35K

Als das Debut von Markus Schleinzer in Cannes Premiere feierte, verliessen einige Zuschauer*innen den Saal:  MICHAEL ist das klinische Porträt eines 35-Jährigen Pädophilen, der ein zehnjähriges Kind in seinem Keller gefangen hält. Der Film setzt sich mit der Täterfigur auseinander. Warum dieses kein "Monster" ist und was die Eltern des Kinderdarstellers von dem Film halten, erfahrt Ihr in dieser Episode des 35K-Podcasts. Neben Regisseur Markus Schleinzer kommen auch Kameramann Gerald Kerkletz und Hauptdarsteller Michael Fuith zu Wort. Viel Spaß beim Zuhören!

How can nature be dead? Portuguese director Catarina Vasconcelos raises that question in her debut film A METAMORFOSE FOS PÁSSAROS. It is a visual voyage through the history of her family. Catarina created cinematic sculptures that represent scenes of the Vasconcelos', including herself. It is a hybrid film: half documentary, half fiction, shot on 16mm and digitally. Premiered at Berlinale 2020. What is it about? "Beatriz married Henrique on the day of her 21st birthday. Henrique, a naval officer, would spend long periods at sea. Ashore, Beatriz, who learned everything from the verticality of plants, took great care of the roots of their six children. The oldest son, Jacinto, my father, dreamed he could be a bird. One day, suddenly, Beatriz died. My mom didn't die suddenly, but she too died when I was 17 years-old. On that day, me and my father met in the loss of our mothers and our relationship was no longer just that of father and daughter... In a way we were both semi-orphaned. By understanding how my father came to terms with the loss of his mother made me understand my own sense of loss better. It also brought us closer,” Catarina told Variety.Enjoy the listening.

 It is our great pleasure to invite you to an evening with award-winning Romanian director CORNELIU PORUMBOIU and Variety film critic JAY WEISSBERG!  We will have a conversation with Porumboiu about his Cannes-winning feature film debut, “12:08 East of Bucharest”, and as a special treat, we are very happy to welcome Jay Weissberg for a short introduction to the Romanian New Wave and Porumboiu's contribution to it. SYNOPSIS:Six years after the 1989 Revolution, a local television station in Bucharest invites several guests to share their moments of glory, as they stormed the city hall chanting “Down with Ceausescu!” during the revolutionary events. An alcoholic history teacher and a lonely retiree are forced to answer questions from dubious viewers.    ABOUT THE FILM:“Porumboiu found here an extremely deft way to make an impossibly grand statement without getting the least bit heavy about it. Not heavy until the end. This thing is dry-ass funny wisdom until the culminating karate chop to the throats of its three stooges. And us. We are made to choke on our laughter. All laughter, since forever: to laugh from inside the nightmare of history because no nightmare is all nightmare.” - Jason, Mubi-user 

We're thrilled to share our talk with Radu Jude and Ada Solomon, both winners of the Golden Bear 2021. The director/producer duo from Romania will give us insights in the making of THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD, Radu Jude's feature film debut.    The interview was conducted online on the 15.04.2021.       Synopsis: “Delia, a young Romanian girl, comes to Bucharest with her parents to collect a prize she has won in a contest organized by a soft-drinks company. The prize is a beautiful new car. All Delia has to do now is appear in front of the camera in a commercial. All goes well until it becomes clear that Delia and her parents have very different ideas about what to do with the new car. Meanwhile, the contest's sponsor needs a radiant prize-winner with a gleaming smile. A wicked satire and a psychological portrait of a society perverted by its slavery to capitalism and consumerism.”   About the filmmakers:Radu Jude was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1977. He has a degree in film from the city's Media University. He began his career as an assistant director before making his first short, The Tube with the Hat, in 2006. His feature debut, THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD, screened in the 2009 Forum and garnered worldwide attention. He won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 2015 Berlinale with AFERIM!. In 2017, Locarno screened his first documentary: THE DEAD NATION. His next documentary, THE EXIT OF THE TRAINS, premiered in the 2020 Forum. His film UPPERCASE PRINT mixes fiction with documentary and theatre methods and premiered in the 2020 Forum as well. His latest film, BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN won the Golden Bear in Berlin in 2021. Here is a cinematic self portrait he shot.   Ada Solomon was born on June 3, 1968 in Bucharest, Romania. She is the founder of Hi Film Productions and Micro Film. Her credits include BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN (Radu Jude, 2021, Golden Bear Berlin), I DO NOT CARE IF WE GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS BARBARIANS (Radu Jude, 2018, Grand Prix Crystal Globe in Karlovy Vary IFF), AFERIM! (Radu Jude, 2015, Silver Bear Berlin) and CHILD'S POSE (Calin Peter Netzer, 2013, Golden Bear Berlin). She has worked with most promising filmmakers from Romania, from Cristian Nemescu to Ivana Mladenovic, from Alexandru Solomon and Răzvan Rădulescu to Adrian Sitaru and Paul Negoescu - to name just a few. Ada has co-produced with over 15 European countries and has released her films in over 50 territories. She has been in charge of production services for projects such as Franco Zeffirelli's CALLAS FOREVER and Maren Ade's Oscar-nominated TONI ERDMANN. She is the Executive President of the European Women's Audiovisual Network, the Deputy Chairwoman of the European Film Academy Board. 

