THE PLANT FROM THE CANARIES cel­e­brates its pre­miere at the Locarno Film Fes­ti­val 2025

Journal,

This year, the DFFB is rep­re­sent­ed at the renowned Locarno Film Fes­ti­val (August 6–16) with chi­nese film­mak­er Ruan Lan-Xi’s fea­ture film.

THE PLANT FROM THE CANARIES (DoP: Jonathan Steil) will cel­e­brate its world pre­miere in the Cineasti del pre­sente com­pe­ti­tion. The film tells the sto­ry of May, a Kore­an woman in her ear­ly thir­ties, who finds her­self alone in Berlin after a sud­den break-up. As she drifts through sleep­less days, mem­o­ries of her youth in Seoul emerge.

In addi­tion to direct­ing, Ruan Lan-Xi was also respon­si­ble for the screen­play, edit­ing and pro­duc­tion. THE PLANT FROM THE CANARIES is a co-pro­duc­tion with Chick­pea Enter­tain­ment and is also Ruan Lan-Xi’s grad­u­a­tion film at the DFFB.

The Locarno Film Fes­ti­val is con­sid­ered one of the most impor­tant plat­forms for inno­v­a­tive and inde­pen­dent cin­e­ma. The Cineasti del pre­sente sec­tion in par­tic­u­lar offers up-and-com­ing inter­na­tion­al direc­tors the oppor­tu­ni­ty to present their work to a wide audi­ence. In total, the film has the chance to win prize mon­ey of up to CHF 95,000.

Three films by and with DFFB alum­ni will cel­e­brate their world pre­miere in the Inter­na­tion­al Com­pe­ti­tion of the Locarno Film Fes­ti­val: DRY LEAF by Alexan­dre Koberidze, a pro­duc­tion by New­Mat­ter­Films Mari­am Shat­berashvili and Luise Hauschild, and SEHNSUCHT IN SANGERHAUSEN by Julian Radl­maier, the pro­duc­er is Kir­ill Krasovs­ki and DoP Faraz Fes­hara­ki. WHITE SNAIL by Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter was co-pro­duced by DFFB alum­nus Heino Deck­ert.

BLEIFREI 95 will also be screened in the short film com­pe­ti­tion Par­di di Domani — a project co-direct­ed by DFFB stu­dent Emma Hütt, in which numer­ous oth­er DFFB tal­ents par­tic­i­pat­ed: Sha­di Farid, Lydia Leer­stelle, Elis­a­beth Hoschek, Parn­ian Ras­souli and Lalise Mud­daa.

Con­grat­u­la­tions to every­one involved!