Smile

Nineteen-year-old Mercedes is drifting rather aimlessly through life, except that she has one big dream: to go to the legendary electronic music festival Heimat. There, she is not only searching for friendships and even life-changing experiences. She also wants to meet Boy, a DJ that she has been chatting with on Facebook. The tickets are way too expensive, however, so she has to take her Mum’s credit card to get there. Upon arriving at the festival, she soon finds out that Boy is already at a secret backstage party where he is going to play a surprise gig – one that requires a golden wristband to access. As Boy doesn’t manage to pick her up, Mercedes decides to make it there on her own. She befriends wild child Bella who brags about knowing the woman on the door and duly makes Mercedes pay for her drinks along the way. This works out until Mercedes’ Mum blocks her card and it becomes obvious that Bella is not as well connected as she claims. Frustrated, Mercedes wants to leave Heimat but discovers that her credit card-synced wristband will not let her check out. When a festival employee dressed as a Faun offers her one of the ubiquitous happy pills, Mercedes finally buys into the rules of the game. To reach her end goal, Mercedes has to confront the sinister forces at work beneath the surface of this seemingly utopian world. She has to fight not only for her freedom, but also for her identity.

Credits

Cast:

Mercedes Müller – Mercedes

Hanna Hilsdorf – Bella

Mehmet Sözer – Boy

Christoph Bach – Zylinder

Julia Dietze – Heidi

Gigi Spelsberg – Isis

Drehbuch (Credit):

Silke Eggert

Steffen Köhn

Prodromos Antoniadis

Camera:

Mario Krause

Editing:

Andrea Pek

Leonardo Franke

Producer:

René Frotscher

Sound:

Lorenz Fischer

Music:

Johannes Klingebiel

Film info

Direction:

Steffen Köhn

Genre:

fictional

Country of production:

Germany

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

ZDF - Das kleine Fernsehspiel

Mafilm

Production:

2018

Shooting format:

Digital

Screening format:

1:2,35

Frame rate:

24 fps

Aspect ratio:

1:2,35

Sound format:

Dolby 5.1

Language:

German/English with German or English subtitles

Version:

OV

Runtime:

81

Jiyan

The only connection for Hayat to her past life is her nightmares. In Berlin she and her husband Harun living in the uncle’s house and his wife does not agree with this situation because Hayat is Kurdish. After a while Harun finds an illegal Job in a building site and the baby is born. The Baby brings a unique connection between the women. One day the answer is coming about the refugee status of them but Harun disappeared….

Credits

Cast:

Halima Ilter – Hayat

Füsun Demirel – Gülsüm

Baran Sükrü Babacan – Harun

Nizam Namidar – Irfan

Drehbuch (Credit):

Süheyla Schwenk

Camera:

Florian Wurzer

Editing:

Süheyla Schwenk

Producer:

Sara Fazilat

Roxana Richters

Sound:

Philipp Olbrich

Music:

Berivan Ciya

Deniz Mahir Kartal

Film info

Direction:

Süheyla Schwenk

Genre:

fictional

Country of production:

Germany

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

Production:

2019

Shooting format:

16mm

Screening format:

1:1,85

Frame rate:

24 fps

Aspect ratio:

16:9

Sound format:

Dolby 5.1

Language:

Turkish, Kurdish, Deutsch subtitles available in: German, English

Version:

OV

Festivals:

34. Entrevues Belfort, festival international du film (18.-25.11.2019)

41. Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis (20.-26.01.2020)

2. PyeongChang International Peace Film Festival (18.-23.06.2020)

66th Taormina International Film Fest (11.-29.07.2020)

33. Festival DER NEUE HEIMATFILM in Freistadt (26.-30.08.2020)

49. Lubuskie Filmsommer (30.08.-.06.09.2020)

16. achtung berlin - new berlin film award (16.-20.09.2020 - cancelled)

17. Neiße Film Festival (24.-27.09.20)

Kurdisches Filmfestival Berlin (08.-14.10.2020)

55. FILMZ – FESTIVAL DES DEUTSCHEN KINOS (05.-14.11.2020)

Umeå Europeiska Filmfestival (25.-29.11.2020)

Kurdish Film Days Leipzig (04.-05.12.2020)

16th ÉCU – The European Independent Film Festival (09.-11.04.2021)

50th Sehsüchte International Student Film Festival (21.-25.07.2021)

Duhok International Film Festival (11.-18.11.2021)

Kurdische Filmtage (17.-19.03.2022)

Runtime:

71

Memories of a missing girl

In a small village, a mother searches for her missing daughter. She encounters a boy, who might know more about the girl’s disappearance than he admits.

