Masterschool Films
- Documentary Campus Masterschool
- Participants & Projects
- Tutors
- DCM Workshop Trainers
- Who should apply?
- How to apply
- What to consider when applying
- Costs & Financing
- Selection Procedure
- Masterschool FAQ
- Masterschool Films
Masterschool Films 2008
|
Men Who Swim by Dylan Williams & Al Morrow, Sweden A coproduction of Amp Film, Met Film Productions, BBC, SVT, YLE(FST), VPRO, Fox-Italia and Yes-TV. Men Who Swim Together is a humorous and poignant look at a group of middle aged underachievers who have found unlikely success as members of Sweden’s all male synchronised swimming team. Inspired by classical Esther Williams’ techniques from the 1950s, this group of train drivers and meat buyers, of archivists and teachers soon became passionate exponents of the sport. Now their goal is next years World Synchronised Swimming Championships for men in Milan. During the year, over half of the team will turn 40. It is a period when typically the practical part of life takes over and dreams are laid to one side. It is a time to realise that life really is passing one by, and a time to wonder whether it is too late to change, or whether it is not so bad after all. Festivals: Silverdocs, Galway Film Fleadh.
|
Masterschool Films 2007
|
All That Glitters by Tomáš Kudrna, Czech Republic An Armada Fims production. Situated at the a crossroads of global interests, Kyrgyzstan reflects the political rivalry between Russian and America influence, reveals the religious rivalry between Christianity and Islam, and lies between the economic predominance of China and Russia. All That Glitters examines how strange capitalism and democracy can be when introduced to a former Soviet country, one where people never before given autonomy are suddenly expected to make their own financial and political decisions. Awards & Festivals: The Czech Radio Award for Creative Use of Music and Sound, One World FF 2010, Czech Republic; UNAFF, USA, 2010; DOK Leipzig, Germany, 2010.
|
|
Why We Buy by Jan Tenhaven, Germany A coproduction of Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion, NDR and YLE. Why do we buy what we buy? Is it only a matter of price and quality? Are buying decisions based purely on rational reasoning? Marketing experts are increasingly focusing on our subconscious behavioural patterns, especially during difficult economic times. The battle for the senses has begun. This film shows the work of smell artist Sissel Tolaas, sound designer Friedrich Blutner and colour forecaster Per Nimer. It also reveals a look at the Restaurant Of The Future, known as the Big Brother Cantine, at the University of Wageningen. Take a look behind the scenes of secret manipulation – a sweet seduction of us consumers through the use of color, scent and sound. Coincidence was yesterday. The calculated power of the senses is today. Broadcast Date: 19 August 2009 at 11:30pm - ARD.
|
|
Wild Dog Island by Marjolein Duermeijer, The Netherlands A coproduction of Animal Planet US, Animal Planet International, France 5 and ORF. Wild Dog Island is a story featuring large-than-life characters, both human and animal. It’s set on an island paradise in a far off country and stars a number of hungry hunters who will stop at nothing. Located in the baking Zimbabwean bushland it follows the footsteps of two researchers united by their passion to save one of the least known animals in the world, the African wild dog. Peter and Jealous are going to set up a unique experiment and give five orphaned dogs a chance to experience paradise.
Honorable Mention: Honorable Mention for Creative Story-telling & for Conservation, 32nd Int. Wildlife Film Festival Montana (09).
|
Masterschool Films 2006
|
Birth of a Surgeon Karin C. Falck & Loui Bernal, Sweden A coproduction of Filmator / LivingPeopleDocumentary, Thirteen Wide Angle, PBS, the Swedish Film Institute, Swedish Television, DR and IKON. Given the knife, Emilia Cumbane, a non doctor, is sent out to the bush as the first midwife ever to do surgery. She takes on the mission to save the lives of thousands of mothers in the absence of physicians. Here the situation of women in the society unfolds. Emilia representing the new generation breaks old traditional roles. This is an observational documentary from the delivery rooms in Mozambique.
Nominations: Nominated for the 30th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards for Outstanding Coverage of a News Story – Long Form.
|
|
Rabbit à la Berlin by Bartek Konopka, Piotr Rosolowski & Anna Wydra, Poland A coproduction of Anna Wydra MS Films, Telewizja Polska and ma.ja.de Filmproduktion, MDR, RBB in association with ARTE, YLE, Lichtpunt, VPRO. The film is supported by the Polish Film Institute, the MEDIA Programme and Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing. It's an important lesson of history that a system of order which intended to produce one result will often give birth to something entirely unexpected. So it was with the Berlin Wall, which was, in fact, two separate walls, one on the east and one on the west with a 120-kilometre strip of land between them. The enclosed patch was unintentionally converted into a kind of rabbit reserve as the walls encircled the lush green meadows of Potsdamer Platz and cut its rabbit population off from both escape and predators. But then one day the walls came down and the rabbits were suddenly freed from a restrictive system, albeit one to which they had become accustomed. Told in the style of a nature documentary, with a captivatingly dreamy tone and a tongue-in-cheek nod to the story's allegorical significance, Rabbit à la Berlin provides a fascinating history lesson told through the eyes of animals.
