WHO IF NOT US

"Who If Not Us?" is an intimate documentary unveiling the lives of young Ukrainians raised amidst war since the Russian occupation began in 2014. Offering a glimpse into their dreams and daily struggles, the film navigates their journey before and during the full-scale invasion in 2022. Despite displacement and living under occupation, they cling to hope for a brighter future, embodying the resilience of their generation. Some are DJs of the famous "Shum Rave", while others are artists fostering unity amidst chaos. Their stories echo the unwavering spirit of Ukrainian youth, showcasing the enduring power of hope in adversity.

Credits

Cast:

Yevhenii Skrypnyk

Vitaliy Matukhno

Katya Dubovyk

JmDASHA

Camera:

Nicole Medvecka

Editing:

Dmytro Kochnev

Music:

Nastya Vogan, JmDasha, Vitaliy Matukhno

Film info

Direction:

Nicole Medvecka

Genre:

documentary

Country of production:

Germany

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

Production:

2023

Shooting format:

Digital

Screening format:

1,78:1

Frame rate:

25 fps

Aspect ratio:

1,78:1

Language:

Ukrainian/Russian

Version:

OmU

Runtime:

66.30 min

Quiver

In a bubble of superficiality where she resides, Sandra carved out a sanctuary through her Sonic Flow: a movement practice transforming sound vibrations through physical expression. Once incredibly influential, Sandra now enters middle-age and she faces difficult choices to stay visible. Beneath the threat of fading relevance, a force within Sandra begins to stir: a portal to supernatural perception. The story of a woman’s transformation from visible to invisible as a story of adventure and not one of loss. The menopausal milestone of change as a turning point that can open possibilities for transformation. What are the limits of our feminine imaginations?

Credits

Cast:

Michelle Glick – Sandra

Xenia Seeberg – Monika

Clayton Nemrow – Hans

Roxanne Rittmann – Amanda

Sibylle Maria Dordel – Marian the Outlaw

Marios Gavrilis – Trevor

Script:

Berglind Thrastardottir

Camera:

Elisabeth Börnicke

Editing:

Elena Weihe

Tondesign:

Elena Weihe

Producer:

Elisabeth Köller

Music:

Cali Wang

Sound:

Thibauld Weiler & Rita Stark Dabrowkska

Szenenbild:

Alison Darby & Annika Liesen

Kostüm (Credit):

Victoria Posavec & Greta Ismaili

Film info

Direction:

Berglind Thrastardottir

Genre:

Kurzfilm

Country of production:

Germany

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

Production:

2024

Shooting format:

Digital

Screening format:

1,78:1

Frame rate:

24 fps

Aspect ratio:

1.78:1

Sound format:

5.1 Dolby

Language:

English

Version:

OmU

Runtime:

23.47 min

Un Toro Llama

In Berlin, Rosalinda Azuaje is haunted by the call of a bull. It brings back memories of home and her traumatic childhood on a farm in Venezuela. As she flies back to her hometown to meet her father one last time, she learns both of her father’s frail state and the selling of the family’s cattle ranch. She decides to crash the family’s farewell party for the ranch, where she will confront the siblings that drove her away from home, as well as the father and bull that brought her back.

Credits

Cast:

Tatiana Mabo – Rosalinda

Michael Torres – Elario

Alexis-Leque´ Lozada – Ramón

Gisela Zambrano – Tacha

Francisco Algomeda – Papa

Script:

Nelson Algomeda

Camera:

Luis Hartmann

Editing:

Juan C. Bautista

Production Design:

Ingrid Briceño

Producer:

Sinan Özarslan & Lucas Milhomem

Tondesign:

Mateo Sánchez Galán & Vanessa Heeger

Music:

Mateo Sánchez Galán & Ander Zambrano

Film info

Direction:

Nelson Algomeda

Genre:

Kurzfilm

Country of production:

Germany

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

Production:

2024

Shooting format:

Digital

Screening format:

2.39:1

Frame rate:

24 fps

Aspect ratio:

2.39:1

Sound format:

5.1 Surround

Language:

Spanish

Version:

OmU

Runtime:

15.56 min

Beyond The Forest

As members of a German minority in Romania, the two young brothers Karl and Walle hide out in the snowy Carpathian Mountains to escape the threat of deportation by the Soviets. The greater the fear of being discovered, the more urgent the questions become: Will they find us? And who are we really? When a letter arrives from their father asking them both to return to the city or else he and their mother will be deported, the boys are faced with a momentous decision: Who should they save - their parents or themselves?

Credits

Cast:

Nils Hohenhövel

Florian Geißelmann

Script:

Marijana Verhoef

Camera:

Edoardo Scussel

Editing:

Sebastian Lempe

Producer:

Elena Zurbuch

Music:

Paul Emmerich

Film info

Direction:

Max Kern

Genre:

Kurzfilm

Country of production:

Germany

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

Production:

2024

Shooting format:

Digital

Screening format:

2,35:1

Frame rate:

24 fps

Aspect ratio:

2,35:1

Sound format:

5.1 Dolby

Language:

German

English

Version:

OmU

Runtime:

29 min

Obey, obey

In most middle schools and high schools in Japan, there are compulsory rules on how a student may wear their hair or dress. This film is a visual guide to what some of these hairstyle regulations may look like.