Credits

Cast:

Maria Hengge

Pascal Saschowa

Drehbuch (Credit):

Florinda Frisardi

Camera:

Nicola Medvecka

Editing:

Anna-Lena Laura Engelhardt

Florinda Frisardi

Producer:

Daria Wichmann

Sound:

Music:

LEI

Film info

Direction:

Florinda Frisardi

Genre:

Kurzfilm

Country of production:

Germany

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

Production:

2018

Shooting format:

16mm

Screening format:

1:1,85

Frame rate:

24 fps

Aspect ratio:

1:1,85

Sound format:

Dolby 5.1

Language:

German, English subtitles

Version:

OV

Runtime:

10

The Others

A man can fly, yet is condemned for it. He is required to fit in, to surrender, to change. Ultimately, he’s faced with the decision to either assert himself or to submit.

Credits

Cast:

Márton Nagy

Drehbuch (Credit):

Eliza Petkova

Camera:

Konstantin Kann

Editing:

Eliza Petkova

Producer:

Konstantin Kann

Eliza Petkova

Sound:

Hannes Marget

Music:

Hannes Marget

Film info

Direction:

Eliza Petkova

Genre:

Experimentalfilm

Country of production:

Germany

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

REKA films

Production:

2018

Shooting format:

Digital

Screening format:

2:1

Frame rate:

25 fps

Aspect ratio:

2:1

Sound format:

Dolby 5.1

Language:

German, English subtitles

Version:

OV

Runtime:

11

Sort Sol

Once upon a time ... in the year of 2083: Nate lives in an efficient but dreary future in which people have become nothing more than work machines for Cormick Inc. Mysterious calls pull Nate out of his comfort zone and start haunting him. As he, bit by bit, is cast out of society, his frightening visions take over and bring him back to a world he has forgotten.

Credits

Cast:

Arno Frisch – Nate Paz

Wera Bunge – Erzählerin (Sprechrolle)

Jacqueline Macaulay – Computerstimme (Sprechrolle)

Anton Hetzel – Waldgeist

Drehbuch (Credit):

Rico Mahel

Camera:

Jakob Krüger

Editing:

Rico Mahel

Producer:

Jana Kreissl

Tondesign:

Jonathan Ritzel

Music:

Joscha Grunewald

Film info

Direction:

Rico Mahel

Genre:

Kurzfilm

Country of production:

Germany

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

Production:

2018

Shooting format:

Digital

Screening format:

1:2,39

Frame rate:

24 fps

Aspect ratio:

1:2,39

Sound format:

Dolby 5.1

Language:

German/English with German or English subtitles

Version:

OV

Festivals:

XXV Edição do Festival Caminhos do Cinema Português (22.-30.11.2019)

2ANNAS Riga IFF (10.-16.02.2020)

Runtime:

30

Ohne euch (What we were)

Standing in the middle of a living room, Holger (45) feels like a stranger in a house that used to be his home. Together with his ex-wife Sigrid (40) and their daughters Silvi (15) and Lara (9), he finds himself staring at Poldi, the freshly deceased family rabbit. “Seven years of prison followed by death”, Silvi sassily remarks as Lara strokes the poor animal. The two girls decide that Poldi deserves a proper funeral. And so, for the sake of their pet, the four of them become a family again, at least for a brief moment.

Credits

Cast:

Boris Aljinovic – Holger

Emma Floßmann – Silvia

Annekathrin Bach – Sigrid

Katerina Veljanoski – Lara

Jonathan Elias Weiske – Fred

Drehbuch (Credit):

Hannah Martin

Camera:

Lukas Eylandt

Editing:

Jessica Schneller

Producer:

Anna Werner

Patrick Schorn

Sound:

Marc Reinkober

Mattias Larsen

Music:

Bertolt Pohl

Matti Thölert

Film info

Direction:

Hannah Martin

Melanie Waelde

Genre:

Kurzfilm

Country of production:

Deutschland

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

RBB

Production:

2018

Shooting format:

Digital

Screening format:

16:9

Frame rate:

24 fps

Aspect ratio:

16:9

Sound format:

Dolby 5.1

Language:

German, English subtitles

Version:

OV

Runtime:

13

The Players

"The Players" is a parable about play instinct and freedom. It is a portrait of the Berlin night and its characters. Paul's passion is poker. He regularly plays in backroom rounds of Turkish cafés and thus finances his business studies. Only in the game does he feel truly free. Fatih was also a player. But "addiction isn’t compatible with a job and family". He now drives a taxi and enjoys the job. After a very successful poker night, Paul crosses paths with Fatih as one of his midnight passengers. Paul's fantasies of happiness and freedom awaken Fatih’s repressed yearnings and they make a bet that will forever change one of their lives.

