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On the occasion of the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2020, the short film competition Europe in Film, which is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, will take place this year.

The DFFB films KATZENJAMMER by Flavio Yuri Rigamonti and STADTPINGUIN by Florinda Frisardi will compete for the Audience Award.

In KATZENJAMMER, a young refugee has to fight his way alone until he meets an old farmer and in STATDPINGUIN, two sisters have adventurous dreams.

From 04.12.2020 to 10.12.2020, watch the films at https://www.alleskino.de/ and then vote for the Audience Award. There will also be talks with all film teams. It’s worth taking a peak!

CHICHINETTE – THE ACCIDENTAL SPY, the documentary and graduation film by Nicola Alice Hens, will be released in cinemas nationwide on September 17, 2020. To accompany its theatrical release, the director will personally present the film in selected cities. The film tells the hitherto little-known story of the French Jew Marthe Cohn alias Chichinette. During the chaos of war, Cohn decided to risk her life to work as an allied spy in Nazi Germany. Today, at the age of 100, she travels the world sharing her story with the younger generations.

The film’s release was planned for March 19, 2020, but a nationwide lockdown in Germany occurred only days before its scheduled start. Now the time has come and CHICHINETTE – THE ACCIDENTAL SPY is finally coming to cinemas.

CHICHINETTE – THE ACCIDENTAL SPY celebrated its German premiere at the Hofer Filmtage 2019.

Film Discussions

FILM DISCUSSION on 12.09.2020 BERLIN KLICK Kino (within the Jewish Film Festival Berlin & Brandenburg) – 6 pm – Guests: director Nicola A. Hens and producer Amos Geva

FILM DISCUSSION on 17.09.2020 WEIMAR Lichthaus cinema – 7 pm – Guest: director Nicola A. Hens

FILM DISCUSSION on 18.09.2020 LEIPZIG Cinémathèque Leipzig – 7 pm – Guest: director Nicola A. Hens

FILM DISCUSSION on 19.09.2020 BERLIN Central – time TBA – Guests: director Nicola A. Hens and producer Amos Geva

FILM DISCUSSION on 19.09.2020 BERLIN Moviemento – time TBA – Guests: director Nicola A. Hens and producer Amos Geva

Venues

Berlin, Bremen, Dortmund, Dresden, Essen, Frankfurt, Freiburg, Halberstadt, Hamburg, Hanover, Karlsruhe, Leipzig, Munich, Münster, Nuremberg, Potsdam, Salzgitter, Stuttgart, Tübingen, Ulm, Wiesbaden, Würzburg, and more.

An updated list of film discussions and venues can be found on the website of missingFILMs.

About the film

At the age of 100, Marthe Cohn tours the world like a rock star. The demunitive white-haired woman possesses humour, flair, and lots of energy. We quickly understand why she was once nicknamed “Chichinette” (little pain in the neck). Her speeches are entertaining and peppered with punch lines. With wit and charm Marthe captivates her audience with her incredible life story: Marthe Hoffnung, a French Jew from Metz, who lost her fiancé and her sister in the war, decided in 1945 to risk her life to spy for the Allies in Nazi Germany and to fight for the war to come to an end. Her mission was successful, but for sixty years after the war she remained silent about her heroic deeds.

An Amos Geva film production in co-production with Merovee Films, the DFFB, and the RBB.

CHICHINETTE – THE ACCIDENTAL SPY tells the impressive story of Cohn’s life in atmospheric, partly animated images.

Source: missingFILMs

After the pandemic thwarted the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in April, we are delighted that the 16th edition of achtung Berlin – new berlin film award film will soon be upon us.

Taking place from 16–20 September, this edition will feature fewer films than usual, but they will all be screened in the best cultural meeting place for filmmakers and film lovers—the cinema!

The DFFB will be present at the festival, which is the most important event for showcasing filmmaking from Berlin and Brandenburg. This year’s programme includes the following contributions from the DFFB:

1986 (R/B: Lothar Herzog, K: Philipp Baben der Erde, P: Romana Janik)

DAS WARTEN (R/B: Lasse Holdhus, K: Alexander Brack, P: Lisa Roling)

DER TAG X (R: Katharina Rivilis, B: Katharina Rivilis, Samuel Chalela Puccini, K: Giulia Schelhas, P: Cecilia Trautvetter)

FREISCHWIMMER (R: Gaya von Schwarze, B: Mirko Rachor, Gaya von Schwarze, Josephine Oleak, K: Raban Jakob Friedrich, P: Ibrahim-Utku Erdogan, Leonie Schäfer)

IN DEN BINSEN (R: Clara Zoe My-Linh von Arnim, B: Andreas Kouba, K: Raban Jakob Friedrich, P: Elisabeth Köller)

JIYAN (R/B: Süheyla Schwenk, K: Florian Wurzer, P: Sara Fazilat, Roxana Richters)

LAND OF GLORY (R: Borbála Nagy, B: Borbála Nagy, Judit Anna Bánházi, K: Moritz Friese, P: Margarita Amineva)

REVOLVO (R/B: Francy Fabritz, K: Antonia Lange, P: Sara Fazilat)

SEBASTIAN SPRINGT ÜBER GELÄNDER (R/B: Ceylan Ataman-Checa, K: Albrecht von Grünhagen, P: Jörg Daniel, Övünc Güvenisik, Simona Kostova, Ceylan Ataman-Checa) und

TRÄUME VON RÄUMEN (R/B: Matthias Lintner, K: Francisco Medina, Matthias Lintner, Matilda Mester, Carlos Andres Lopez, Christopher Aoun; P: Matthias Lintner, Ewelina Rosińska).

