Czech-German programme at BOO IFF
The Czech-German programme aims to develop cross-border cooperation and create space for connecting the professional and audience worlds in the field of short film. The programme's partner is the 41st International Short Film Festival Berlin, one of Europe's most important platforms for short film production and education of new generations of film professionals and audiences. The flagship of the programme is the Czech-German BOO short film competition, which presents a selection of the best contemporary short films from both countries and opens a dialogue between filmmakers, audiovisual professionals, and audiences. The programme also advocates film education and work with young audiences on both sides of the border.
The programme is supported by the Czech-German Funf for the Future.
CZECH AND GERMAN FILM COMPETITION SECTION: CZECH-GERMAN BOO
November 4 at 5:00 p.m.: Czech-German BOO – A (Kino Kavalírka)
The fraudulent Cold Call unexpectedly turns into an intimate conversation about loneliness and creative block. 4some with Your Parents playfully reveals what lies behind the fences of Germany’s neatly trimmed front gardens. Fittko: Resistance and Exile returns to Lisa Fittko’s youth and her resistance against Nazism. In The Lighthouse Keeper, Clive is cut off from the world after a storm, and a giant whale becomes his only hope. And The Tower is about the fear of losing oneself and the roles life sometimes thrusts upon us without asking.
November 5 at 7:00 p.m.: Czech-German BOO – B (Kino Kavalírka)
In Holy Moly!, three friends mark their last evening together by stealing a cross. Meanwhile, an Indian filmmaker at Prague Zoo asks over the phone, Amma, Do Giraffes Cry? The line between personal freedom and sacrifice for others is explored in Our Walls. In Unleaded 95, relationships fall apart under the pressure of jealousy, desire and fear of loss. And in A Sparrow’s Song, music brings hope back to a widowed woman during the war.
November 6 at 5:00 p.m.: Czech-German BOO – C (Kino Kavalírka)
What If We Run Out of Stones? asks filmmaker Nora Štrbová, turning her attention in an unexpected direction. Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe! follows little Yios, whose uncontrollable shine makes it hard for him to fit in among the other children of the gods. Meanwhile, at Hotel Oblique, a budgie surrounded by perfect wellness begins longing for its own cage. Taxi Tales looks for remarkable lives behind the wheels of Berlin taxis. In “Vaterland” or A Bule Named Yanto, a young German-Indonesian man searches for his place between two cultures. And in To Bloom Again, a persistent raven accompanies a woman on her journey towards accepting loss.
ACCOMPANYING CZECH-GERMAN PROGRAMME
November 6 at 9:30 a.m.: Animated shorts with live music for the youngest (MeetFactory)
The Animated shorts with live music for the youngest programme combines screenings of short animated films with original musical performance created live on stage. The musicians blend electronic sounds with live instruments, and their performance responds to the images on screen, the atmosphere in the auditorium and the children themselves. The performance demonstrates that music is an integral part of film – it accounts for up to half of the cinematic experience, and its variations can fundamentally alter the meaning and tone of scenes. Audience will experience how the same image can become suspenseful, cheerful or poetic simply thanks to the musical accompaniment. Live music will be performed by musician and composer Petr Wajsar.
November 8 at 1:30 p.m.: Cinemini – Open lesson (Kino Kavalírka)
Under the guidance of an experienced lecturer, we screen several short films from different eras, cultures and genres for the children. After each film, the lecturer engages the children in a discussion about their impressions, feelings and thoughts evoked by the film, and encourages them to interact with one another.
INDUSTRY AND EDUCATIONAL CZECH-GERMAN PROGRAMME
November 4 at 10:00 a.m.: Workshop: Resilience or Plans Were Made (Kino Kavalírka)
A practical workshop on dealing with failure for filmmakers and producers, led by Vincent Förster, who is well acquainted with both the German and international film and festival scenes. Together with the participants, he will explore strategies that can help them cope with internal and external pressure, political climate, burnout and other challenges that the film industry brings with itself. Vincent Förster is a filmmaker, programme manager for short films at Berlinale Generation, a curator and member of the selection committees for the Filmfest Dresden and Kurzfilmtage Winterthur festivals, and a consultant for the Documentary Association of Europe (DAE).
November 5 at 9:30 p.m.: Industry Networking: Focus on Czechia and Germany (Kino Kavalírka)
The networking aims to highlight Czech and German representatives from the film and audiovisual industries and facilitate better networking between them. Czech and German guests will introduce themselves through short, lively presentations, followed by an opportunity for informal meetings and discussions over drinks.
November 6 at 9:00 a.m.: German speakers at the International Industry Forum (KP Smíchov)
The largest interactive industry programme dedicated to topics such as audience development, audiovisual education, research on audiovisual literacy, film festivals, cultural resilience and the distribution of short films. Dozens of experts from across Europe will come together in one place to share their know-how through keynote speeches and round-table presentations.
The following German guests will be speaking at the International Industry Forum:
The magic of cinema. The importance of film education for the youngest.
Christine Kopf (artistic director, Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum – DFF)
Distribution of Short Films in Germany
Anne Jagemann (distributor, Kurzfilm Agentur Hamburg)
Documentary film in film education
Kathi Seemann (director of DOK.education, DOK.fest München)
Health, emotions and the body in film education
Lara Kuom (curator, educator, DOXS-RUHR)
Samira Jakobi (project manager in the Film Education Department, Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum – DFF)
November 7 at 9:30 a.m.: 15+BOO (Kino Kavalírka)
Thanks to our collaboration with our German partner festivals, interfilm and KUKI, the programme for young audiences 15+BOO will also include participants from the Girl*s Riot curatorial workshop, which is regularly organised in Berlin by the KUKI festival.