Berlin International Film Festival 2023 confirms more titles for Berlinale Special, Panorama, Generation, Berlinale Co-Production Market, and Berlinale Goes Kiez.
Berlinale Special has added a powerful documentary, Kiss the Future, that highlights the struggle of the citizens of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War and how aid-worker Bill Carter’s determination resulted in the enlistment of the world’s largest rock band, U2, to help shine a light when the world wasn’t paying attention.
La Sirène (The Siren) by Sepideh Farsi is the opening film of Panorama program which comprises a total of 35 works from 30 countries. Queer cinema is well represented this year. After receiving several rejections, twice-Grammy-nominated music producer D. Smith swiftly went about making her film Kokomo City by herself and thus became a debut director. In stylish black-and-white images, set to an eclectic soundtrack, four Black trans* sex workers from New York and Georgia share their experiences with uncompromising wit and wisdom. In their feature film debut Femme, London-based directing duo Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping have created a tremendous cinematic act of liberation and a furious queer revenge thriller starring the brilliant Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and George MacKay in the lead roles. Sacha Polak’s Silver Haze is also set in London: in her second collaboration with actor Vicky Knight, Polak adeptly situates social background, personal trauma and the search for belonging in an urban space of stark contrasts.
Generation 14plus and Generation Kplus Competitions will open with When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before (Wann wird es endlich wieder so, wie es nie war) by Sonja Heiss and und Zeevonk von Domien Huyghe.
The Generation 14plus competition will open with Wann wird es endlich wieder so, wie es nie war (When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before) by Sonja Heiss on February 17, 2023. Based on Joachim Meyerhoff’s eponymous novel, and boasting a star-studded cast, Heiss’s film tells the laugh-out-loud funny and deeply moving story of a childhood and youth spent on the grounds of a psychiatric clinic. Meanwhile, Domien Huyghe’s moving film Zeevonk (Sea Sparkle) will kick off the Generation Kplus competition: After the death of her father, which she blames on a sea monster, 12-year-old Lena relentlessly battles with the tides of her grief.
Berlinale Special
Kiss the Future
by Nenad Cicin-Sain
USA / Ireland 2023
Berlinale Special Gala | World premiere | Documentary Form
Panorama 2023
After
by Anthony Lapia | with Louise Chevillotte, Majd Mastoura, Natalia Wiszniewska
France 2023
Panorama | World premiere | Debut film
A club in Paris. Driving techno beats sweep everyone away. People dance, consume and talk. Félicie meets Saïd and takes him to her place for an afterparty. On the cusp between night and day, different lives and views collide.
All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White
by Babatunde Apalowo | with Tope Tedela, Riyo David, Martha Ehinome Orhiere, Uchechika Elumelu, Floyd Anekwe
Nigeria 2023
Panorama | World premiere | Debut film
Bambino and Bawa meet in Lagos and hit it off immediately. During their long trips around the city they develop a deep affection for each other. But in a society which considers homosexuality taboo, they feel the pressure of social norms.
And, Towards Happy Alleys
by Sreemoyee Singh | with Jafar Panahi, Nasrin Soutodeh, Jinous Nazokkar, Farhad Kheradmand, Aida Mohammadkhani
India 2023
Panorama Dokumente | World premiere | Debut film | Documentary Form
A passionate declaration of love for the cinema and poetry of Iran, which also offers a frank view of the precarious situation for critics of the regime and shows the uncompromising daily struggle of Iranian women against their oppression.
La Bête dans la jungle (The Beast in the Jungle)
by Patric Chiha | with Anaïs Demoustier, Tom Mercier, Béatrice Dalle, Martin Vischer, Sophie Demeyer
France / Belgium / Austria 2023
Panorama | World premiere
The club as a place of endless (im)possibilities. A man and a woman are waiting here together for 25 years for a mysterious, allchanging event to occur. From 1979 to 2004: from disco to techno. A love story and an obsession.
Drifter
by Hannes Hirsch | with Lorenz Hochhuth, Cino Djavid, Gustav Schmidt, Oscar Hoppe, Marie Tragousti
Germany 2023
Panorama | World premiere | Debut film
Moritz has moved to Berlin to be with his boyfriend, but their relationship soon ends. The 22-year-old embarks on a journey filled with kinks, metamorphoses and self-discovery into the depths of Berlin’s party scene.
