interfilm Festival Berlin
interfilm Berlin hosts the International Short Film Festival Berlin, which was founded in 1982. Since 2000 interfilm Berlin has expanded its fields of activities - several short film DVDs have been released, regular local short film events and an internationally operating short film distribution have been established. interfilm Berlin offers a wide variety of short fiction, animated films and documentaries to enthusiastic audiences that value these films as much as they do longer works.
www.interfilm.de
Personal Bio, Christian Gesell:
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Christian Gesell is Head of Sales and Distribution at interfilm Berlin. He and his team provide short films for cinematic exhibition in Germany and license shorts worldwide to TV stations, DVD labels, trains/buses/airlines, VoD platforms, mobile operators, etc.. Previously active as an event producer for music festivals and outdoor concerts, he began work for the International Short Film Festival Berlin in 2000. For the past five years he has coordinated special events, technology and staff at interfilm, and took over the Sales and Distribution department in January 2006 following extensive studies in media economics.
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Confrontations - Films Against Violence and Intolerance
The competition "Confrontations – Films Against Violence and Intolerance" at the interfilm International Short Film Festival Berlin has become an integral part of the International Competition, and we thank the German Federal Agency for Civic Education for their support on that programme. The engagement emphasizes the importance of this special competition, which awards films that handle difficult and often shocking themes in an artistic and professional manner. The subjects of war and the human rights crimes in Bosnia and Serbia are the focus of this year's nominees.
Violence and intolerance, in their many forms, seem to be more present than ever in our society. However, we receive our information from media that, due to their function and method, do not have access or the ability to portray individual incidents and situations as they occur. This primarily emotional gap is closed by selected films – grouped thematically into the programs "Violent Encounters", "About War" , and "Daily Fears" – in diverse forms. Whether they focus on war, domestic violence, social inequality or fear of terrorism, the makers of these films prove that they are capable of handling such extremely difficult themes in moving ways.
2008 interfilm Festival Films
Program 1
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Soft
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Simon Ellis England, 2006 14´00 min
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A father rediscovers his fear of confrontation, at the worst possible time.)
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Uova / Eggs
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Alessandro Celli Italy, 2006 5 min
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A quick bicycle ride to get groceries from a local supermarket, followed by a rush home to cook breakfast. A morning like any other.
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Mother's Little Helper
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Barry Kelly Ireland, 2006 14´04 min
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Explores a violently disintegrating marriage and the extremes one woman feels she must go to. Based on actual events.
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Kouklospito / Doll House
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DANAE STYLIANOU Cyprus, 2006 15´00 min
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A young girl flees her father's violence by creating a fantasy world with a doll.
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Itmanna / Make a wish
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Cherien Dabis U S A / Palestinian Territorie, 2006 12´04 min
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Miriam is in love - with a cake she saw in a bakery window. Miriam begs her mother for extra pocket-money but after arriving at the bakery, realizes that she still can't afford it. Not yet anyway.
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MILAN
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Michaela Kezele Germany / Serbia and Monte., 2007 23 min
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Yugoslavia during the 1999 NATO air-raids. While playing hide-and-seek in a forest, little Milan stumbles upon a stranded pilot, unaware that his brother is not hiding, but struggling for his life.
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Program 2
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Most / The Bridge
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Haris Bilajbegovic Austria, 2007 12´00 min
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Based on the true account of the tragedy on the bridge in Bosnia Herzegovina in 1992. Many who worked on the film actually witnessed the horror first-hand.
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Hoy es un Dia Distinto / Today is a different day
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Pablo González Colombia, 2006 11´00 min
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A photographer tries to incriminate the police in a brutality scandal. Only things don’t go to plan.
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Screening
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Anthony Green Canada / U S A, 2006 15´00 min
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Helen flies to a memorial service for the London bombing. At 41,000 feet she is forced to ask herself the question, does she fear what she sees, or see what she fears?
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The Kolaborator
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Chris Bessounian England/Romania /USA/AUS, 2007 14´31
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During the conflict in the former Yugoslavia many soldiers were convinced to kill fellow citizens including friends and relatives in the name of patriotism. This is about Goran, 24, a promising young soccer player who is forced to become a soldier.
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I Met The Walrus
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Josh Raskin Canada, 2007 05´10 min
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In 1969, a 14 year old Beatles fan snuck into John Lennon's Toronto hotel room and convinced him to take part in an interview for his school paper.
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Tricko / The T-Shirt
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Hossein Martin Fazeli Czech Republic, 2006 10´44 min
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Mark is half-American, half Slovak and he has strong beliefs. On a trip to Slovakia he meets a shop assistant who wears a t-Shirt that offends him.
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Ninos que nunca existieron / Children who never existed
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David Valero Spain, 2007 19´00 min
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About a childhood that never was one.
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