BLOCK 2 / Eröffnungsabend II
Saturday, 12. October, 20pm
HOLLYWOOD /
Austria / 2022 / Short Film / 27 min
OT German / UT English
Anna has opted for the rocky road of an acting career, partly to escape the confines of her small town home. In the meantime, she keeps her head above water by playing the "victim" in fire drills. Eventually she complies with her father's urging and applies for a job at the bank in her home town - an unbearable prospect for her. But she now knows how to get out of such situations...
Director: Leni Gruber, Alex Reinberg, Producer: Provinzfilm GmbH,
Script: Alex Reinberg, Leni Gruber, DoP: Patrick Wally,
Editor: Daniel Rutz, Sound: Markus Ortner, Lukas Benedicic, Alex Siegl, Cristi Iorga, Music: Maria Lisa Pichler, Alex Siegl
Leni Gruber In addition to her studies in writing and dramaturgy at the Vienna Film Academy, Leni has realised several short films and has already received two awards at the Crossing Europe Linz film festival. Her work has also been shown at several international festivals beyond Austria's borders, including the Sarajevo Film Festival and the Max Ophüls Prize Film Festival. Alex Reinberg Born in Linz, Austria, Alex completed his Bachelor's degree in Writing and Dramaturgy at the Vienna Film Academy in 2017. In 2019, he studied "Screenwriting for Film and Television" at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles and is now continuing his studies at Filmakademie Wien. As a writer and director, Alex has already realised several short films that have been presented at national and international festivals, and he also works as a dramaturgical consultant on various projects.
BLOCK 3
Saturday, 12. October, 22pm
GO WEST / / NACH WESTEN GEHEN
France / 2024 / Short Film / 20 min
OT German / UT English
Barbara is an energetic middle-aged Austrian woman. She takes in refugees in her family home, who do gardening work for her. In return, she works on their integration, introducing them to the German-speaking culture in a determined and comprehensive manner. Zaki adapts, learns and obeys, but Sabur, who, like Zaki, comes from Afghanistan, resists this well-intentioned but imposed cultural reorientation.
Director: Markus Zizenbacher, Producer: Claudia Joldes, Antoine Salomé, Joséphine Mourlaque,
Script: Markus Zizenbacher, DoP: Patrick Wally,
Editor: Antonia-Marleen Klein, Sound: Claudia Joldes, Music: n/a
Markus Zizenbacher, born in 1986, grew up in Vienna. After stays in Germany and France, studied at the Film Academy Vienna. In addition to the participation of short films in several festivals, writing on screenplays, research for documentary films and work as a caster for various feature film projects. Most recently virtual reality works at the theatre Schauspielhaus Graz.
BLOCK 5
Monday, 14. October, 20pm
DAS IST KEINE FIGUR, DAS IST VERRAT / THIS IS NOT A CHARACTER, THIS IS BETRAYAL /
Germany / 2024 / Short Film / 13 min
OT German / UT English
A young author who has made it into the circles of literary figures and cultural agents with a book about his mother. A mother whose work as a hairdresser has made this rise possible, who is proud of her son, but who is confronted with a cultural boundary that now also separates mother and son. She leaves the reading when she realises that she doesn't belong there and wanders through the city at night. In a late gesture, the son steps out of his role as a celebrated author and pays his respects.
Director: Romina Küper, Producer: Katharina Mumper, Isabella Müller de Paula, Maxine Paatzsch,
Script: Romina Küper, Max Lindemann, DoP: Philipp Schaeffer,
Editor: Silvan Marty, Sound: Rachel Oker, Music: Das Beat, Derya Atakan, Demian Martin, PISSE
Romina Küper (*1992) grew up in the Ruhr area and Münsterland. While still studying philosophy, theatre studies and comparative literature (RUB Bochum, FU and UDK Berlin), she began a career as an actress and took part in more than 30 productions. Since 2021 she has been studying stage directing at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg.
BLOCK 5
Monday, 14. October, 20pm
TILIPIRCHE / GRASSHOPPERS / HEUSCHRECKEN
Italy / 2023 / Short Film / 18 min
OT Italian / UT German
Drought, a plague of locusts and unavailable aid money drive a small Sardinian farmer to despair and the abyss. And then his son, with whom he kept his flock of sheep and ran a small dairy, takes a job in a factory. The tragedy, which is as all-encompassing as it is hopeless, echoes the motifs of biblical plagues, to which those affected can ultimately only submit.
