Brave Girl (La Valiente)

Bavarian Premiere

Screenings: Saturday, March 25, 2006, 22:30 and Sunday, March 26, 2006, 12:30 (Sour)

bravegirl

Country of Origin: Spain
Year of Production: 2003
Duration: 5’30“
Category: Fiction

Director: Isabel Ayguavives
Screenplay: Isabel Ayguavives
Cinematographer: Ignacio Gimenez-Rico
Editor: Jose Manuel Jimenez
Music: Douglas Roberts
Producer: Isabel Ayguavives, Rafael Álvarez, Ignacio Monge
Cast: Laura Ballesta, Blanca Nicolas, Pedro Miguel Martinez, Nicolas Barrero

Synopsis: A girl closes her eyes, trying not to think anything for 10 seconds, which become eternal.

Festivals & Awards: Sofia Internatinal Film Festival 2005, Kortfilmfestivalen Grimstad 2005, Stockholm International Film Festival 2005, CineEspanol Tuebingen 2005, Short Cuts Cologne 2005

Weblink: www.elmedanoproducciones.com

Paycheck (Prva Plata)

German Premiere

Screenings: Saturday, March 25, 2006, 12:30 and Sunday, March 26, 2006, 17:30 (UMAMI)

paycheck

Country of Origin: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Year of Production:
Duration: 13’30“
Category: Fiction

Director: Alen Drljevic
Screenplay: Alen Drljevic
Cinematographer: Milenko Uherka
Editor: Almir Kenovic, Aida Huseinovic
Music: Mostar Sevdah Reunion, Vuneny, Saša Lošic
Producer: Ademir Kenovic, Pjer Žalica, Srdan Vuletic
Cast:

Synopsis: Bosnia and Herzegovina today, eight years after the war. Not far from Sarajevo, which, on the surface, got back to its normal everyday life only, an illegal bet shop has been organized – people bet on riding a motorbike through the minefield. Those who got rich overnight are betting on life or death of the drivers – the Russian roulette on Bosnian way. In a country where majority of people live below the poverty line, it is really easy to find „a death driver“. Sakal, the organizer of this brutal spectacle makes money on the misfortune of these desperate men. Muris, one of those desperate men, comes out of his deadly ride alive. His hungry family celebrates his „first paycheck“, not knowing the truth of how he earned it.

Festivals & Awards: PRIX UIP SARAJEVO / Nomination for the European Film Academy Award (EFA) / Sarajevo Film Festival 2005 (Special Mention)

Weblink: www.refresh.ba

Chaos Theory

German Premiere

Screenings: Friday, March 24, 2006, 18:00 and Saturday, March 25, 2006, 17:30 (SWEET); Wednesday, March 28, 2007, 18:00 (BEST OF 2006)

chaostheory

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 2004
Duration: 30′
Category: Fiction

Director: Suny Behar
Screenplay: Suny Behar
Cinematographer: Alexa Ihrt
Editor: Amy Ferraris, Suny Behar
Music: Kaz Boyle
Producer: Jocelyn Hublau, Angela Sostre, Suny Behar, Cheryl Rave
Cast: Greg Lee, Donovan Oakleaf, Jim Grollman, Alexandra Ford Thum, Shelby Janes, Michael Troynel, Lorinne Vozoff, Darryl F. Saraga, Fairly Tull, Fred Tatasciore

Synopsis: CHAOS THEORY is a comedy about the outrageous misadventures of a meteorologist, Thor (Donovan Oakleaf), desperate to stop the endless cycle of disorder that is ruling his life. When Lisa (Alexandra Ford Thum) accidentally walks into his life, introducing a new element into his predetermined equation, she unknowingly sets off an unstoppable chain reaction of chaotic and zany events. The result is an unpredictable, whirlwind romantic adventure that will forever change Thor’s life. If a butterfly flapping its’ wings in Brazil can cause a Tornado in Texas, imagine what it could do to his love life.