The Eternal Memory
by Maite Alberdi | with Paulina Urrutia, Augusto Góngora
Chile 2023
Panorama Dokumente | European premiere | Documentary Form
When Chilean journalist Augusto Góngora is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, his wife begins to document his advancing disease on video. The film hints at the tragedy and sadness that his slide into oblivion brings for them both.
Femme
by Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping | with George MacKay, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett
United Kingdom 2023
Panorama | World premiere | Debut film
Jules is a drag artist in London. After a performance, he is brutally attacked and, traumatised, withdraws into himself. Months later, he recognises his assailant in a gay sauna and begins an affair with him, incognito. A gripping revenge thriller.
Ghaath (Ambush)
by Chhatrapal Ninawe | with Dhananjay Mandaokar, Milind Shinde, Jitendra Joshi, Janardan Kadam, Suruchi Adarkar
India 2023
Panorama | World premiere | Debut film
An unsparing psychological portrait of the civil war that has been raging in central India for over 50 years. Set in the middle of the jungle, we see what happens to perpetrators and victims whose lives are marked by a constant proximity to violence and death.
Green Night
by Han Shuai | with Fan Bingbing, Lee Joo Young, Kim Young Ho
Hong Kong, China 2023
Panorama | World premiere
Two lone female fighters who have learned to rely on no one but themselves venture into Seoul’s underworld. In search of the big hit that could mean liberation from their useless husbands, these disparate women grow closer.
Heroico (Heroic)
by David Zonana | with Santiago Sandoval Carbajal, Fernando Cuautle, Mónica del Carmen, Esteban Caicedo
Mexico / Sweden 2023
Panorama | European premiere
Luis, 18, sees only one way to be able to provide for himself and his mother: training at Mexico’s national military academy. The rigid system of violence that is designed to turn him into the perfect soldier pushes him to his limits.
Joan Baez I Am A Noise
by Karen O’Connor, Miri Navasky, Maeve O’Boyle | with Joan Baez, Mimi Farina, Bob Dylan, David Harris
USA 2023
Panorama Dokumente | World premiere | Documentary Form
This intimate and candid portrait of American music legend and civil rights activist Joan Baez interweaves images from her farewell tour with previously unseen footage and highly intimate insights into her life and emotions. Not just for Baez fans.
Kokomo City
by D. Smith | with Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell, Dominique Silver
USA 2023
Panorama Dokumente | International premiere | Debut film | Documentary Form
A series of moving interviews and encounters with four Black trans sex workers from New York and Georgia in which they talk frankly about their experiences. Questions of belonging and identity within the Black community are candidly addressed.
Das Lehrerzimmer (The Teachers’ Lounge)
by İlker Çatak | with Leonie Benesch, Leonard Stettnisch, Eva Löbau, Michael Klammer, Anne-Kathrin Gummich
Germany 2023
Panorama | World premiere
When one of her students is suspected of theft, teacher Carla Nowak decides to get to the bottom of the matter. Caught between her ideals and the school system, the consequences of her actions threaten to break her.
Matria
by Álvaro Gago | with María Vázquez, Santi Prego, Soraya Luaces, E.R. Cunha “Tatán”, Susana Sampedro
Spain 2023
Panorama | World premiere | Debut film
A vibrant portrait of a woman in a Galician fishing village who is struggling to get by with hard work and rough charm. With her 18-year-old daughter now ready to stand on her own two feet, Ramona begins to question her life up to this point.
Motståndaren (Opponent)
by Milad Alami | with Payman Maadi, Marall Nasiri, Björn Elgerd, Ardalan Esmaili
Sweden 2023
Panorama | World premiere
Iman, an Iranian, lives with his family in Sweden in an ever-changing succession of refugee hostels. To increase his chances of obtaining residence permits for them all, he resumes his career as a wrestler – and is confronted with why he had to flee.
Propriedade (Property)
by Daniel Bandeira | with Malu Galli, Zuleika Ferreira, Tavinho Teixeira, Samuel Santos, Edilson Silva
Brazil 2022
Panorama | International premiere
When rebelling workers occupy Teresa’s family estate, she flees at the last minute in an armoured car. She is trapped, but refuses to negotiate. A thriller about the extreme disparities between social classes in Brazil.
Sages-femmes (Midwives)
by Léa Fehner | with Khadija Kouyaté, Héloïse Janjaud, Myriem Akheddiou, Quentin Vernede, Tarik Kariouh
France 2023
Panorama | World premiere
Sofia and Louise are newly qualified midwives. They quickly encounter the challenges of everyday hospital life. A sensitive and searing exposé of a key profession and the ramifications of a broken health system for the individual.