Nominations: Nominated for the Oscars 2010 competing in the Documentary Short Subject category.
|
|
The Final Battle – Christian Fundamentalists in the USA by Ulli Pfau & Claudia Willke, Germany A coproduction of Eikon Media GmbH and Epo Film with ZDF in collaboration with ARTE. Developed with the support of the MEDIA programme of the European Union. Funded by Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig Holstein. The documentary "The Final Battle" illustrates how much influence Christian Fundamentalists in the USA have won upon the cultural and political climate of the most powerful nation in the world. For centuries, they have systematically organised and established themselves in all levels of society: in the family and school, in the recruitment and training of elites, or in the powerful interest groups that influence the upper league of politics. With subtlety, power, and money, they wage a "spiritual war". They latch onto people by supplying their needs, enchanting them until they follow their totalitarian Christian world view, which claims to be religious whilst pursuing interests in power-politics. The goal: to build a Christian nation governed by the practice of Bible law.
TV broadcast: ARTE, 24 May 2008. |
|
Zanzibar Musical Club Patrice Nezan & Philippe Gasnier, France A coproduction of Les Films du Présent, Eikon Südwest, ZDF/ARTE, 24images, Le Mans TV. A travel film less about a change of setting, flitting past the audience’s eyes, and more about the sounds, the many kinds of music that pass through the Zanzibar Musical Club. Here, men and women meet, united by their passion for an ancient music, music of multiple forms, whose ancient roots go back to Indian, Arab, European and African culture. Faces and sounds follow one another in a musical trip that is ancient and modern at the same time. You can watch the trailer here
|
Masterschool Films 2005
|
Bridging the Gap by Corinne van Egeraat & Katja Draaijer, The Netherlands An IJswater Film coproduced by Zentropa. In association with Humanistische Omroep. Daniel (26), the subject of Corinne’s documentary is the new advisor to the Cameroonian government on exploiting the natural resources on behalf of an important international organisation. He is young and not easily intimidated, so the switch from his Dutch hometown Groningen to Cameroon initially passes off smoothly. But Cameroon is one of the most corrupt countries in the world not a place to take unnecessary risks. A clash seems inevitable...
World premiere: IDFA, Premieres from the Lowlands (08). |
|
Calling All Aliens by Christian Schidlowski, Germany A Vidicom production (Peter Bardehle) in coproduction with Corona Films St. Petersburg, Vitaly Fedko for ZDF/ARTE, Spiegel TV, VOX, Channel 5 Russia, SBS Australia, NRK Norway. Development and production funded by Media. 2-part series about the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. It‘s one of life's great mysteries – and perhaps the most intriguing question humans have: Are we alone? Or do we have unknown relatives on distant planets? SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, is trying to make contact with space. Distribution: Spiegel TV. |
|
Dead Man Walking by Petar Oreskovic & Sinisha Juricic, Croatia
A Nukleus production in association with LRT, SVT, TVOntario, and YLE. A tragicomedy about what war does to people. This film is about a hero who becomes a traitor, a husband who lost his family and wife, a believer who lost his faith. It's a story about a man who returns from the dead ...
World premiere: IDFA 2006
|
|
Mama Coca‘s War - Cocaine, Terror and the Inca Revolution by Marcel Kolvenbach & Tristan Chytroschek, Germany An a & o buero production for ZDF/ARTE, SVT, LRT, DUNA. Terror in the Andes: Coca farmers rise up and governments retaliate without mercy. This political road movie leads us from the Amazon jungle to the dizzying heights of the Andes and shows in a shocking manner that the “war on drugs“ is a war against people and their way of life.