Credits

Script:

Akira Kawasaki

Producer:

Akira Kawasaki

Editing:

Akira Kawasaki

Sound:

Akira Kawasaki

Music:

Akira Kawasaki

Camera:

Maayane Bouhnik

Film info

Direction:

Akira Kawasaki

Genre:

Kurzfilm

Country of production:

Germany

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

Production:

2024

Shooting format:

16mm

Screening format:

16:9

Frame rate:

25 fps

Aspect ratio:

16:9

Sound format:

5.1 Dolby

Language:

no dialogue

Version:

OmU

Runtime:

3.56 min

WHAT DID YOU DREAM LAST NIGHT, PARAJANOV?

The webcam witnessed everything: from the very first snow in the city of Isfahan, to Mitra telling her son Faraz stories of her prison time while resting on a bed and Hassan insisting on hearing Faraz's last night dream while presenting him a pile of homegrown persimmons. 10 years of a family being together online in video calls and letters between Isfahan and Berlin.

Credits

Cast:

Mitra Kia

Faraz Fesharaki

Hasan Fesharaki

Rahi Sinaki

Script:

Faraz Fesharaki

Producer:

Luise Hauschild, Ewelina Rosinska & Mariam Shatberashvili

Editing:

Faraz Fesharaki

Camera:

Faraz Fesharaki, Moritz Friese & Shahab Fotouhi

Sound:

Sum-Sum Shen

Film info

Direction:

Faraz Fesharaki

Genre:

fictional

Country of production:

Germany

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

New Matter Films

Production:

2023

Shooting format:

Digital

Screening format:

1:1,85

Frame rate:

24 fps

Aspect ratio:

1:1,85

Sound format:

5.1 Dolby

Language:

Farsi

Version:

OmU

Runtime:

81 min

Towel Dragons

A summer storm interrupts a party and leaves two children to play by themselves in the children’s bedroom. They build their own world out of bed sheets and lose themselves in it. But what happens when the adult world knocks on the door?

Credits

Cast:

Mika Silaban

Noah Loki Weichenhain

Lena Eikenbusch

Pepe Harder

Rouven Magnus

Sophie Roeder

Aart Steinmann

Script:

Sverre Aune, Rocío Díaz Freire & Marie Thönnissen

Camera:

Rocío Díaz Freire

Editing:

Sverre Aune & Astrid Hohle Hansen

Producer:

Lazar Mikov & Ayşe Gül Var

Sound:

Adriano Theill

Film info

Direction:

Sverre Aune

Genre:

Kurzfilm

Country of production:

Germany

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

Production:

2023

Shooting format:

Digital

Screening format:

16:9

Frame rate:

25 fps

Aspect ratio:

16:9

Sound format:

5.1 Dolby

Language:

German

Version:

OmU

Runtime:

6 min

Show me yours and I’ll show you mine

On a psychiatric ward for young adults, the breakfast situation between the nurse Johannes and his ten patients slowly comes to a head. When patient Mafalda then refuses Johannes the cherry jam he loves, the situation escalates. Who would have thought that there could be more conflict and healing for everyone in the fight over a jam jar than in therapies and tablets, and that healing might be a common cause after all.

Credits

Cast:

Simon Köslich – Pfleger

Caroline Hellwig – Elise

Anastasija Bräuniger – Mafalda Bergner

Pepe Harder – Herr Rönneken

Tamer Arslan – Herr Bloch

Josepha Hertzog – Frau Rödder

Justin Akatoye – Micha

Giamo Alfredi Röwekamp – Herr Maiani

Rojin Haddad – Frau Siedlaczeck

Freya Kreutzkam – Frau Kempf

Eleftheria Fouki – Frau Cassidas

Michaela Behal – Schwester Moni

Script:

Theresa Bergner

Camera:

Alina Albrecht

Editing:

Andjani Autumn Gatzweiler

Producer:

Lorenzo Gandolfo

Sound:

Meik-René Enderlein

Music:

Abi Wallenstein& Olmo

Film info

Direction:

Theresa Bergner

Genre:

fictional

Country of production:

Germany

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

Production:

2023

Shooting format:

Digital

Screening format:

1:1,85

Frame rate:

24 fps

Aspect ratio:

1:1,85

Sound format:

5.1 Surround

Language:

German

Version:

OmU

Runtime:

30 min

Into Matter

In einer weißen Leere erlebt eine neugeborene Figur verschiedene Verwandlungen der Materie - sie zappelt und bricht zusammen - und symbolisiert in dieser minimalistischen, sinnlichen Metapher eine Reise der Entfremdung und Selbstfindung.

Credits

Cast:

Shar Adams – Person

Script:

Javier Imaginario & Louis Malcolm Reiss Saidou

Camera:

Louis Malcolm Reiss Saidou

Editing:

Javier Imaginario & Louis Malcolm Reiss Saidou

Producer:

Javier Imaginario & Louis Malcolm Reiss Saidou

Music:

David Adeoye

Film info

Direction:

Javier Imaginario

Genre:

Experimentalfilm

Country of production:

Deutschland

Production Company:

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

Production:

2023

Shooting format:

Digital

Screening format:

16:9

Frame rate:

24 fps

Aspect ratio:

16:9

Language:

keine Dialoge

Version:

OV

Runtime:

9 min