by Emma Giuliani

Documentary, English, South Tyrolian Dialect, 14 min 30 sec

Two cultures, four countries, five languages, one life. In her Odyssey through Europe during the second world war, Walfrieda Peer experienced its brutality, neighbours killing each other due to cultural differences, a flight through the bitter cold, and what it means to sit between life and death - and all of this at the sole age of 18. But yet she carried her remarkable spirit of life through all of it. In an attempt to find out more about herself and how she relates to her grandmas' history, Emma explores the meaning of identity and belonging.

/// About the filmmaker

Emma is an Italian cinematographer studying and working in Berlin. She grew up bilingual in the middle of the Dolomites, with a family background from Croatia and another home in Canada. This has shaped her concept of home and belonging and influenced her perspective as an artist.

In 2019, Emma moved to Berlin and began her studies at Catalyst Creative Institute of Arts and Technology. Serving as her personal creative playground, Emma has worked on over 35 projects since, including narrative short films, music videos, web series, as well as live performances. Besides her work as a DOP, Emma gained experience as a Director, Gaffer, Editor, Art Director and Producer. She is constantly looking for new opportunities to push the boundaries of her creativity and style.

by Sara Ruta

Comedy, English, 5 min

Being in Lockdown makes you a bit cray-cray...

/// About the filmmaker

Born in the small Icelandic town of Sauðárkrókur, from a young age Sara Ruta has had a passion for performing and making people laugh. She studied acting at Kvikmyndaskóli Íslands the Icelandic Film School. After graduating she started working professionally as a radio host at KissFm Iceland and as an actress for various theatre companies. She performed multiple roles for a theatre group called Stúdentaleikhúsið. A play she starred in "Ekkert að óttast" for the community theatre of Hafnafjörður won "The best independent theatre in Iceland" in 2016. 
Sara has starred in more than 25 short films, of which "Kalt blóð" won second best film at the film festival "Frostbiter". She is currently working on a Feature film "Member State" directed by Adam Donald and Web Series "Nothing Man" directed by Li Wallis. In order to expand her range and knowledge Sara has decided to turn back to studying and is currently in her third year of a Bachelors in Screen Acting at Catalyst Berlin.

by Teodora Georgijević (Director), Maya Zaretzki (Producer & DOP), Morgan Edgerton (Co Producer, Music, Choreography), Ethan Ho (Lighting and Editor)

Music Video, 4 min

An echoing cry for light and dance after a year of darkness; hurt.heal is the debut single of electronic musician, and dancer Mo Van Zandt. She and Director, Teodora Georgijevic, were inspired by psychedelic dance films like Climax and Susperia to choreograph and film a piece featuring the individual tenderness, strengths and eventual unity of dancers, Kardelen, Roc, Pilar, Shahd, and Mo. This piece is about the healing power of the dance floor, the euphoria we feel when we dance together.

/// About the filmmaker

Teodora Georgijević is a director on a mission to explore the clash between tradition and novelty in morale and culture today. Her goal is to to portray this clash through an impressionistic lens. Having spent her formative years in the Eastern and Northern corners of Europe, her identity as a Third culture kid emerged alongside her wish to create, and keeps on being the most important source of inspiration for her work.  

by Silvia Cannarozzi

Music Video, English, 6 min 30 sec

As George cleans a theatre venue after a class reunion, he wakes up the last guest: Natalie. On the edge between magic and dream, a mysterious force puts the two to dance.

"It's All Right with Me" is a popular song written by Cole Porter, for his 1953 musical Can-Can, performed here by Caracou.