|
|
My Life With Carlos by German Berger-Hertz & Bettina Walrter, Spain A BWP production in coproduction with Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion. In association with TVC. A man crashes into the surf and dives under the water, never to resurface. The grainy footage plays on a loop, as if enough repetition might change the inevitable ending. This is the only record that remains of Carlos Berger Guralnik, killed by Pinochet’s Death Convoy. Thirty years later, his son, filmmaker Germán Berger, travels back to Chile to revive his father’s memory and heal his estranged family. Underwater photography of old pictures sinking and twisting in an unseen current perfectly captures the depth of love and loss experienced by Carlos’ family. Carlos is remembered for the first time by relatives who, out of self-preservation, have tried to forget. Their tender tributes of hidden candy and overdue eulogies may be late, but they will last. By addressing Carlos as “you” in narration, the film allows the audience to become directly involved in this emotional history of survival and destruction. Awards & Festivals: Winner, Best Documentary at the San Diego Latino Film Festival; Voted Top Ten Audience favorite at Hot Docs; Winner, Best Film and Audience Award at the Biarritz FF; Winner, Best Film, Young Jury Award, Audience Award at the Rencontres du Cinema Marseille; Winner, Best Film at the Lleida Film Festival; Winner, Critics' Award at the Malaga Film Festival; Official Selection, Rotterdam International Film Festival; Official Selection, Goteborg Film Festival; Official Selection, Latinbeat - Film Society of Lincoln Center.
|
|
Stumbling Stone by Dörte Franke, Germany A HANFGARN & UFER and TROIKA Entertainment production. In association with WDR, NDR/ARTE and ORF, funded by nordmedia. The controversial project of an artist who has devoted his life to bringing the reminiscence of the Holocaust victims to Germany's doorsteps.
World premiere: Int. Film Festival Locarno (08). |
|
The Dream Life of Rats by Florence Tran, France A Gédéon Programmes production for ARTE France and Planète. In the field of neuroscience, laboratory rats are at the center of crucial issues: can we "read" our brains? Is it possible to master our fears, our emotions? Will we some day be able to control machines through thought or... be controlled remotely ourselves? Lab rats experience all of these upheavals before we do. TV broadcast: ARTE France, Planète. |
|
The Mother by Antoine Cattin and Pavel Kostomarov, Russia Les Films Hors-Champ, Les Films D'Ici, Parallax Pictures, Television Suisse Romande with Arte France, YLE TV2 and TVOntario. With the support of Office Fédéral de la Culture (OFC), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Fonds Regio, La Fondation Vaudoise pour le Cinéma and Soros Foundation. Her name is Liubov. It means "love" in Russian. She is the mother. She has 9 children. She´s adopting a tenth. She is always running. Away from her violent husband, to her eldest son in jail. From the maternity house to the school. From the hospital to the farm. Where can she run to now? Awards: "MDR Filmprize" DOK Leipzig, Germany (07) |
|
Vampire Princess by Klaus Steindl & Andreas Sulzer, Austria pro omnia film gmbh, ORF, ARTE, ZDF, History Channel, Smithsonian Networks, supported by Cine Styria and Stadt Linz Kultur. An aristocratic demon hunting for fresh human lifeblood, who strikes unsuspecting mortals at night – everyone knows the grim story of Count Dracula. A legend from medieval Romania? Interpreted by a writer of horror stories in Victorian England? Now archaeologists, historians and forensic scientists can reveal the truth: The vampire story as we know isn’t modelled on a medieval count from Transylvania. But on the fate of a Bohemian princess from the early 18th century. The vampire princess not only inspired horror story writers. She offers a fascinating insight into a time where vampires were something real in the world of human ideas.
|
Masterschool Films 2004
|
100 Porsches and Me by André Schäfer, Germany A Florianfilm production, coproduced by NDR and ZDF/ARTE. Supported by Filmstiftung NRW. 100 PORSCHES AND ME is the search for the 1970s grass-green Porsche I have been dreaming of for years. A road movie about obsession, of my own and that of 100 Porsche drivers who I will be asking for their car keys – the flabbergasted rich wife in front of her suburban German garage as well as a maniac who stores his forty seven Porsches in an hangar in Santa Monica, California: Jerry Seinfeld. A journey into the dreams of one hundred people for whom a Porsche has become the purest expression of who they actually are – and into the myth of a company and a brand which has fascinated people like Adolf Hitler, James Dean and, of course, myself. TV Premiere: ARTE, January 28, 2007. |
|
37 Uses for A Dead Sheep by Ben Hopkins & Nikki Parrott, UK A Tigerlily Films production for BBC Storyville and ARTE. The Pamir Kirghiz are a tribe of some 2,000 people from the Pamir region of Central Asia. For the last 27 years they have lived in exile in Eastern Turkey. In 2005 an Anglo-Turkish film crew arrives in their village to work with the tribe to tell their story. In a series of scenes divided into “chapters”, we see revealing interviews with the Kirghiz, see exciting and entertaining reconstructions shot on film in a variety of different cinematic styles, and comic scenes of the interaction between the film crew and the community. During this process, we learn how the Pamir Kirghiz’ antipathy to Communism drove them from the Soviet Union, then later from Maoist China, and finally from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to their current exile. And as the past is explored in interview and reconstruction, we see how the Pamir Kirghiz live today in modern Turkey. The film is part historical document, part ethnographical description of a unique people, part portrait of the conflict between individual and globalised culture, and part comedy about the process of filmmaking.