Sira
by Apolline Traoré | with Nafissatou Cissé, Mike Danon, Lazare Minoungou, Nathalie Vairac, Ruth Werner
Burkina Faso / France / Germany / Senegal 2023
Panorama | World premiere
After a brutal attack, a young nomad named Sira refuses to surrender to her fate without a fight and instead takes a stand against Islamist terror. A feminist counterpoint to current reporting from the Sahel region.
Sisi & Ich (Sisi & I)
by Frauke Finsterwalder | with Sandra Hüller, Susanne Wolff, Georg Friedrich, Stefan Kurt, Sophie Hutter
Germany / Switzerland / Austria 2023
Panorama | World premiere
In this wild reinterpretation of the “Sisi” myth, the focus is on Austrian Empress Elizabeth’s close friendship with her last lady-inwaiting, Irma Countess von Sztáray, who falls in love with the charismatic Sisi and is captivated by her modern ideas.
Ty mene lubysh? (Do You Love Me?)
by Tonia Noyabrova | with Karyna Khymchuk, Maksym Myhayilychenko, Natalia Lazebnikova, Oleksandr Zhyla, Daria Palagnyuk
Ukraine / Sweden 2023
Panorama | World premiere
Ukraine at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Vivacious 17-year-old Kira witnesses her family and the country she lives in falling apart. The transformations in their lives arrive gradually but are sweeping. Their whole world is shaking.
Under the Sky of Damascus
by Heba Khaled, Talal Derki, Ali Wajeeh
Denmark / Germany / USA / Syria 2023
Panorama Dokumente | World premiere | Documentary Form
Experiencing violence is commonplace for Syrian women but they do not discuss the prevalence of – often sexual – exploitation for fear of revenge. A collective of young women want to break the taboo with a theatre project. But how free are they themselves?
Berlinale Generation 2023
Aatmapamphlet (Autobio-Pamphlet)
by Ashish Avinash Bende | with Om Bendkhale, Pranjali Shrikant, Chetan Wagh, Manas Tondwalkar, Khushi Hajare
India 2023
Generation 14plus | World premiere | Debut film
A fast-paced comedy, Aatmapamphlet tells the twin story of a childhood love and that of momentous social change in 1990s India. Bold, moving, and insightful, this directorial debut places friendship over political factions and love above everything else.
Almamula
by Juan Sebastian Torales | with Nicolás Díaz, Martina Grimaldi, María Soldi, Cali Coronel, Luisa Lucía Paz
France / Argentina / Italy 2023
Generation 14plus | World premiere | Debut film
Fleeing homophobic attacks, Nino moves to a rural house amidst a forest haunted by Almamula, a monster that takes those who commit carnal sins. In a world of whispers, unspoken desires and prayers, Nino’s curiosity and impulses rise to the surface.
And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine
by Axel Danielson, Maximilien Van Aertryck
USA 2023
Generation 14plus | European premiere | Documentary Form
A visually exuberant documentary that uses powerful collages edited out of archive footage, home videos, live-streaming material and private documentation to offer a glimpse at what (or who) is at work when an image of our reality is arranged.
Cinderella
by Walt Disney, Wilfred Jackson, Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske
USA 1950
Generation Kplus | International premiere
As part of Disney100, Generation presents the fully restored version of the animation classic Cinderella by Walt Disney. The story of a girl who overcomes challenges with determination and a dream in her heart.
Closing Dynasty
by Lloyd Lee Choi | with Milinka Winata, Eleven Lee, Allen Chen
USA 2023
Generation Kplus | World premiere | Short film
Roaming the streets of New York, Queenie is dead set on one thing: getting money. Following the seven-year-old’s shrewd gaze as she navigates the adult world, the film speaks of things parents try to keep hidden, and of childlike tenacity.
Dancing Queen
by Aurora Gossé | with Liv Elvira Kippersund Larsson, Cengiz Al, Anne Marit Jacobsen, Anders Baasmo, Andrea Bræin Hovig
Norway 2023
Generation Kplus | World premiere | Debut film
A nerdy teenager at the start of a new school year, Mina is keen to fit in. But dance is about to make her stand out. This Norwegian comedy tackles the demons of self-doubt and body-image head on as a young girl dances her fears away.
