Personal Documentary(2024)

Immortalité, dernière frontière(fr)

SUMMER II(en)

In a follow-up to his 2021 short, SUMMER, Liam once again spends the duration of a summer filming, editing, and releasing a single shot every day. Things have changed or have they?

Taube Feuer(de)

With noise-canceling headphones, they communicate with an inaudible counterpart. Decoupled, they move around the room and meet their surroundings. Intimate stories and needs are discussed. The personal blends into a shared portrait.

Fox & Penguin(de)

How do German couples communicate in private? What are they arguing about? Is the way to a man’s heart really through his stomach? This docu-fictional hybrid production discusses such questions with the help of authentic interview snippets that were edited under the staged plot. We get an insight into the life of an animal couple, who experience typical everyday situations on behalf of us humans. At first, our fox is emotionally contained, while the penguin lady may get wild as hell. With a wink, the filmmakers hold up a mirror to the audience in the cinema.

The Last Man(en)

Gravedigger is the last name on the list of fighters facing the Corona epidemic. The gravediggers have buried the dead in one corona after another at the call of humanity even though they were not paid. In return, they received some rewards and an invaluable realization. One of them is Aslam of Ray Bazar Cemetery, The Last Man.

Tuktu and the Trials of Strength(en)

In this short docu-fiction film, strong and hardy Inuit hunters demonstrate and test their strength in boxing, tug-of-war, and other strenuous activities. We see and hear the drum dance, a demonstration of Inuit poetry and rhythm.

The Ongoing Conversation(en)

An Editor recounts the diaries of a failed film production as they attempt to construct a new narrative from the remaining footage.

Refugee Poetry(ku)

The Kurdish Iraqi poet and actor Zeravan Khalil travels with his dog through an Alpine gorge after fleeing from IS war and genocide. As he remembers the abomination, he writes a poem with the title “You drive me mad” in Kurmanji Kurdish. In his home country, Yazidic Kurds are forbidden to work in his profession. Then he eats his apple and wanders through Europe’s middle with more hope.

Sun Set Rise(fr)

Filmmaker Julia interviews people who photograph sunsets. During filming, a man demands that she deletes the pictures of him. When she refuses, an argument ensues.

The Hugo's Brain(fr)

The Hugo's Brain is a French documentary-drama about autism. The documentary crosses authentic autistic stories with a fiction story about the life of an autistic (Hugo), from childhood to adulthood, portraying his difficulties and his handicap.

Wind, Talk to Me(sr)

After hitting a dog with his car, Stefan, guilt-ridden, decides to bring it with him to the hometown lake, where he is headed in order to complete the film about his mother who has recently passed away.

Lemons & Oranges(en)

It is summer, a day in the life under the blistering heat. This is an archival journey through different pairs of eyes and different layers of skin - all in the hopes of finding someplace to sit and do nothing, while the world around you always wants you to do something.

Dreaming in Black and White(en)

Dreaming in Black and White is a portrait of Singapore artist Tang Ling Nah. The film takes us on a journey into Ling Nah’s inner world—her memories, dreams and angels, and her fascination with black-and-white media, drawing charcoal and the city’s transitional spaces. The film explores her practice over the last 15 years and hints at the possible new directions in her art career. It highlights Ling Nah’s courage to pursue her dream to be an artist, the choices and sacrifices she has made, as well as the challenges of being a woman artist in Singapore and her regrets in this journey. The film’s dream-like form mixes documentary, fiction and animation. It blurs the boundaries between us, Ling Nah’s art and her deepest being. Ultimately, it celebrates our dreams—and reassures us that dreams do come true if persevered.

Amaranta(it)

Greetings to you from all of us(tr)

Greetings to you from all of us; the family structure, dreaming, and not being able to go are the main themes. The film consists of four letters written by people around Serap at different periods of her life; her aunt who calls her and her brother to Canada after their parents died in 1984, a letter from Serap's boyfriend in Turkey trying to start a new life with her sister in 1995, a letter from Serap's son to his father in 2020, and a letter from Serap's little daughter to her aunt to find her imaginary friend. Serap cannot go to Canada, she has to return to Turkey from her sister's side, her son cannot realize his dream journey due to family reasons. This film, one of Simar Sans's first short film attempts, is embellished with guerrilla street footage, character designs by Zeynep Tavukçu, and original music by Erim Yararbas on top of it's docufiction story. This is not just a film, but also a film concert.

Models(de)

A revealing and devastating portrait of a trio of aspiring real-life Viennese models. Vivian will stop at nothing to be a magazine cover girl. Lisa fills her time with routine plastic surgery and cocaine binges, while innocent Tanja focuses on the mystical through tarot cards, yoga, and raw animal energy.

Immunity(en)

Felix and Mark are close to being invited to a party after school. Problem is — they need to bring their own alcohol. With zero experience, they enlist the aid of Ethan, but things don't go as planned, leading Felix and Mark into an argument that puts their friendship hanging in balance.

Of Another Place(en)

On a Summer afternoon, Pedro packs the last few boxes before having to leave his apartment in New York. 12 years ago, Pedro and Ana had arrived in America from Portugal, in search of a dream. Now, Ana's voice describes, from the other side of the ocean, that same country to which they are returning. As the rooms are emptied, Pedro bids farewell to one life, welcoming another. But the dream that brought him will remain forever in the city that never sleeps, awaiting his return.

M'hamed Issiakhem(ar)

"A country without artists is a dead country... I hope we are alive..." It is in this film by Fawzi Sahraoui produced by the RTA in 1985 and filmed a few months before the painter M'hamed Issiakhem 'turns off this sentence is spoken. A very interesting docu-fiction in which Issiakhem delivers himself with finesse, passion and generosity.

La vie au temps de Cro-Magnon(fr)