Festivals & Awards: Queens International Film Festival 2005, California Independent Film Festival 2005 (Best Student Film), Kyoto International Student Film Festival 2005 (Competition Winner), San Diego Film Festival 2005, Temecula Valley International Film Festival 2005 (Jury Prize – Best Student Film, Audience Award – Best Student Film), Los Angeles International Short Film Festival 2005, Rhode Island International Film Festival 2005, BAFTA Los Angeles 2005 (Best Student Film), WorldFest Houston 2005 (Grand Jury Prize – Gold), Newport Beach International Film Festival 2005, Beverly Hills Film Festival 2005 (Audience Award – Best Short), Student Emmy Award 2005 (1st Place Comedy), DIY Film Festival 2005, Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2005, Beijing International Film Festival 2004 (Audience Award), Crosstown Film Festival 2004, Ojai International Film Festival 2004, Lake Arrowhead International Film Festival 2004 (Best Student Film), Reel Film Festival 2004, Los Angeles IFP „UCLA Winners“ 2004, UCLA Spotlight 2004 (Best Narrative, Best Visual Design, Best Sound Design)

Weblink: www.chaostheorythefilm.com

Meander

German Premiere

Screenings: Saturday, March 25, 2006, 22:30 and Sunday, March 26, 2006, 12:30 (SOUR)

meander

Country of Origin: Belgium
Year of Production: 2005
Duration: 13’22“
Category: Fiction

Director: Joke Liberge
Screenplay: Joke Liberge
Cinematographer: Nicolas Karakatsanis
Editor: Els Voorspoels
Production Designer: Walter Brugmans
Sound: Senjan Jansen
Music: Stijn, Dagobert Sondervan
Producer: Els Voorspoels
Cast: Guus Tijssen, Dirk Gerrits, Maaike van den Bosch, Tahnee van Laere, Tom Maassen

Synopsis: On a hot summer day, five adolescents seek refreshment near a river. Whilst we observe their behaviour within the group, the apparently calm day tends to be disrupted. A poetic short film, without dialogue, about a seemingly harmless and innocent day.

Festivals & Awards: Sonar Film Festival Firenze 2006, International Short Film Festival Istanbul 2006, Festival Cinéma Nordique Rouen 2006, Au Film de l’Eau Film Festival Verviers 2006, International Film Festival Rotterdam 2006 (Prix UIP), International Short Film Festival Leuven 2005, International Film Festival Ghent 2006 (Best Belgian Short Film)

Weblink: www.jokeliberge.com

The Fence (El Cerco)

Bavarian Premiere

Screenings: Saturday, March 25, 2006, 12:30 and Sunday, March 26, 2006, 17:30 (UMAMI)

thefence

Country of Origin: Spain
Year of Production: 2005
Duration: 12′
Category: Documentary

Director: Ricardo Íscar, Nacho Martín
Cinematographer: Ricardo Íscar, Nacho Martín
Sound: Ricardo Íscar, Nacho Martín
Producer: Héctor Fáver, Joan Gonzalez

Synopsis: It’s the same gory ritual, every summer. Thousands of migrating tuna fish crowd into the Mediterranean on their way through the Strait of Gibraltar. In a centuries-old tradition, Spanish fishing boats await the arrival of the fish in this narrow channel, armed with a veritable wall of nets to block their path. “La Almadraba” is the name of the original Moorish ritual, during which knives and harpoons are also used.

Festivals & Awards: Berlinale Panorama 2006 (Prix UIP), Internacional Festival del Cine de San Roque 2006 (Best Documentary), Festival de cine español de Málaga, Festival Internacional de Cine de Guadalajara, Documenta Madrid 2006, PLAY-DOC Festival Internacional de Documentais de Tui, CIEMCINE Festival Nacional de Cine de Ciempozuelos

Weblink: www.cecc.es

Rendezvous (Randevú)

Bavarian Premiere

Screenings: Friday, March 24, 2006, 18:00 and Saturday, March 25, 2006, 17:30 (SWEET)

rendezvous

Country of Origin: Hungary
Year of Production: 2004
Duration: 6’40“
Category: Animation