De songes au songe d’un autre miroir (Of Dreams in the Dream of Another Mirror)
by Yunyi Zhu
France 2023
Generation Kplus | World premiere | Documentary Form | Short film
The world is alive, but maybe without mirrors and images, none of it would exist. The blind create images in a different way – with sounds, textures and experiences. When you enter the rabbit hole, imagination plays the main part.
Desperté con un sueño (I Woke Up With a Dream)
by Pablo Solarz | with Lucas Ferro, Romina Peluffo, Mirella Pascual, Mariana Smilevitz, Ema Sena
Argentina / Uruguay 2022
Generation Kplus | International premiere
Felipe loves to act. But his mother is not supposed to find out about his attachment to theatre. At a casting, he becomes more and more entangled in mysteries. Yet, he’s not the only one in his family who resorts to lies to achieve his dream.
Gaby les collines (Gaby’s Hills)
by Zoé Pelchat | with Lou Thompson, Gaspard Chartrand, Emmanuel Bilodeau, Catherine De Léan
Canada 2023
Generation Kplus | World premiere | Short film
No-one wants to play football with Gaby now that she has breasts. Like every other year, the 13-year-old is spending the summer with her dad on a small island off the Canadian coast – and she is not about to pretend that she’s suddenly a different person.
Gösta Petter-land (George-Peterland)
by Christer Wahlberg
Sweden 2023
Generation Kplus | World premiere | Animation, Documentary Form | Short film
To escape their super boring reality at school, five friends invent a magical chicken forest world in which they can dream as much as they want without being disturbed by adults. They call it “George-Peterland”. But utopia is turning against itself.
A Greyhound of a Girl
by Enzo d’Alò | with Mia O’Connor, Charlene McKenna, Brendan Gleeson, Sharon Horgan, Rosaleen Linehan
Luxembourg / Italy / Ireland / United Kingdom / Latvia / Estonia / Germany 2023
Generation Kplus | World premiere | Animation
Granny is the best. Her pantry contains no instant food, but plenty of recipes for savouring the moment. When she falls ill, Mary starts fearing the worst. In this adaptation of Roddy Doyle‘s novel, a family travels the bittersweet road of life together.
Ha’Mishlahat (Delegation)
by Asaf Saban | with Neomi Harari, Yoav Bavly, Leib Lev Levin, Ezra Dagan, Alma Dishy
Israel / Poland / Germany 2023
Generation 14plus | World premiere
A school trip to Shoah memorials confronts young Israelis with a part of their identity and simultaneously with emotions and dynamics among themselves. A living appropriation of the past anchored in the present.
Hito
by Stephen Lopez | with Kyrie Allison Samodio, Junjun Quintana, Bor Ocampo, Ina Azarcon-Bolivar, Maricel Sombrio
Philippines 2023
Generation 14plus | World premiere | Short film
Between nuclear reactors and military curfews, 14-year-old Jani lives in a dystopian world oppressively devoid of empathy. Together, she and her slippery new friend Kiefer the talking catfish gear up to strike a surreal blow for freedom.
Hummingbirds
by Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía “Beba” Contreras
USA 2023
Generation 14plus | World premiere | Debut film | Documentary Form
In Texas, on the Mexican border, best friends Silvia and Beba dance through long summer nights. Stuck in the immigration process in a politically divided America, home seems fragile. But their bond is not. The half-light is a space for poetry and dreams.
Huo jian fa she shi (When a Rocket Sits on the Launch Pad)
by Bohao Liu
People’s Republic of China / USA 2023
Generation 14plus | World premiere | Documentary Form | Short film
At the basketball camp, 15-year-old Fang talks about her dreams. But life never stops, it moves too fast. Her phone fell into water. There are too many stairs to climb. The adults seem to decide her future. And the rocket keeps being launched every month.
Incroci
by Francesca de Fusco | with Eleonora De Luca, Nico Guerzoni, Caterina Scordo
USA / Germany 2023
Generation 14plus | World premiere | Short film
Fede’s days are spent between school and a house run by nuns. One day, in a corridor, Fede sees Valentina, a new tenant, for the first time. Another world arises inside the one Fede knew, with different questions and possibilities. What does it mean to desire?
Kiddo
by Zara Dwinger | with Rosa van Leeuwen, Frieda Barnhard
Netherlands 2023
Generation Kplus | World premiere | Debut film
Out of the children’s home and into the rusty Chevrolet: Lu is whisked away by her eccentric mother, cowboy boots, wigs and sunglasses in tow. On their road trip east, both dream of finally staying together forever.
