A conversation with director Benjamin Heisenberg about his debut film SLEEPER.

SYNOPSIS
Postgraduate Johannes (Bastian Trost) moves to Munich to take up a new job at the department of virology of the Technical University. There, he meets Farid (Mehdi Nebbou), a Persian, who attends to the same research project as Johannes does. Despite their competition, both men become friends. But then the secret service gets in contact with Johannes. They ask him to provide reports on Farid who is suspected to be a terrorist. At first, Johannes vehemently refuses to do so but agrees to spy on Farid when he gathers possible evidence of his friend’s terrorist intentions. Later, when the two friends encounter a work-related conflict, Johannes uses his position of power to cut his rival off of the research project.

ABOUT
Benjamin Heisenberg was born in 1974 in Tübingen, Germany. After finishing school in 1993 he went to study at the academy of fine arts in Munich. He exhibited several art videos before he came to write, direct and shoot his first narrative short film TERREMOTO in 1996. These first experiences with film convinced him to go into filmmaking. From 1997 to 2005 Benjamin Heisenberg studied film directing at the Munich Filmschool. Since then he has written and directed a number of feature films that have won a variety of international film awards. His film SLEEPERR was screened in the “Un Certain Regard” section at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

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SYNOPSIS
Hamburg, three friends, one last night together. For years they have been inseparable, the thoughtful Floyd (Frank Giering), the loud-mouthed and yet so vulnerable Ricco (Florian Lukas) and the good-natured Walter (Antoine Monot Jr.). Out of the blue, Floyd drops the bombshell: He has signed on to a cruiser and is leaving for Singapore the very next day. Only one night separates the three of them from an irrevocable farewell. A last night that should be great, something very special, big, unforgettable. So Floyd, Ricco and Walter wander through pubs, bars and clubs, chatting, dreaming and laughing, always on the lookout... for the last time together.

ABOUT
Sebastian Schipper studied acting at the Otto Falckenberg Schule in Munich from 1992 to 1995. He debuted as director with ABSOLUTE GIGANTEN in 1999. The film was co-produced by Tom Tykwer, who has cast Schipper in several of his own films. His fourth film as director is VICTORIA, a one take film about a night in a Berlin nightclub gone wrong. It played at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival and won in six categories at the German Film Award 2015, including Best Film and Best Direction.

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A conversation in german with director Pia Marais about her debut film THE DISOBEDIENT (german title: DIE UNERZOGENEN), together with Actress Céci Chuh.

SYNOPSIS
Stevie (Céci Chuh), a precocious 14-year-old girl must cope with the instabilities of her immoderate parents. When they decide to move to a small provincial town in Germany, Stevie attempts to slip into a normal life. Whilst her parents playfully escape their responsibilities, Stevie tries to make a good impression in town, spreading stories of grandeur and claiming to be the daughter of a diplomat. She makes progress. Yet the good weather doesn’t last and before long, she discovers that her parents have once more resorted to illegal means, as a way of supporting their leisurely lifestyle. As friends and hangers-on of her parents fill their new home, the chaos continually mounts. It is in this atmosphere of physical and emotional destruction, that Stevie must now take a decision.

AWARD
The film premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam where it won the Tiger Award for the best debut.

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A conversation in german with director Steffi Niederzoll about her debut film SEVEN WINTERS IN TEHRAN

SYNOPSIS
In the summer of 2007, an older man approaches Reyhaneh Jabbari and asks the architecture student who has a side job as an interior decorator for her help in the design of offices. During the site inspection, he tries to rape her. Reyhaneh stabs him in self-defence. She is arrested for murder and sentenced to death. Reyhaneh was to spend the next seven years in prison while her family hired lawyers and made the public aware of the case. However, in spite of the efforts of national and international politicians and human rights organisations, the Iranian judiciary continued to cite the “right of blood-revenge”. This meant that, as long as Reyhaneh did not withdraw her accusations against the man, his family could demand her death. Reyhaneh stuck to her testimony and was hanged at the age of 26.

PRESS
The film premiered at the Perspective Deutsches Kino section of the 73th edition of the Berlinale Film Festival.

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SYNOPSIS
Mika (Karolina Kominek) returns to Poland to meet her father who is suffering from a severe brain injury and inherent memory loss. Although they haven't seen each other for many years, upon her arrival she becomes the father's companion in perplexity – gently guiding him through the labyrinth of his fading mind. And as she does so, she gradually sets off on a journey through her own life. Gradually, the sense of time and space start breaking: the present blends with the long bygone past and places reveal their faraway history and memories. Slowly, life and its end, too, begin to blur. Shot on digital, 35mm, VHS and thermovision cameras, incorporating archive footage. A collage-like journey through time, memory and the origins of our identity.

ABOUT
Ola Jankowska is a Polish-born writer and director, based in Berlin and working internationally. Her first feature fiction Anatomia (Poland, France 2021) premiered in Venice 2021 as a part of Venice Days and has since screened at festivals around the world winning several prizes. Her first feature-length documentary I Was Here (Great Britain, 2019), co-directed with Nathalie Biancheri, premiered at CPH:DOX 2019. Ola’s work was also exhibited at the Polish National Gallery Zacheta. She studied Directing at Lodz Film School in Poland and the NFTS in the UK — as well as participated in programs such as TorinoFilmLab, CPH:LAB, European Short Pitch, Ekran+ or Zurich Masterclass. She also teaches creative writing to screenwriting students at the Lodz Film School.

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A conversation with director Damian Kocur about his debut film BREAD AND SALT.

SYNOPSIS
Tymek is a young pianist. He returns to his small hometown for vacation to visit his mother, younger brother and his childhood friends. The central meeting spot for the young people is local newly opened kebab bar. Tymek witnesses the growing tension between his friends and the bar employees of Arabic descend, resulting in tragic consequences.

PRESS
Damian Kocur is a director, screenwriter, and cinematographer. Graduate of the Krzysztof Kieslowski Film School in Katowice and currently a doctoral student at the Lodz Film School. His debut BREAD AND SALT premiered at the Horizons section of the 79th edition of the Venice Film Festival, winning the Special Jury Prize.

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A conversation with Matthias Luthardt on his debut film PINGPONG.

A Coming of Age drama in the seemingly intact world of the German middle class:
when 16-year-old Paul shows up at his relatives’ house to gain distance from the death of his father, he triggers an emotional avalanche with drastic consequences.

Director Matthias Luthardt's debut film was invited to the Semaine de la Critique
at the Cannes Film Festival, where it premiered on May 19, 2006 and won two awards,
the SACD Screenplay Award and the Young Critic Award of the Student Jury
of the German-French Youth Office.

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Apichatpong Weerasethakul on his debut film MYSTERIOUS OBJECT AT NOON, the blurred lines between documentary and fiction, and on "Avatar" being a document of humanity.

More about Apichatpong Weerasethakul
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/01/17/the-metaphysical-world-of-apichatpong-weerasethakuls-movies
https://mubi.com/de/notebook/posts/soundtrack-mix-23-sonic-memoria-apichatpong-weerasethakul
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMyTI5yrfk0

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