The Goethe-Institut Irland present a Short Film Series:
Twelve Short Films, One Question – What is Europe?
Young Voices for Europe: Almost 30 students from German-speaking film schools and young film makers have embarked on a journey through Europe. In twelve exciting projects, the film teams search for insights into a wide variety of topics. Their work reflects the voices and feelings of a young generation. It discusses migration, freedom, boundaries, human rights, and equality, and also includes the effects of the current crisis caused by the Corona pandemic.
In partnership with the German Embassy Dublin, the Goethe-Institut Irland will present short films from the Europe in Film series on twelve consecutive Fridays at 6pm (GMT). The series was created as a part of the German EU Presidency 2020. The programme begins on 29 January 2021 on the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day with Mario Dahl’s film “Never Again”. The film will be available on the Goethe-Institut Irland’s Facebook page and will be available here for one week.
Never Again (29.01.2021)
Director & Idea: Mario Dahl, colour, 4 min., Germany 2020
Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Lea talks about her memories of a summer day during the Second World War. She gets caught between Waffen SS soldiers and their victims. The short film visualizes forgetting, remembering and the message that seems more important today than ever: Never again.
Der Grenzer / The Border Guard (05.02.2021)
Director: Sven Gielnik, colour, 12 Min., Germany 2020
Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
For decades, the border guard has watched over a post in the forest. Times are peaceful and the border is open. This changes when one day a young successor appears to replace the old man and close the barrier again. The border guard has to decide – between loyalty to the system and his own values and principles. A parable about responsibility, freedom and the courage to overcome borders.
Mother of Freedom (12.02.2021)
Director: Julius Schmitt, Feline Gerhardt, colour, 17 min., Germany 2020
Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
EU is Nobel Peace Prize winner – Europe is the mother of freedom. But for many refugees, what’s left of that is just an empty promise. Parwana Amiri and Arash Hampay do not want to accept the difficult circumstances in Greece – they are fighting for their rights and dignity.
Stadtpinguin / City Penguin (19.02.2021)
Director: Florinda Frisardi, colour, 10 min., Germany 2020
Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin
Confined to their hot apartment, two sisters fantasize about the possible adventures of their lost toy penguin in the outside world.
Handbook for a Privileged European Woman (26.02.2021)
Director: Alma Buddecke, colour, 10 min., Germany 2020
Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
How to ride a mechanical bull and not care that everyone is picturing you naked.
Hotel Europa (05.03.2021)
Director: Nele Dehnenkamp, colour, 9 min., Germany 2020
Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
A Berlin youth hostel, which was turned into an emergency shelter for homeless people during the COVID-19 pandemic, suddenly closes its doors. What impact does this have on the people who have sought refuge there? Three portraits.
Nicht weit raus / Not Far Out (12.03.2021)
Director: Beran Ergün, colour, 8 min., Germany 2020
Hochschule Mainz
Before dawn an extreme swimmer is on his way to the ocean for his regular training. On this day, however, the waves are very rough and intense, the man has significant problems to stay afloat and is fighting for survival. In his presumably last moments, the man makes an unexpected finding.
Die ehemaligen Grenzorte / Former Border Towns (19.03.2020)
Director: Paul Scholten, colour, 7 min., Germany 2020
Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München
The film tells the stories of former border sites and three people whose personal stories are closely linked to them. In each story there is a crucial moment on the border that has changed the lives of our protagonists forever.
Salidas / New Beginnings (26.03.2021)
Director: Michael Fetter, colour, 11 min., Germany 2020
Contando Films
“Salidas” (Spanish., “Departures”) is a fictional dance film which tells the story of Giralda, an undertaker who accompanies deceased human beings into their afterlife. Interpreted with the means of Spanish flamenco dance and music, and set at an old East German shiplift, the film creates an associative fusion between Northern and Southern Europe, movement and silence, and farewells and eternity.
Katzenjammer / Feeding the Hungry (02.04.2021)
Director: Flavio Yuri Rigamonti, black and white, 11 min., Germany 2020
Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin
A young refugee, hungry and exhausted, is refused any help. After days of hardship and starvation in a small village in the countryside, out of unbearable hunger, he kills a cat to feed himself. The meeting with the cat’s owner, an old hunter, will have an unforeseen outcome.
The Battle for our Voices (09.04.2021)
Director: Jennifer Mallmannm, colour, 12 min. Germany 2020
Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
“The Battle for our Voices” follows the founder of the Polish Women’s Strike movement, Natalia, in her battle against the ban on abortion. The film presents the worldwide cohesion among women standing up for their right to be heard and emphasizes how individual movements can become part of something bigger.
Götterdämmerung / Twilight of the Gods (16.04.2021)
Director: David Uzochukwu, Faraz Shariat, colour, 7 min., Germany 2020
Production: Nicolas Blankenhorn,
After a ceremonial burial in the Mediterranean Sea, the yacht of a wealthy community runs aground.
