Spotlight on Films from Germany-Austria-Hungary at #WFA2016

Harald Mayr is a devoted postman in a small village called Gaiswinkel. He is not only delivering letters, but also checking them. If their content doesn’t meet his moral standards, he amends them to fit. Day in, day out, he lives his routine, each discrepancy throws him easily off-track until he meets Lisa. She is a German seasonal worker and is first shocked by Harald’s activity. But Lisa succumbs to the appeal of “opening the envelope” after sharing some quality time with Harald. They develop a special relationship, but the intrusion in the privacy of individuals and letters leads to controversies.

This is a crossover music video–mini drama. Using music from Rags the Musical, it takes on the journey of all people who have to leave their homeland behind due to any kind of racial atrocity, political force or economical hardship. It’s about the struggle that is universal and the dreams and hopes for the upcoming generations; a very timely subject, as migration and exodus is globally a major issue we have to face.There are millions involved,but we shall see the individual faces. Dedicated to the Father of Zoi Florosz, who as a child was taken from his village in Greece by the Red Cross through the Greek Civil War to Hungary where he grew up.

Music by Charles Strouse , Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, arranged for this film by Ali Kerekes Music. Producer Janos Egri, Ali Kerekes, Musical Director Ali Kerekes

A tale of being different – and growing up.

Since 12 year old Annie moved in with her father, she constantly tells wild stories about her pussy. Her father Andreas slowly despairs, his boss is shocked, the social worker is crestfallen. Why does she do this? Gradually, Andreas understands that he has to develop a deeper understanding for Annie’s stories to be able to build a loving relationship to his daughter.

Can fashion be a force for change? At Berlin’s Rita In Palma, the answer is a resounding yes. This Neukölln-based fashion label employs Turkish women to create handmade couture accessories. Many of these women were unemployed before they started working there. Several are illiterate and almost all of them lack a formal education. In addition to employment, Ann-Kathrin, Rita In Palma’s founder, created an association that is open to all Turkish women. The group provides German lessons, group exercise, and help accessing social services. How To Make It In: Berlin is the first season of How To Make It In: ______________, a web-series about small business owners, startup founders and everyday success stories from Main Streets all around the world.

During the outbreak of a mysterious deadly epidemic devastating a rural European village, sisters Ayia and Mirra promise their dying mother to look after each other to the end of their lives. When Mirra, the younger sister, falls victim to the epidemic, Ayia in desperation realizes that conventional medicine will not save her sister. At the local priest’s house Ayia discovers a collection of Shamanic books containing a series of mystic drawings which she deciphers as a ritual for spiritual healing which she believes will save her sister.

The short film INTRUSION does not tell a classical story. The main focus lies on the visual design, which has the intention to convey a mood. The motives and the associative dramatic composition remind of dream sequences, nightmares or hallucinations in which the uncanny and the curious are staged. Unrealistic, seemingly disparate, yet interrelated scenes that poke, like an intrusive recurring traumatic experience, into the mind of the powerless spectator.

Aladár lives in deep poverty with his wife and children on a farm far from the village. The driest summer of their lives endangers everything he has built for his family. Every day, he prays to God with his childlike prayers. And every day, their struggle continues. As his bitterness grows, he asks for rain like the world has never seen. Aladár gets his wish, but God works in mysterious ways…

The poor yet smart trickster Si Lunchai triumphs over the cruel king. An adaptation of an Indonesian legend, inspired by the style of the Southeast Asian shadow puppet play “Wayang Kulit”.

Things of worth are often neglected in favour of that which is more immediately gratifying. Unfortunately, things that are neglected are often lost forever. The life of a misguided and intensely focused man, chronicled through his oral obsessions.

TRISTES DÉSERTS – A ROBOT`S TALE is the filmic-musical result from the baroque- and sci-fi-inspired collaboration between artist Stephanie Winter, tenor August Schram and electronic duo Austrian Apparel. Originating in the idea of an audiovisual realization of M.A. Charpentier’s lyrical song “Tristes Déserts” and motivated by the constant interaction of image and sound, a baroque-intergalactic musical short film was developed, in which the boundaries between human and machine, between baroque music and electronic sounds become blurred. In a time dominated by artificial intelligence, the extravagant musical short film tells the story of a lonely baroque robot in a battle between good and evil, recalling the magic of the early cinema.

If walls could speak, what would they say about their neighbors? A day in the life of Mr. Istvan and Ms. Magdi, neighbors for many years, is narrated by the building of Budapest where both live. The walls surrounding them reveal their small passions, stories, and routines.

A railway station in the middle of nowhere. David is looking for his girlfriend, Willa. They were on their way to their own wedding, when an accident made them stuck at the small railway station. Now Willa is missing and none of the other fellow passengers know where she is. Although the next train is so supposed to come any minute, David leaves the railway station to search for Willa… For only one dollar Stephen King offers his short stories to film students all around the world. We took this chance and picked the most beautiful and romantic Dollar-Baby: “Willa”.