create a unique film aesthetic.
Croatia
interfilm presents a selection of Croatian films from the last Tabor Film Festival, bringing the magic of Tabor to Berlin. In addition, a restrospective dedicated to the Zagreb School of Animation will show eight historic animation films, which feature an overzealous photographer, a grim detective and a love-struck beach tourist in the award-winning film “Surogat” by Dusan Vukotic.
South America
Prepare for turbulence – this year's cross-section of the Latin-American short film scene promises to be tumultuous. The program Cortitos includes two Argentine comedies that show what kind of withdrawal symptoms may arise after soap opera addiction, a Columbian film that features a reporter and his criminal schemes, and a Chilean production on the long-term damage of military dictatorship. The Brazilian and Mexican productions are mentionable as well.
Spain
Viewers will recognize the absurd and sometimes tragic situations in life portrayed in the program La vida en corto. Perhaps that's because the protagonists don't give up either.
Paris
Interfilm invites viewers to a tête-à-tête with the French capital, presenting a ramble through 50 years of short film art from and about Paris. Besides Jean-Luc Godard's French little rascal par excellence, Paris Parcour(t)s includes images that transcend the City of Lights myth, like some newer productions that show how hard it is to find love – even in Paris.
Italy
Immaginale turns 10 this year, and has been at home at interfilm for many years. A festival within a festival. Besides current Italian films in the program Children, Football and Tragedies, the program Italian Masterpieces shows historical short documentaries from cinema masters like Antonioni, Risi and Rossellini, in cooperation with the short film festival Capabio.
Special Program “Special Guests“
SP 11 Retrospective Simon Ellis – Great Britain, SP 12 European Film Academy Short Film 2007 - Prix UIP 1,
SP 13 European Film Academy Short Film 2007 - Prix UIP 2, SP 14 Autour de Minuit - Digital Wonderlands,
SP 15 QuickFlick World, SP 16 Daumenkino – The Big Screen in Miniature, SP 17 100 Years of Berlin in 3-D Photographs
The Festival section Special Guests features a number of “visiting” filmmakers and festivals. Retrospective Simon Ellis takes a look at 14 of Ellis' 18 short films from the past 10 years. His film “Soft”, which has left a lasting impression at numerous international film festivals, is also a competitor in the International Competition Family Affairs and in the European Film Academy Short Film 2007 – Prix UIP 2. Ellis will be present at the screenings.
As an initiative of the European Film Academy (EFA) and distributor United International Pictures (UIP) in cooperation with thirteen festivals all over Europe, all films awarded with the Prix UIP are automatically nominated for the category Short Film in the European Film Award competition. The winner is announced at the Awards Ceremony in Berlin on 1 December 2007. interfilm presents the nominees for the European Film Academy Short Film Award – Prix UIP in two programs.
A selection of animation films by the producer Nicolas Schmerkin, founder of the short fim production company Autour de Minuit, will be shown in the program of the same name: Autour de Minuit – Digital Wonderlands. The company's films stand for visionary digital work, on the threshold between animation and experimental film. Schmerkin will be present at the screenings.
QuickFlick World is a global, digital film festival that takes place once a month simultaneously in a growing number of cities all over the world. A global network of filmmakers concentrates on a certain subject and technical parameter every month, giving their imagination free creative reign. This year, interfilm presents a colorful program of current QuickFlicks and many classics from 10 cities around the world.
In the program Daumenkino – The Big Screen in Miniature, self-titled flipbookographer V. Gerlin combines film, photography and stage performance. By projecting his flipbook mini-movies onto the screen, Gerling draws sensitive portraits of the people and places he encounters on his travels.
Over 150 projected photos make the history of Berlin seem strikingly real. Using modern computer technology, Meisterstein lends even old glass-plate photos impressive quality. Berlin close enough to touch: 100 Years of Berlin in 3-D Photographs. This program is complemented by the exhibition obstacle course Mitte im Glück at 16 locations between the cinemas Babylon Berlin:Mitte and Hackesche Höfe Filmtheater in Mitte.
Special Program “interfilm Extra“
SP 18 Experimental, SP 19 Shocking, SP 20 Control - A Program About Surveillance, SP 21 Soundso - New German Music Videos, SP 22 Champion Sound - New International Music Videos, SP 23 The Radar Festival - Next Generation Music Video, SP 24 Clip it! - Music, Art and Animation, SP 25 Commercials for a Concept
interfilm Extra offers a comprehensive spectrum of cross-media short film formats. Emotional roller-coasters and surreal moments are captured in a beguiling storm of images in Experimental. Fans of masochistic entertainment can test their bounds of tolerance in Shocking.