World premiere: Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale 06). |
|
Farewell by Ditteke Mensink, The Netherlands A Pieter van Huystee Film & TV production. Farewell tells the story of Lady Grace Drummond-Hay, the only female passenger on the first journey around the world of the Graf Zeppelin in 1929. Grace writes about her adventures on the journey in articles as a reporter, but also in her diary. Her former lover Karl von Wiegand is amongst the other passengers. When the Zeppelin finally flies over New York the lovers lose touch. In 1929 people were convinced this journey would be a splendid turning point in history. A few weeks later Wall Street crashed and a dark period in history began.
World premiere: IDFA 2009. |
|
Stalin City Cantata by Anna Jancsó & Gabriel Szollosy, Hungary A Librecine production. With the support of Hungarian Cultural Ministry, Hungarian Motion Picture Foundation, Hungarian Cultural Fund, Hungarian Public Television MTV. Following the Second World War, Hungary remained under Soviet dominion. In honour of Stalin, the Man of Steel, a gigantic factory and a city was built on the shores of the Danube. The town's name was Stalin City, its builders were its future inhabitants. Today Peter Horváth is the conductor of the city's choir. He stages a musical work written during communism to honour his hometown, and the ideology that created it: Stalin City Cantata. Peter embarks on a journey that evokes not only his own memories, but also those of his parents. Festivals: 38th Hungarian Film Week, Budapest (07). DOKLeipzig, Germany (07). SilverDoc market, Jihlava (07). Ashdod International Music and Film Festival, Israel (08).
|
|
Tailor-Made Dreams by Marco Wilms, Germany A ma.ja.de. and ZDF co-production with ARTE, YLE TV2, France 5, DR, RTBF, Canvas, TVOntario. Supported by MEDIA, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung MDM, Medienboard Berlin - Brandenburg, DEFA Stiftung. An Indian tailor called Issar sets off on an adventurous trip across Europe to his old customers. In light of the fraudulent and dodgy competition, his tailor's shop in Bangkok no longer makes a profit. Now he is hoping to get new orders. Marco Wilms accompanies the old tailor on his last great trip through European cities, living rooms and mentalities and sees the passing of time with his own eyes. At the same time, a long-time dream comes true for Issar, because he never really wanted to be a tailor, but a Bollywood star!
World premiere: Vision du Réel in Nyon, Switzerland (06). |
|
The Mosquito Problem & Other Stories by Andrey Paounov, Bulgaria AGITPROP, Bulgaria in coproduction with ITVS International, Filmtank Hamburg in association with ZDF/ ARTE with the support of the National Film Centre, Bulgaria, the MEDIA Plus Programme of the European Community in association with Sundance Channel, Channel 4, Humanist Broadcasting. The epic story of a village turned concentration camp, turned a city, turned nuclear power plant and it's population. A world instantly transformed by ideologies, regimes and dreams of economic prosperity. The tales of characters whose lives intersect in a sinister past, nuclear future and the stinging mosquitoes flying through time, sealing their fate together.
World premiere: International Critics' Week at the Festival de Cannes, May (07). |
|
Traders' Dream by Stefan Tolz & Marcus Vetter, Germany Produced by Filmquadrat in coproduction with ZDF and NDR, in cooperation with ARTE, with the participation of Télévision Suisse Romande, supported by Filmstiftung NRW, German Federal Film Board, and Federal Government Commissioner for Culture Affairs and the Media. German Cinema Distribution: Piffl Media, Berlin. World Distribution: DR Sales, Copenhagen (Denmark). "Traders' Dreams" tells the story of people from different countries who change their lives in order to become rich and happy through the worldwide fever for Internet auctions. By doing so, they are responding to the promises of an American company that turns local flea markets into global business and which sells it's expansion strategy as the economic democratization of the world: The power of all of us. In Germany, Scotland and Mexico – with detours to corporate headquarters in China and the USA – filmmakers Marcus Vetter and Stefan Tolz observe individuals in their attempts to realize their own eBay dreams. Their experiences, their defeats and their successes form the basis of a surprising and entertaining journey of discovery into the seemingly boundless universe of worldwide Internet commerce.