Credits

Cast:

Valentin Erb – Paul

Aykut Kayacık – Fatih

Kai Maertens – Chef

Edvard Lammervo – Robert

Maximilian Seidel – Alexander

Ernest Allan Hausmann – Manfred

Peer Blank – Gerd

Jürgen F. Schmid – Michael

Dina Hellwig – Claudia

Burak Yigit – Tony

Pero Radicic – Dragan

Gilbert Tchassi – Gili

Vedran Bilbija – Dealer

Gisela Berk – Elke

Adrienne von Mangoldt – Luise

Ibrahim-Utku Erdogan – BMW-Fahrer

Drehbuch (Credit):

Samuel Auer

Camera:

Lukas Eylandt

Editing:

Wiebke Henrich

Producer:

Tamara Erbe

Tobias Gaede

Sound:

Tamás Bohács

Andor Horváth

Daniel Engel

Music:

Bertram Denzel

Alice Phoebe Lou

Film info

Direction:

Samuel Auer

Genre:

Kurzfilm

Country of production:

Germany

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

Production:

2018

Shooting format:

Apple ProRes 4x4

Screening format:

2.39:1

Frame rate:

24 fps

Aspect ratio:

2.39:1

Sound format:

Dolby Surround

Language:

German, Subtitles in English and French

Version:

OV

Runtime:

24

News from Borussia

A little girl named Lilly, plays alone with paper dolls, reanacting the everyday life of tenants in one of the typical berliner altbaus. Her disturbing observations are mixed with dreamlike scenes of an unknow source - it could be her future, it could be her past or….neither of them.

Credits

Cast:

Lilly Jellinek – Lilly

Weronika Lewandowska – Weronika

Abou Daboe – Weronikas Betreuer

Michał Suchora – Man mit dem Hund/Nackter Man

Alicja Wysocka – Tanzerin/Tisch Frau

Maria Cukor – Frau mit dem Baby

Willem Harvey Bekker – Baby

Kadi Kaivo – Weronikas Mutter

Wolfram Wirth – Weronikas Vater

Mary Becker – Marion

Sara Morante – Italienische Frau

Bern Wesche – Marions Partner

Jesus Fernandez de Castro – Jesus

Wera Bunge – Die Stimme

Drehbuch (Credit):

Katarzyna Hertz

Camera:

Constantin Campean

Editing:

Katarzyna Hertz

Jan Szewczyk

Producer:

Nadja Rothkirch

Sound:

Sebastian Pablo Poloni

Music:

Jan Durina

Aleksandra Grunholz

Film info

Direction:

Katarzyna Hertz

Genre:

Kurzfilm

Country of production:

Germany

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

Production:

2018

Shooting format:

Digital

Screening format:

16:9

Frame rate:

25 fps

Aspect ratio:

16:9

Sound format:

Stereo

Language:

German, English subtitles

Version:

OV

Runtime:

17

The Magician

In a dystopian world, a failing writer struggling with a story about a magician, receives an unexpected visit from his own fictional creation, which forces him to find an ending to this unfinished story.

Credits

Cast:

Stellan Thorn – The Writer

Julia Schmelzle – The Girl

Lutz Wasewitz – The Old Man

Drehbuch (Credit):

Liel Simon

Camera:

Alexander Brack

Editing:

Liel Simon

Producer:

Victor Buzalka

Sound:

Hans-Christian Paul

Music:

Sebastian Pablo Poloni

Tondesign:

Alfred Tesler

Film info

Direction:

Liel Simon

Genre:

Kurzfilm

Country of production:

Germany

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

Production:

2018

Shooting format:

Digital

Screening format:

16:9

Frame rate:

24 fps

Aspect ratio:

16:9

Sound format:

Dolby 5.1

Language:

English, German subtitled

Version:

OV

Runtime:

16