In addition, the film FRITSCH´S PFUSCH will screen in the documentary competition section. The film features cinematography by Paul Rohlfs and was produced by Victor Buzalka (Director: Lisa Wagner/KHM).

Two debut films of our gradutes can also be seen at the festival:

GLITTER&DUST by Anna Koch and Julia Lemke and GIRAFFE by Anna Sofie Hartmann.

 

For the full schedule, take a look at the programme booklet.

The 3rd Filmnetzwerk Pitch takes place at the festival on 18 September.

The Pitch is a showcase for filmmakers from Berlin. During the Branchentag of the achtung berlin film festival, a selection of screenwriters, directors, and producers will present their long, short, and serial fiction, non-fiction, and animation projects to a professional audience. The participants will receive feedback from production, TV, and distribution experts.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the pitch this year will occur under necessary hygiene measures. The pitch offers the participants the following possibilities: to receive feedback on the projects’ content and form, to examine relevant production and evaluation strategies, and to gain partners for their project.

We wish everyone a successful festival!

At the award ceremony of this year’s Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis, JIYAN (director/screenwriter: Süheyla Schwenk, cinematographer: Florian Wurzer, producer: Sara Fazilat, Roxana Richters) won the Ecumenical Jury Prize endowed with a €2500 award.

The reasons:

“This haunting, intimate chamber play is strengthened by the interplay of the camera and set design. The film explores the way in which prejudices within the family structure and degrading social realities are handled. It is precisely the filmmaker’s refusal to use an unnecessarily large dramatic arc and to favour a focus on the daily concerns and hardships within the private sphere that bring forth the protagonists’ humanity.

Cleverly written, the film details the life of a young Syrian/Kurdish family and their relatives in Germany.

At the end, the question asked is: What is a human life worth?”

 

Congratulations to the whole team!

 

Credit: ffmop / Oliver Dietze

We are delighted to announce that DFFB graduate Lothar Herzog won the 2019 Hof Gold Prize of the Friedrich Baur Foundation for his film 1986 during the award ceremony on Saturday evening. The Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts in memory of Heinz Badewitz awarded Herzog a certified gold bar of 1 kg of fine gold worth approximately €43,000. The prize also features a year of creative advice to the director regarding the development of a new film.

Director Edgar Reitz (whose films include HEIMAT, DIE ANDERE HEIMAT) was the mentor for the Hof Gold Prize 2018, which was awarded to Luzie Loose for SCHWIMMEN. This year Bernhard Sinkel, director, screenwriter, producer, and head of the film department of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts, has taken over this task.

 

The film is a co-production of Rohfilm Productions GmbH and DFFB.

Congratulations to Lothar Herzog and his whole team!

 

Photocredit: Hofer Filmtage

This year—like previous years—several DFFB films will screen at the 53rd International Hof Film Festival, one of the oldest and most important film festivals in Germany:

1986 (Dir./Script: Lothar Herzog, Cinematography: Philipp Baben der Erbe, Prod.: Romana Janik, Benny Drechsel) will screen in the feature film competition section. 1986 won the NO FEAR Award at First Steps and celebrated its world premiere at the 15th Zurich Film Festival.

Chichinette – How I Accidentally Became a Spy (Dir./Script: Nicola Alice Hens, Prod.: Amos Geva), which just won the Special Mention Award at the 35th HAIFA International Film Festival, will screen in the documentary competition section.

Both films will celebrate their German premiere at the festival.

Four short films from the DFFB will also be presented:

CHAOS (Dir./Script/Prod.: Samuel Auer, Cinematography: Lukas Eylandt)
FREISCHWIMMER (Dir.: Gaya von Schwarze, Script: Mirko Rachor, Gaya von Schwarze, Josephine Oleak, Cinematography: Raban Jakob Friedrich, Prod.: Ibrahim-Utku Erdogan, Leonie Schäfer)
NIGHTFALL (Dir./Script: Josefine Scheffler, Prod.: Grischa Sautter)
REVOLVO (Dir./Script: Francy Fabritz, Cinematography: Antonia Lange, Prod.: Sara Fazilat).

And our alumni will be present at the festival too: Connie Walther with her film DIE RÜDEN. Der Film, Florian Aigner with ImNiemandsland, and Jan Speckenbach with A.N.N.A.

We wish everyone a successful screening. Enjoy the exciting discussions, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for the award ceremony!

The graduation film CHICHINETTE – HOW I ACCIDENTALLY BECAME A SPY by DFFB graduate Nicola Alice Hens celebrated its world premiere last week at the 35th HAIFA International Film Festival and won the Special Mention Award.

99-year-old Martha Cohn accepted the award personally. Congratulations to the whole team!

©Ziv Amar

About the film:

The documentary tells the story of the French spy of Jewish origin Marthe Cohn, better known as Chichinette, who after 60 years, finally breaks her silence and tells her extraordinary story. It is the story of a woman who, at just 4 feet 5 inches in height, beats the odds and fights the Nazis as a spy. At the age of 99, she now tours the world sharing her message to all generations.