The interview was conducted online on the 25.03.2021. We spoke with Dea Kulumbegashvili about her debut film BEGINNING  (130 Min, GE, 2020) Film synopsis:In a sleepy provincial town, a Jehovah's Witness community is under attack from an extremist group. In the midst of this conflict is Yana, the wife of the community leader, whose familiar world is slowly crumbling around her. Meanwhile, a detective intrudes her home with devastating consequences... About the film:"One of the most striking debuts in recent memory, Dea Kulumbegashvili's feature marks the revelation of an exciting new voice in cinema. Shot in luminous 35mm long takes that boldly evoke isolation and longing, it tells a profound story of a woman's resilience facing communal hostility and violence."  - MUBI About the filmmaker:Dea Kulumbegashvili was born and raised in Georgia. Dea studied film directing at Columbia University School of the Arts and media studies at The New School in New York. Her debut short film INVISIBLE SPACES was nominated for Palme D'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2014. 

The interview was conducted online on the 11.03.2021. We spoke with Pelin Esmer about her debut film KOLEEKSIYONCU  (documentary, 47 Min, TR, 2002) Synopsis: Passionate collector Mithat Esmer has been collecting everything you can imagine for 70 years. He lives in his own house like a guest of his collection and is always looking for new pieces to collect. As we witness Mr. Esmer's efforts to stop time, we get to know a very special person. Pelin Esmer: “for me something is realistic, when I believe in it.” 

The interview was conducted in English at the cinema in the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB) on the 09.01.2020.We spoke with Henner Winckler and co-writer Stefan Kriekhaus about their debut film - KLASSENFAHRT ( 86 Min, DE, 2002). Synopsis: A schoolclass travels to the Polish Baltic Sea during off-season. The students do not find the vacation resort very exciting. Between table tennis, day trips and alcohol excesses, 16-year-old Ronny and his classmate Isa develop a cautious relationship. During a visit to a disco, they get to know a young polish man called Marek. Ronny quickly notices that Marek is more interested in Isa than in him. Ronny begins to challenge Marek again and again, until it finally comes to a test of courage."If KLASSENFAHRT were French, or better Asian, the whole world would immediately throw itself on the floor and shout "masterpiece," wrote Didier Péron for the French daily Libération. The film premiered at the International Forum of the Berlinale in 2002. 

The interview was conducted in German at the cinema in the German Film and Television Academy Berlin on the 28.11.2019.We spoke with Angela Schanelec and DoP Reinhold Vorschneider about their debut film - DAS GLÜCK MEINER SCHWESTER( 84 Min, DE, 1995).Their debut marks the beginning of a long-lasting collaboration between the two.  The film was awarded with the German Film Critics' Prize in 1996. About the content: The photographer Christian loves two women - Isabel, a translator, and her half-sister Ariane, a gardener. His attempt to build a life with Isabel and end the ménage à trois is boycotted by Ariane, who desperately fights for him.  Angela Schanelec: "For me it was clear that the language in this film is artificial and scripted, but on the other hand I knew I didn't want to manipulate the space. I was interested in what happens with this written language and these artificial figures that don't sit there and improvise, but that I placed there and say what I wrote down. But they do that in a space where everything else moves the way it would move otherwise." (this Quote is freely translated in to english). A considerable part of the dialogue-rich film was made on the streets of Berlin, in the noise of car traffic and construction sites.