Surveillance has become a daily reality, and fear of terrorism has opened the door to diverse forms of civil rights curtailment. Filmmakers from Canada, Taiwan, France and Germany focus on this subject in different ways – sometimes playful, sometimes serious – in Control – A Program About Surveillance.
The program Soundso – New German Music Videos presents a selection of the best German music videos of the past few years, while Champion Sound – New International Music Videos invites viewers to take in an international collective of pure music enjoyment. In the program Radar Festival – Next Generation Music Video, 18 finalists from the first Radar Festival in London will be screened. C. Bottomley, founder of the festival, will be present during the program. Clip it – Music, Art and Animation is a collage of animation and video clips. Commercials for a Concept features ads – not for consumer products, but for ideas, concepts or utopian product suggestions. Artists and short film or video directors were invited to create clips on the subject “Ideas for Europe”, and these 24 entertaining and experimental ads are the result. Commercials for a Concept is a project by Graw Böckler for the 53rd International Film Festival Oberhausen 2007, and was sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Panels
PAN 01 Look at the World! Documentary Film for and by Children and Youths
PAN 02 Mirror Reflections. The Autobiographical Documentary – Searching, Finding, Inventing
Panel 01
Look at the World! Documentary Film for and by Children and Youths
Sat., 10 Nov. 2007, 16:00 Roter Salon at Volksbühne, Rosa-Luxemburg-PLATZ
The documentary offers children gentle access to subjects, questions and problems in the world, and the opportunity to discuss them: What kinds of different realities are there? How do people in other cultures live? What joins them together? How do they deal with conflicts and crises? Taking these questions one step further through hands-on filmmaking can open up a new perspective for young people – on themselves, their environment and the media.
The documentary as a key to the world? How do filmmakers, editors, festivals and pedagogues take on the opportunities and responsibilities of children's documentary film? Who decides which subjects and imagery are interesting or appropriate? How do children and youth experience the results? What can working with youth in film accomplish, and in what setting can it best take place?
Using examples in film, children and adults exchange ideas on these and similar questions.
Participants:
- Mark Aitken, documentary filmmaker, producer and director of Polkadotsonraindrops, a youth documentary workshop in London
- Alessandro de Filippo, documentary filmmaker, member of the film collective Cane Capovolto and instructor at the University of Catania. Has implemented numerous workshops on “educazione all'imagine” (education in pictures).
- Oliver Rauch, author and director of documentary and short films with children, editor and dramaturgical consultant, trustee of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.
- Leopold Grün, documentary filmmaker (“Der rote Elvis“), manager of the Institut Jugend Film Fernsehen Berlin, member of the selection committee of doxs! at the Duisburg Film Week.
- Isabel Šuba, director of the short film ”12. Etage“, student at HFF Potsdam.
- selected children
Moderation:
N.N.
Panel 02
Mirror Reflections. The Autobiographical Documentary – Searching, Finding, Inventing
Sun., 11 Nov. 2007, 16:00 Roter Salon at Volksbühne, Rosa-Luxemburg-PLATZ
Making a film about what is most dear to oneself sounds easy, but treacherous terrain and unforeseen traps await those who turn the camera on themselves, making their own lives the subject of observation. How far must one go to ensure that everyone recognizes him or herself in a film self-portrait? What happens to the protagonist? Does the distance from oneself grow with the intimacy of the film? Does one's life become fiction? What discoveries can be made by looking through a camera into a mirror – and for whom?
Participants:
- Jan Peters, filmmaker and co-founder of the filmmaking collective “Abbildungszentrum,” maker of film diaries since 1990.
- Maria Mohr, filmmaker, director of the short personal documentary “Cousin Cousine“ about a love that couldn't be.
- Bin Chuen Choi, filmmaker, returned to his hometown Hong Kong with „Lost property Hong Kong“ (2006).
Moderator:
- Cornelia Klauß, curator for the Leipzig Animation and Documentary Film Festival and for the Short Film Festival Oberhausen, dramaturgist, author
Under the slogan Das Kurze Glück, interfilm offers an interactive online platform that combines the wonders of Berlin: Original photos, films and websites make up a playful network of the city. Awards will be presented on Thursday, 8 November 2007 at 23:00 at the Lange Nacht des Kurzen Glücks at Roter Salon. The Kurze Glück film countdown began on 14 October.
interfilm Berlin is sponsored by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and the Media Program of the EU.
The 23rd International Short Film Festival Berlin takes place under the patronage of Klaus Wowereit, governing Mayor of Berlin.
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