Director: Francesco Piras, Producer: Mechanè Film by BEE TO BEE,
Script: Francesco Piras, DoP: Francesco Piras,
Editor: Francesco Piras, Sound: Claudia Pitzalis, Fabrizio Campanelli, Music: Emanuele Pittoni, Francesco Medda
Born in Cagliari, Sardinia (Italy) in 1978, Francesco Piras is a director, cinematographer and photographer. He has worked for years in the world of advertising for brands such as BMW, Rolls Royce, Bugatti. He directed the photography of numerous short films, documentaries and films including "Bentu" by Salvatore Mereu, in competition in the Giornate degli Autori 2022. he directed the short film "Il Nostro Concerto", which received national and international recognition including the nomination for the David di Donatello Award in 2019. In 2021 he wrote and directed the short film “Mammarranca”, officially selected at the Nastri d’Argento 2023 and winner of the Rai Cinema Channel award. “Tilipirche (Grasshoppers)”, his most recent short film, has its World Premiere at Sic@Sic - Venice International Film Critics’ Week.
BLOCK 6
Tuesday, 15. October, 18pm
PASANDO TERUEL / BEYOND TERUEL / JENSEITS VON TERUEL
Spain / 2023 / Short Film / 23 min
OT Spanish / UT German
An old shepherd leaves his flock and his village because he is driven by a longing for a different life. A long-lost promise of love shows him the way. When he meets a young photographer who takes pictures of the most deserted places in Europe, he is presented with an opportunity. But the place he longs for is much further away than he thought. Will he actually reach it?
Director: Manuel Omonte, Producer: Manuel Omonte,
Script: Manuel Omonte, DoP: Sergio Fuertes,
Editor: Alexandre Kröner,Manuel Omonte, Sound: Alexandre Kröner, Music: -
As a teenager, he began to frequent the Filmoteca in Valencia, where he discovered a growing passion for cinema. After studying graphic design, he decided to move to Barcelona to study filmmaking at the Bande à part school. He currently works in the film industry in different roles within the location and production departments, an activity that he combines with researching, writing and filming of his own projects.
BLOCK 9
Wednesday, 16. October, 20pm
NA ŻYWO / LIVE /
Poland / 2022 / Short Film / 14 min
OT Russian / UT German
A demonstration is brutally broken up on the streets of Minsk. Two independent journalists have barricaded themselves in a friend's flat and are reporting live on the events. But the tentacles of power are also penetrating private spaces. And the helpers are ultimately just as affected as the wanted dissidents. A film about fear and the courage of despair.
Director: Mara Tamkovich, Producer: Filip Marczewski, Wajda Studio / Katarzyna Madaj - Kozłowska, Wajda Studio,
Script: Mara Tamkovich, DoP: Krzysztof Trela,
Editor: Katarzyna Leśniak, Sound: Joanna Napieralska, Jerzy Murawski, Music: Martyna Kacprowicz
Mara Tamkovich - a director, screenwriter and journalist, born in Minsk, Belarus.She is a graduate of the Development Lab course at the Wajda School, previously worked as a journalist for Belsat TV. She received a scholarship from the Andrzej Wajda and Krystyna Zachwatowicz-Wajda Kyoto-Krakow Foundation and has also won a "She's Mercedes" award.
BLOCK 9
Wednesday, 16. October, 20pm
NABI /
Iran / 2024 / Short Film / 20 min
OT Persian / UT German
After 25 years, an Afghan labour migrant is thrown out of his job as a caretaker and cleaner in an Iranian office tower block and replaced by a younger man. The roof of the building was not only his workplace, but also his living space. The camera observes his last activities through the fixed frames of the cold-hearted office architecture. What will await him when he has to leave this world of exploitation, which he had made his home with his meagre resources?
Director: Hamed Golshahi, Producer: Hamed Golshahi,
Script: Hamed Golshahi, DoP: Ali Ehsani,
Editor: Sheyda Gorji, Sound: Payam Shahid Sales, Music: chopin
Hamed Golshahi lives and was born in Iran in 1987. He graduated with a Master's degree in Dramatic Literature from Tehran University of Arts in 2019. He is a screenwriter, producer and director.
BLOCK 12
Thursday, 17. October, 22pm
BURUL /
Kyrgyzstan / 2024 / Short Film / 14 min
OT Kyrgyz / UT German
The young Burul is interested in wrestling and practises it secretly on a doll - unusual in her Kyrgyz home village, which is completely dominated by old traditions. In contrast, it seems customary for young men to secure their future brides simply by kidnapping them. But the kidnapped young woman fights back - because she can! When she returns safely to her parents' house, her father changes his mind about Burul's love of sport.
