GENERAL EVENTS 2018

The 15th PROVINZIALE – Filmfestival commences at the Paul-Wunderlich-Haus in Eberswalde. Opening the competition in the category long documentary film, will be WIES PLYWAJACYCH KROW / THE VILLAGE OF SWIMMING COWS by Katarzyna Trzaska. Tonight celebrates the first screening in Germany for the film.

WIES PLYWAJACYCH KROW / THE VILLAGE OF SWIMMING COWS

Polen 2018 78 min

A hilarious comedy,the film tells the story of an unusual encounter between three neo-hippies from Berlin and a group of local farmers in Eastern Poland. While their philosophies of life could not be more different, both parties are open for an exchange of ideas. And despite all differences, we are allowed to witness a friendship in the making.

This year, the trumpeter Richard Koch and his quartet will accompany the opening ceremony with music
Richard Koch (tp) – Michael Hornek (piano) – Kalle Enkelmann (bass) – Moritz Baumgärtner (drums)

The Sound Of Humus! Richard Koch, who, among others, has played with the Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra, the Beatsteaks and the bands of Jimi Tenor and Nils Frahm takes his new musical foursome for a walk in the forest.

Maurice Summen: „The earthworm breaks up the soil, just to be devoured by a birds´ beak a few minutes later. The bird warbles a little melody for dessert, while Richard Koch is standing with his trumpet in hand on a little opening among the trees. He observes the spectacle of nature, before adding his own tune to the ensemble of the food chain. Is this jazz? Under all circumstances! The Richard Koch quartet is one of greatest discoveries of the Berlin Jazz Year 2018 and will hopefully continue to delight us for years to come.

The other three competition classes – Short Documentary, Short Feature Film and Animated Film – will present their opening films jointly in a film block later tonight.

TOUTES LES POUPÉES NE PLEURENT PAS / DOLLS DON’T CRY
FRANCE 2017 20 min OT ohne Dialoge

FÆDRELAND / LAND OF OUR FATHERS
JORDANIEN/ DÄNEMARK 2017 20 min OT Arabisch UT Englisch

ZIRDZIN, HALLO! / HELLO HORSE!
REGIE Laila Pakalnina LETTLAND 2017 24 min OT ohne Dialoge

The province matters
The Eberswalde film festival has given itself the epithet PROVINZIALE, which says a lot about our programmatic line. We strive to explore the bright and dark sides of what we call province and to discuss the future of rural and remote areas. Above all, we wish to make decisions not subject to the rules of attention dictated by showbusiness but serving civil society here and now.

PROVINZIALE invites you
We have seen in recent years that film is a perfect medium to achieve the kind of communication we are looking for. But we want to integrate and invite artists from other genres as well to take part in a debate about meaning and content – referring mostly to visual artists based in the region, although local ties are not an absolute must.

Artists show us their province – the idea
Every year the PROVINZIALE invites an artist to decorate the entrance area of the Paul Wunderlich Haus for the duration of the festival. Each work is self-contained and unique in its approach but may also comment on those of the past. Over the years, we thus want to establish a dialogue between artists. The usable area is fixed, but the artists are free in applying any means and techniques they may choose.

This year, we invited the painter, set designer and graphic artist Matthias F. Mücke to design the gateway to the province 2018 for us. We are glad he accepted.

The big city is only a stone´s throw away,
But far enough to enjoy the perks of rural deceleration.
The culture of wasteful affluence seems a rather foreign concept
But how do you live in the province?
There´s just meadows, forest and fields around,
Among which we find a few scattered three-house villages and abandoned pigsties.
You could start turning every stone upside down
But why don´t you rather listen to the stories of the old?
For this, you don´t have to look far
You haven´t swallowed your tongue, have you?

(2018, Matthias F. Mücke)

MATTHIAS F. MÜCKE
Matthias F. Mücke was born in 1965 in East Berlin. He trained to be a painter and restoration artist with the Institute for Historic Preservation in Berlin but has been working as a freelance painter, set designer and graphic artist since 1988. From the year 2000 he has also been publishing books with original graphics. Mathias Friedrich Mücke is a member of the Brandenburg Fine Artists´ Union.

The winning filmmakers will receive awards worth 11,000 EUR in total. Musical accompaniment to the award ceremony will come from “Csókolom”. The quartet presents traditional sounds from Eastern Europe in a fresh veneer.

• The “e” award for the best documentary film in the PROVINZIALE competition: 4,000 EUR, donated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy of the State of Brandenburg
• The “e” award for the best short feature film: 2,000 EUR
• The “e” award for the audience’s favourite documentary film: 1,000 EUR, donated by the mayor of Eberswalde
• The “e” award for the audience’s favourite short documentary: 1,000 EUR
• The “e” award for the audience’s favourite short feature film: 1,000 EUR, donated by Sparkasse Barnim
• The “e” award for the audience’s favourite animated film: 1,000 EUR
• Special award “THE PRICKLE” for the best cinematic contribution to the sustainability debate: 1,000 EUR, donated by Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

The award ceremony is followed by a reception in the hall. Afterwards, the guests can choose between a screenings of the award-winning films or head over to the Festival Club to see the closing concert with the band “Csókolom”.