Director: Ferenc Cakó
Screenplay: Ferenc Cakó
Cinematographer: Antal Kazi
Animation: János Szabolcsi
Editor: Magda Hap
Music: Zoltán Mericske
Producer: Ferenc Cakó

Synopsis: Our hero is going to have a date, so like all of us he is very excited…

Festivals & Awards: Interfilm Berlin 2005, Brest International Short Film Festival 2005, Chieti MATITA Film Festival 2005 Ferenc Cakó Retrospective), Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival 2005, Dresden International Festival for Animation and Short Films 2005, European Film Academy Sort Film Awards 2005, Ghent Flanders International Film Festival 2005, Granada International Short Film Festival 2005, Istanbul International Short Film Days 2005, Kiev KROK International Animated Film Festival 2005, La Bourboule PLEIN la BOBINE 2005, Ljubljana ANIMATEKA 2005, Lleida Animac 2005, Odense Film Festival 2005, Riga BIMINI 2005, Sarajevo Film Festival 2005, Sevilla Festival de Cine 2005, Tehran International Animation Festival 2005, Valladolid International Film Festival 2005, Amiens International Film Festival 2004, Interfilm Berlin 2004, Genzano di Roma I Castelli Animati 2004, Seoul SICAF 2004, Valladolid International Film Festival 2004

Weblink: www.cakostudio.hu

Mekong Interior

German Premiere

Screenings: Saturday, March 25, 2006, 22:30 and Sunday, March 26, 2006, 12:30 (SOUR)

mekonginterior

Country of Origin: France
Year of Production: 2003
Duration: 33’43“
Category: Fiction

Director: Vanessa Ly
Screenplay: Vanessa Ly
Cinematographer: Gerald Forster
Editor: Selby Siegel
Music: Dave Soldier
Producer: Vanessa Ly, Gerald Forster
Cast: Freddy Ly, Dominique Ly

Synopsis: The story of Mekong Interior covers a period of several days during a visit to Cambodia by a French couple designated as He and She. He is Cambodian on his father’s side, and this visit marks his first trip to Cambodia, which his father left, never to return, during the 1960s. The son is curious to search out what traces still exist of his ancestral heritage. The woman accompanies him as a tourist, and we join them during the first days of their sojourn in Cambodia, seeing them as they visit the temples of Angkor Wat, stroll through the streets and dine out in the restaurants of Siem Reap, and pass the time at their hotel. Immediately we can see that there is a profound tension in their relationship. For his part, the trip to Cambodia is turning into a deeply disappointing experience as he is frustrated in his attempts to find the lost traces of his family, and must deal with the growing awareness that there is in reality nothing for him in Cambodia. She on the other hand, unburdened by inherited memories, is enjoying her time there, experiencing the unfamiliar and exotic elements of its culture – the people, the climate, the food, the colors – in a much more direct and immediate way; she impresses us as open and receptive to this new environment, in contrast to his increasing introspection and withdrawal. The tension between them is played out to the point of a decisive rupture in their relationship, after which she returns to France on her own while he stays on in Cambodia alone, discovering at last an evanescent trace of his ancient patrimony.

Festivals & Awards: Rotterdam International Film Festival 2004, Bangkok International Film Festival 2004 (Winner of the Overall Short Film Award / Jameson Short Film Award), Edinburgh International Film Festival 2004, New York Asian American Film Festival 2004, San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival 2004, Visual Communications Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2004, Festival de Pantin Côté Court Paris 2004, Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films 2003, Washington DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival 2004, Sofia International Film Festival 2005, Festival du Court Métrage de Bruxelles 2005, Message to Man International Film Festival St. Petersburg 2005, Festival de Curtas Metragens de Vila Do Conde Porto 2005, Drama International Short Film Festival Greece 2005, Stockholm International Film Festival 2005, In Curt Tarragona Film Festival 2005