Director: Adilet Karzhoev, Producer: Adilet Karzhoev,
Script: Adilet Karzhoev, DoP: Zhumanazar Koichubekov,
Editor: Karash Zhanyshov, Sound: Nurkyz Tungatarova, Music: -
Adilet Karzhoev was born in 1988 in Kyrgyzstan. In 2011, he received a Bachelor's degree from the Kyrgyz-Turkish University Manas; department of Radio, TV and Cinema. In 2019, he received a Master’s degree from American University in Central Asia; a department of Journalism (concentration in cinema).
BLOCK 12
Thursday, 17. October, 22pm
CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO DIE / / HAND AUFS HERZ UND HOFFE ZU STERBEN
Philippines / 2023 / Short Film / 17 min
OT Tagalog / UT German
Mila works under the most precarious conditions in a small Philippine company - constant work pressure, denial of pay, an anonymous command structure. The tube-like office building has become the place where she lives, enveloping and imprisoning her at the same time. Almost apathetically, she submits to the conditions from which she cannot escape. Then an unknown caller intervenes in her everyday life, causing anxiety and yet also awakening hope.
Director: Sam Manacsa, Producer: Chad Cabigon, Carlo Francisco Manatad,
Script: Sam Manacsa, DoP: Martika Ramirez-Escobar,
Editor: Carlo Francisco Manatad, Sound: Sum-Sum Shen, Ilya Selikhov, Music: -
Sam Manacsa worked as Art Director on award-winning films such as Carlo Francisco Manatad’s Whether the Weather Is Fine. Her short film, If People Such as We Cease to Exist (2016), was selected at Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Competition. Cross My Heart and Hope To Die (2023) was selected to premiere at the 80th La Biennale Venice International Film Festival in the official Orizzonti Short Films Competition. Her first feature, The Void Is Immense on Idle Hours, is currently in development.
BLOCK 12
Thursday, 17. October, 22pm
MAMAN T’AVAIT DIT / MOM TOLD YOU SO / MAMA HAT ES DIR GESAGT
France / 2022 / Short Film / 7 min
OT French / UT German
A young woman's perilous journey home after a night of partying takes the form of a video game. Will she manage to get round the next corner unmolested? Who is the stranger without a face? How can she react to the footsteps behind her? The film can also be read as a critical commentary on the convenient unreality of video games.
Director: CÉCILE COURNELLE, Producer: CÉCILE COURNELLE,
Script: CÉCILE COURNELLE, DoP: OLIVIER TRESSON,
Editor: NICOLAS LEBOUCHER, Sound: ALEXANDRE SIRGHI, Music: SIMON LAURIS & CÉCILE COURNELLE
Cécile Cournelle is a director and an actress. In 2019, she becomes strongly aware of global warning and the threats of collapse. She becomes a ecologist militant, but she also thinks that cinema can be a powerful tool to impact mentalities. She directs her first short film « Faim » which is about a family seeking food in an apocalyptic world where bees have disappeared. In 2022, she directs the short film « Mom told you so ».
BLOCK 13
Friday, 18. October, 18pm
NASHVILLE /
Denmark / 2023 / Short Film / 23 min
OT Danish / UT German
No, Robert, just returned from Nashville to his Danish hometown, will not take off his new hat! And no, his father won't stop drinking! After the death of his wife, he has to organise the traditional Christmas bingo alone with his son and daughter for the first time. It threatens to be a fiasco. But Robert unpacks his guitar and sings a song - about the doubly effective bonds of kinship.
Director: JESPER VIDKJÆR, Producer: KIM SØGAARD,
Script: JESPER VIDKJÆR & THOMAS NIELSEN, DoP: CHRISTIAN KARLSEN,
Editor: RASMUS GITZ-JOHANSEN, Sound: ERIK OLSEN, Music: KAJSA VALA
Jesper Vidkjær Rasmussen (Aarhus, Denmark, 03/13/1979) He has a background as an actor and is trained from Michael Chekhov Studio in USA and Denmark. Since 2005 has been working primarily as a director on different shorts, documentaries and music videos. Jesper is currently developing his first feature. He has directed and written the film RIDERS, a prize winning short film that has been shown around the world on a many festivals.