Madden
by Malin Ingrid Johansson | with Irma Hallberg, Theodora Alm Norell, Maria Alm Norell, Mathias Olofsson
Sweden 2022
Generation 14plus | International premiere | Short film
To Madeleine, the muddy road to the nearby town in front of her family’s farm seems like a threshold to another world. A mystical coming-of-age story in which the teenager experiences glimpses of the unknown as feelings of longing and loyalty collide.
Magma
by Luca Meisters | with Leah Fischer, Mustafa Duygulu, Nadia Amin, Joya Kloppenborg, Judith van den Berg
Netherlands 2023
Generation Kplus | World premiere | Short film
Overwhelmed by her father’s sudden disability, Esra becomes entangled in a web of lies. Only once the emotions smouldering inside the nine-year-old finally rush to the surface, can she begin coming to terms with her new reality.
Ma mère et moi
by Emma Branderhorst | with Celeste Holsheimer, Hannah van Lunteren
Netherlands 2023
Generation 14plus | World premiere | Short film
Kees wants to roam far away from home, but her mother doesn’t seem ready for the cut-off as of yet. In light of the complexity and ambivalence of their close relationship, a joint road trip develops into an emotional tour de force.
Man khod, man ham miraghsam (And Me, I’m Dancing Too)
by Mohammad Valizadegan
Germany / Czechia / Iran 2023
Generation 14plus | World premiere | Short film
In her native Iran, Saba is not free to express herself through dance. When she rebels against the rigid rules in a poetic act of defiance, the lines between documentary and fiction begin to blur. A powerful and moving directorial debut.
Mimi (She – Hero)
by Mira Fornay | with Rozmarína Willems, Cyprián Šulej
Slovakia 2023
Generation Kplus | World premiere
While searching for her budgie Mimi, Romy roams alone through the forest on the outskirts of town, makes exciting discoveries and meets people full of mysteries. Under her curious and critical gaze, the real and the fantastic merge.
Mirror Mirror
by Sandulela Asanda | with Luhle Macanda, Buhle Ngaba, Mpumi Sizani
South Africa 2022
Generation 14plus | European premiere | Short film
Luthando is determined to explore her body sensually. However, her voyage of discovery threatens to fail between internet research, magazine tips and FaceTime. A coming-of-age comedy about female sensuality and self-determination.
Mise à nu (Catching Birds)
by Lea Marie Lembke, Simon Maria Kubiena | with Anna Stanic, Fethi Aidouni, Marin Judas
Germany 2023
Generation 14plus | World premiere | Short film
When Theo awakens her sense of desire, Anouk, the only girl on the wrestling team, starts seeing the sparring sessions in a different light. A quietly intimate film, in which relationships between bodies, gazes and feelings are negotiated anew.
Mutt
by Vuk Lungulov-Klotz | with Lio Mehiel, Cole Doman, MiMi Ryder, Alejandro Goic
USA 2023
Generation 14plus | International premiere | Debut film
Within the space of 24 hours, Feña is swept through the extremes of human emotion, when people who seemed to disappear when he transitioned are suddenly back in his life. What counts are not just the things that change, but also those that stay the same.
Ramona
by Victoria Linares Villegas
Dominican Republic 2023
Generation 14plus | World premiere | Documentary Form
Feeling unprepared for her role as a pregnant teenager from the outskirts of Santo Domingo, Camila decides to sit down with pregnant young girls for inspiration. Yet Ramona unexpectedly moves into unchartered territory, when the teens take centre stage.
Shen Hai (Deep Sea)
by Tian Xiaopeng | with Wang Tingwen, Su Xin
People’s Republic of China 2023
Generation Kplus | International premiere | Animation
Shenxiu has felt a deep sadness since her mother left. A storm plunges her into a dreamlike, 3D world of swirling colour. Led by the Hyjinx, and joined by inventive underwater chef Nanhe, she embarks on a quest to find solace in the Eye of the Deep Sea.
Simo
by Aziz Zoromba | with Basel El Rayes, Seif El Rayes, Aladeen Tawfeek
Canada 2022
Generation 14plus | European premiere | Short film
Simo secretly takes over his big brother’s gaming live stream. Suddenly, the number of viewers explodes – and brings an unexpected opponent onto the scene. The nuanced film illuminates the dynamics in a family that moves closer together through detours.