/// About the filmmaker

Silvia Cannarozzi is an Italian director and screenwriter. She started her career as video editor and motion graphic designer for TV. In 2017, after working for RAI, she moved to Berlin to attend film school. Since 2018, she has been active in Berlin directing and producing short films and music videos.

by James Barry, Paz Bonfil, Adi Kum

Music Video, English, 7 min 55 sec

The video was an idea created by Jealous members and developed together with the director James Barry. The video tells a story of the trippy adventures of the band members, the devil and a bunch of other creatures around them. In the video the band is resurrecting a dead creature they hit with their car in order to be the new drummer in their band. The creature gets hunted by the devil and dives into a psychedelic hell. The sets and costumes were all made and/or donated by the band and their extended friends, really making this project a testament to the creativity and ingenuity of the people who helped us out. The creature was born in Paz’s apartment with donated bits and pieces from friends. The cast includes the dancer/model Lucio Vidal, the Burlesque dancer Georgia, Sarah the witch, local legend Dirty, and cameos of Selene and Oliver Ackermann ("A Place To Bury Strangers"/ Death By Audio). The band's debut double EP was recently out via Baby Satan (Berlin) Records and Dedstramge Records (NY).

/// About the filmmakers

James Barry is a Berlin-based Canadian filmmaker working in cinematography, art direction, pre-production, directing, post-production - editing, SFX, practical FX, grading, title design, motion graphics, animation, compositing, sound design, kickflips & really bad jokes. He's also pretty decent at photography, photoshop and interface design.

Adi Kum is co-founder of Baby Satan Records and has worked as a musician, DJ, promoter and digital distributor since moving to Berlin eight years ago. Under her moniker Dane Joe, she mostly creates dirty ambient and glam-trash-post-punk.

by Teodora Georgijević

Drama, English, 17 min 21 sec

Where lies the power to define, if not in the eye of the beholder?

On a night in, Luca gets her body painted by her best friend Alex. In a drunken haze, a photo of the painting is posted online and a question is raised; how do we define female nudity?

/// About the filmmaker

Teodora Georgijević is a director on a mission to explore the clash between tradition and novelty in morale and culture today. Her goal is to to portray this clash through an impressionistic lens. Having spent her formative years in the Eastern and Northern corners of Europe, her identity as a Third culture kid emerged alongside her wish to create, and keeps on being the most important source of inspiration for her work.  

by Patrick Kluge Milani

Drama, English, 6 min 45 sec

In this one-take film, we follow a night in the life of two brothers who share a hostile and abusive environment, and their journey to find empathy a feeling that is so rare in places like these.

by Hannah Kugel

Documentary, English, 12 min

This short documentary looks at women’s self defence and the issue of male violence from both an intimate perspective and an historical one, tracing a through-line of male violence and women’s attempts to mitigate it from the 1970s to today. Self defence expert Susie Kahlich shares her story of assault, the martial arts training she embarked on as a direct response, and the self defence program she developed in her efforts to encourage more women to learn self defence. Filmed at her home, the documentary paints a stark contrast between the middle-aged lady making tea and the fierce martial artist on the mats. Intercut with Susie’s story is archival footage of women’s self defence classes and seminars from the 1970s, that beautifully illustrate the fear, rage and resignation every generation of women continues to experience, as though it is the threat of male violence itself that binds women together across distance and time.

/// About the filmmaker

Hannah Kugel is a French filmmaker based in Berlin. After studying History and Journalism, she started working in documentary films before directing dance and music videos and other short-form content. Her work boasts a retro, colourful aesthetic with a taste for humour and poetry. She is currently developing a multi-format project centred on feminism, creating films with an activist purpose and movies that explore the female gaze.

by Aaron MacCarley

Experimental Dance Video, 5 min 15 sec

Two women dance in an abandoned building before the fading light of dusk dissipates their connection.

'Passing Through Dusk' is an experimental dance film shot in Berlin. Through a blend of choreography and non-linear editing the film explores isolation, abandonment, memories, and the emptiness that exists within them.

by Leandro Goddínho

Documentary, Portuguese, 15 min

Since the 1980's HIV has a strong stigma within the LGBTQ community affecting mostly gay men. In a Digital era, four Brazilian HIV positive people created youtube channels to talk openly about their status, in a very positive way. They are digital activists trying to spread a new message about how it is to live with the virus showing to their followers that HIV is no longer a death sentence. Sharing their daily lives they have created a sense of community online where people feel safe to interact, learn, exchange their knowledge, worries, and doubts about the subject matter that is still a taboo.

