HCMC – Selected International Short Films from Berlinale 2015

12 and 13 Oct 2015, 7 pm
Culture Salon Cafe thứ bảy

From Goethe Institut:

A selection of short films of the Berlin International Film Festival 2015 is travelling to Asia as part of the “Berlinale Shorts Go Abroad” series of events. In Vietnam, the Goethe-Institut will present ten exclusive short films from six different countries. The movie screenings will take place on two different occasions at the Culture Salon Café thứ bảy. After that, the films will continue their journey to Hanoi and Hue before moving on to other countries in Southeast Asia.

The Berlinale Shorts films are uncompromising and complex, and offer an undisguised image of the present. Berlinale Shorts curator Maike Mia Höhne is especially pleased to bring this particular form of movie to Vietnam for yet another time. For her, the value of these short films lies in their connection of fiction and reality. They open up space for interpretation and communication, going beyond the events that actually take place.

This year’s edition features many different styles of film, from documentaries to fictional stories and animated movies. Central themes are personal life stories and rituals portraying longing, love, cruelty and the absurd. Some of the films provide food for thought, others open up a whole new world to the viewer. They show life on another planet, but also the earthly dangers emanating from humans and the power of nature. One movie, shot in a Syrian refugee camp, critically examines the position of the filmmaker: an outside observer, eager to tell a story, he is at the same time forced to encounter the refugees’ reality.

Momoko Set’s short film “Planet Sigma” is bound to be a particular highlight: Using extreme macro and slow motion shots, the Japanese director manages to create a unique new world.

The Berlin International Film Festival, more commonly known as Berlinale, ranks among the most important film festivals in the world. Movies of all genres, lengths and formats are awarded. Since 2007, the Berlinale Shorts also awards prizes to short films, mostly works of talented young artists.

Free admission.

Program

Berlinale Shorts in HCMC – PROGRAMME I
Screening │ 23.10.2015, 7 pm.
Venue │ Culture Salon Cafe thứ bảy, 1st floor, 19B Phạm Ngọc Thạch, Dist. 3, HCMC
Original language with Vietnamese and English subtitles

PLANET ∑ Audi Short Film Award 2015
France 2014, 12’, Director: Momoko Seto
Planet Sigma: Fire and ice, life and death. The proceedings on the planet, recorded in impressive pictures.

PEBBLES AT YOUR DOOR
Denmark 2015, 18’, Director: Vibeke Bryld
North Korea: Harmonia lived a happy life, until one day she realised the truth. She flees to South Korea, but she is too late.

SHADOWLAND
Sweden 2014, 15’, Director: John Skoog
Desolate landscapes are the protagonists. Deserts, forests and water flow into each other, accompanied by a collage of sounds.

DISSONANCE – Berlin Short Film Nominee for the European Film Awards 2015
Germany 2015, 17’, Director: Till Nowak
Reality and fantasy merge – a pianist is fighting against blurring boundaries. 3D animation and live action, an odyssey through time and space.

TAKE WHAT YOU CAN CARRY
USA/ Germany 2015, 30’, Director: Matt Porterfield
Lilly’s journey through day and night, drifting between worlds and places. The longing to arrive.

Berlinale Shorts in HCMC – PROGRAMME II
Screening │ 12.10.2015, 7 pm.
Venue │ Culture Salon Cafe thứ bảy, 1st floor, 19B Phạm Ngọc Thạch, Dist. 3, HCMC
Original language with Vietnamese and English subtitles

SNAPSHOT MON AMOUR
Germany 2014, 6’, Director: Christian Bau
“Genpatsu-Rikon“ – on the trail of a new Japanese word and the connection of the wedding rocks and Fukushima.

EL JUEGO DEL ESCONDITE (HIDE & SEEK)
Spain 2014, 23’, Director: David Muñoz
A Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon: Refugees are hiding from the war, children play hide and seek, and the film crew is hiding as well. The synergies of reality, fiction and the filming process itself.

DÄWIT (DAEWIT)
Germany 2015, 15’, Director: David Jansen
A wolf child, a cat, an angel. Daewit embarks on a journey – he tries to find himself. In this animation film narration meets association and vice versa.

YÚYÚ
France/Spain/USA 2014, 15’, Director: Marc Johnson
In the Chinese province of Chongqing, a traditional rite of spring: A body is entirely covered by bees. The buzzing dominates everything.

SYMBOLIC THREATS
Germany 2015, 15’, Mischa Leinkauf/Lutz Henke/Matthias Wermke
Brooklyn Bridge in New York City: Two white American flags are hoisted. Poetry or threat?