Somni
by Sonja Rohleder
Germany 2023
Generation Kplus | World premiere | Animation | Short film
When sleep comes, the monkey glides gently from leaf to leaf and into a mysterious dream world which becomes darker, more colourful and wilder. Sonja Rohleder’s cinematic lullaby floats through the phases of sleep and their various hues and shapes.
Spin & Ella
by An Vrombaut | with Max Schram, Umi Schram
Belgium 2023
Generation Kplus | International premiere | Animation | Short film
A house here, a harp there – with their whimsical webs, Ella the fairy and her spider friend bring joy to all the inhabitants of the tree. But when the two start to quarrel in An Vrombaut’s animated short, the threads go flying all over the place.
Sværddrage (The Shift)
by Amalie Maria Nielsen | with Anna Charlie Zerbib Streizt, Niklas Herskind, Petrine Agger, Isabella Møller Hansen
Denmark 2023
Generation Kplus | World premiere | Short film
In a home for struggling girls, young Milo is transitioning gender with the support of care worker Nicki. One day, through the thin walls of the institution, Milo hears something they wish they hadn’t. They push the emergency button.
Sweet As
by Jub Clerc | with Shantae Barnes-Cowan, Mark Coles Smith, Tasma Walton, Carlos Sanson Jr
Australia 2022
Generation Kplus | European premiere | Debut film
During a short but intense photo-excursion through her aboriginal homeland, fifteen-year-old Murra makes life-changing experiences. She discovers her love for photography and the importance of telling her own story in a world that is constantly changing.
Szemem sarka (From the Corner of My Eyes)
by Domonkos Erhardt
Hungary 2023
Generation 14plus | World premiere | Animation | Short film
Rattling, the bus moves through the night. With a style reminiscent of expressionist woodcuts, in daydreamy colours and loving detail, this animated short captures the magic of a chance encounter that brings two people together for a fleeting moment.
Timis (Dusk)
by Awa Moctar Gueye | with Binta Traoré, Mouhamed Aw, Abdou Camara, Djiby Camara, Maimouna Ly
Senegal 2023
Generation Kplus | World premiere | Short film
At dusk, the spirit world grows bolder. The darkness of the Dakar market where the solitary, slender figure of Pa Kong-Kong dwells, is considered no place for children to venture. But Binta must prove to her peers that girls have the bravery to lead.
Tümpel (Pond)
by Lena von Döhren, Eva Rust
Switzerland 2023
Generation Kplus | World premiere | Animation | Short film
A fish gets lost in a tidal pool and must win over the sea creatures that dwell there. A fart creates goodwill, and a strong community quickly develops. An underwater adventure painted with the colours and sounds of the sea.
Wann wird es endlich wieder so, wie es nie war (When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before)
by Sonja Heiss | with Arsseni Bultmann, Pola Geiger, Casper von Bülow, Laura Tonke, Devid Striesow
Germany / Belgium 2023
Generation 14plus | World premiere
Between quarreling parents, mocking brothers and psychiatric patients, Josse grows up in an unusual environment. No wonder he struggles with feelings of being overwhelmed. A tragicomic celebration of life and its absurdities.
We Will Not Fade Away
by Alisa Kovalenko
Ukraine / France / Poland 2023
Generation 14plus | World premiere | Documentary Form
For five teenagers living in the conflict-ridden Donbas region of Ukraine, a Himalayan expedition provides a brief escape from reality. A portrait of a generation that, in spite of everything, is able to recognise and celebrate the fragile beauty of life.
Xiaohui he ta de niu (Xiaohui and His Cows)
by Xinying Lao | with Jinhao Wei, Yuanmo Wei, Yamiao Tang
People’s Republic of China 2023
Generation Kplus | World premiere | Short film
Far away from his parents, Xiaohui lives with his grandfather in the mountains. When a calf is to be sold, the witty nine-year-old does everything in his power to prevent the separation of mother and child. A soulful cry for love in capitalist times.
Yi shi yi ke (Now.Here)
by Hao Zhao | with Qi Lu, Yuxuan Liu, Huiying Zhu, Xun Liu
People’s Republic of China 2023
Generation 14plus | World premiere | Short film
Wenhui believes he was born to be a goalkeeper, even though nobody remembers how he first got into football. The odds of saving a penalty are against him, but he knows that when confusing events happen, there is comfort in the structure of the game.
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