/// About the filmmaker

Originally from Brazil, Leandro worked as a director, writer and editor in cinema and TV, before turning his life around to focus on his personal filmmaking projects in 2015. His greatest ambition is to change the world – and teaching is one of the best ways to do it. As Programme Lead for Catalyst Berlin's Film BA, and Creative Production Film MA tutor, Leandro believes that the most captivating things in life are the unanswered questions.

by Adam Munnings

Music Video, 6 min

Urgence is a music video produced, shot and directed by Adam Munnings for Franco-Australian Elodie Gervaise. Elodie is a singer, musician and writer of songs, currently expressing through an electronic, synth-driven sound.. The film was shot on 8mm film in September 2020.

/// About the filmmaker

Tasmanian born, Berlin based director Adam Munnings studied performing arts from a young age before launching into an international career as a model, DJ and choreographer. Since moving to Berlin to pursue a career in film, his work has been selected for the Bucharest Fashion Film Festival, Berlin Commercial and Berlin Music Video Awards and has had projects featured in Vogue Portugal, Metal Magazine and Kaltblut. 

Adam’s strong visual aesthetic has become well sought after and he prides himself in diverse casting, dynamic storytelling and innovative concepts. Adam is a proud member of the queer community and looks forward to further becoming an influential contributor to the European creative industry.

by Svansy von Swansea

Music Video, 3 min 47 sec

Turbofolk without violence.

1980-1995: Turbofolk - South Slavic folk music mixed with 80's western pop music. The genre followed the visual trends of the landscape of the early 90's, in the nations that sprung out of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia.
The vacuum of communistic unity was filled by capitalistic nationalism.

by Juan Daniel Fernández Molero

A teenage misfit spends her first days out of school slacking and experimenting with drugs and cybersex. She meets Junior online, he's an amateur porn dealer on a delusional journey regarding the Mayan Apocalypse and other conspiracy theories. Once they meet in the 'real world' unusual events start to unfold as bizarre characters appear in this contemporary non-love story that portrays a post-modern Lima, an internet glitchy virus, corruption, psychedelia and ancient ruins.

Videophilia (And Other Viral Syndromes) had its world premiere in 2015 at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, winning Peru's first Tiger Award for best film. Later it was selected as the official Peruvian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards and was awarded the best Peruvian film of 2016 by the National Film Critics Guild.

/// About the filmmaker

Juan Daniel Fernández Molero (Peru, 1987) is a filmmaker based in Quillabamba, Cuzco, since 2019. His films have been featured internationally at festivals like Rotterdam, FIDMarseille, New Horizons, Singapore IFF, FICValdivia, BAFICI, Mar del Plata, Filmadrid, Distrital, Kerala IFF, Films from the South, Flaherty NYC, La Habana, among many others. He is an alumnus and fellow for the selected educational programs of Berlinale Talents 2011, Buenos Aires Talents 2010, IFFR Trainee Project for Young Film Critics 2010, UnionDocs Collab 2011-2012, and the Bogota Audiovisual Market 2014, and also studied Film Directing at Universidad del Cine in Buenos Aires for almost two years before dropping out. Juan Daniel has won five national grants given by the Ministry of Culture of Peru for film distribution, script development and twice for best experimental film with the short films Sol quieto (2015) and re_making (2016).

After the screening, join Juan Daniel and María Gisèle Royo Barrera for a special filmmakers dialogue on Saturday at 17:00.

by Jayden Bailey

Drama-Comedy/Fantasy, English, 21 min 30 sec

Three best friends are having what seems to be a normal night of laughs and pranks. But a slash of burnt hair will change it all. Their campfire begins to spit out memories from their past. While Felix and Nelson marvel at the beautiful fire, Eldrid interprets the flames as a means to disaster. Will he reveal his secret and lose his best friends?

/// About the filmmaker

Jayden Bailey is a writer/director based in Berlin, Germany.  When he tells a story, it comes with a smile. Whether it’s simple, surreal, or a social commentary, every film he creates is cut with personality. He is currently preparing his new short film, "Slow Rush" and has an open call for any collaborators interested in nostalgia and sibling love...