We can conclude from recent trends that the documentary form is once again amongst the strongest genres in German short film production. Cosmic Station takes us to Armenia, where we encounter the remains of what was once an ambitious Soviet project. Moscow has long since run out of funds, however, and thus the Armenian researchers continue their work at 3,500 metres, in what looks like a space capsule, under absurd conditions, yet still hoping to discover new galaxies. Eva Könnemann by contrast works in a claustrophobically close space. We witness rehearsals conducted by star director Laurent Chetouane with actor Fabian Hinrichs. When Hinrichs refuses to play his role as desired, the dramatization seems doomed to fail. Die Tragödien aus der Stadt (The Tragedies of the City) was selected as best entry in the German Competition in 2008. In between these two works, we are mesmerized by the smile of Effie Wu, we journey through romantic German forestland, and then finally liberate butterflies in the Bavarian Alps with Cyrill Lachauer: a wild performance.
- Cosmic Station
Dir Bettina Timm/ Germany 2008/ English and Armenain with English Subtitles/ 31 mins
Documentary. At an altitude of 3500 m on the mountain Aragaz in Armenia buildings were constructed. It was a major project of the fallen Soviet Union. More than a hundred men worked on it, to receive news from outer space: cosmic rays on their way releasing particles in countless tiny explosions: messengers from outer space. - Reise zum Wald (Journey To the Forest)
Dir Jörn Staeger/ Germany 2008/ 7 mins
Experimental. A filmic poem about forests in Germany. A trace of trees leads the viewer through man-made green spaces, forests and jungle rests. - Super Smile
Dir Effie Wu/ Germany 2007/ 5 mins
Experimental. Is Effie Wu a fairy or an evil witch? Neither one nor the other. She is the enchanting host who welcomes you in her house and before you can close your eyes, you’re already a prisoner of her hypnotic ‘super smile’… - Die Tragöden aus der Stadt (The Tragedians of the City)
Dir Eva Könnemann/ Germany 2008/ German with English Subtitles/ 35 mins
Documentary. A director and an actor are rehearsing Hamlet. The actor: “To fill the room with my presence seems absurd to me, that I go on stage and produce suspense. Why? Why?” – The director: “You just have to play, honey, you are the actor.” – An intimate play. - I Killed the Butterflies
Dir Cyrill Lachauer/ Germany 2007/ 5 mins
Experimental Documentary. Cyrill Lachauer frees during a mythic-ritual hike in the Bavarian Alpes the butterflies he had caught and killed as a child.