Cinema release: June 28, 2007. |
Masterschool Films 2003
|
A Story of People in War and Peace by Vardan Hovhannisyan, Armenia A Barsmedia production in coproduction with the BBC, WDR, YLE and ARTE. "Recently, my young son came up to me. He had seen my old uniform hanging in the closet. He asked me, 'Daddy, are you a warrior?' I didn't know how to respond to him". This was the turning point for Vardan Hovhannisyan when he knew he needed to return to the archive footage he shot during the Karabagh war.
World premiere: IDFA, Amsterdam (06). www.barsmedia.am | www.warandpeacefilm.com
|
|
Black Starlets How to Survive a Broken Dream by Christoph Weber, Germany A coproduction of taglicht media, pale blue production, WDR, ARTE. Supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), RTR Television Fund Austria and MEDIA. The Black Starlets are a legend in world football: 1991, totally out of the blue, eleven 16-year-olds from Ghana won the Junior World Cup. It is the first time ever that a team from the African Continent won a world football championship title. Overnight the Black Starlets became national heroes and the most wanted in professional football. Black Starlets is a story about great dreams and greedy machinations, high hopes and shattered illusions, deep loneliness and the insatiable desire for Africa. Most of all Black Starlets is about people who have the indomitable spirit to rise again and again: If you lose a dream, the Africans say, create a new one... Awards: "Certificate for Creative Excellence" Intl. Film and Video Festival, Los Angeles (06); "Hors Concours" BANFF World Television Award (06). Selection: "Guirland d'Honneur" Sport Movies & TV 2006 – 24th Milan International FICTS Festival (06). "Bronze World Medal" The New York Festival (07). |
|
Cervantes and the Legend of Don Quixote: The Spirit of a Book by Daniel & Jaume Serra and Juan C. de la Hoz, Spain A Sagrera TV production in association with ZDF/ARTE, TVE, TVC, History Channel and AVRO. With the participation of YLE, SBS and TVOntario. This documentary was made in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of "El Quijote" written by Miguel de Cervantes. Don Quixote is an icon, an image of an old and shabby man going through an impoverished Spain riding his old and tired horse - however very few people have understood its meaning. The documentary takes the audience on a journey back to a truly exciting period of European history to catch a glimpse of the work and the shattering life of Cervantes. |
|
Conflict Tiger by Sasha Snow, UK A coproduction of Scandinature and Sasha Snow Film Production for BBC, ARTE, Discovery Channel U.S. A documentary thriller that explores the increasingly confrontational relations between people and tigers in the forests of Russia's Far Eastern wilderness. The Siberian tiger is a secretive and elusive carnivore and a notoriously skilled hunter. People, too, are hunting to survive in the wilderness. Man and cat have become predators in the same territory and confrontations are on the rise. The film's central character is a professional tiger hunter called Yuri Trush, a man paid by the authorities to track down and eliminate "conflict tigers," tigers that have lost their fear of man. The film takes Yuri's most notorious pursuit of a double man-eating tiger as the basis for its dramatic narrative. The drama is realised using a combination of reconstruction and actual footage shot by Yuri himself as events unfolded. "Conflict Tiger" challenges the cosy illusions of traditional "big cat" natural history by setting the animal's precarious situation against the pressing needs of human survival.
Awards: "GFFIS Grand Prize" Green Film Festival, Seoul (06). "Grand Prize" Cervino Int. Film Festival, Italy (06). Grand Prize "Citta di Trento" Trento Film Festival, Italy (06). "Best Screenplay" Poprad Int. Film Festival, Slovakia (06). "Prix du Film Sauvage de l'environnement", Autrans Int. Film Festival, France (06). "Grand Prize" Banff Mountain Film Festival, Canada (06). "Grand Prize" Planet In Focus Int. Environmental Film & Video Festival, Toronto (06). "Grand Prize" EcoVision Film Festival, Palermo (06). "Grand Prize" Cineeco Film Festival, Lisbon (06). "Grand Prize" Torello Film Festival, Spain (06). "Man & Nature Award" Telluride Mountain Film Festival, Colorado (07). "Earth Award", Hory A Mesto Film Festival, Bratislava (07). "Jury Prize" Vancouver Int. Mountain Film Festival (07). "Alpine Gold Camera" Int. Mountain & Adventure Film Festival Graz, Austria (07). |
|
Disposable People by Matthias Heeder & Monika Hielscher, Germany A coproduction in association with NDR for ARTE. With the participation of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Supported by the Filmförderung Hamburg GmbH. Two Nigerian brothers fighting modern time slavery on a very personal cause. Four years ago the younger one had been kidnapped and sold as slave to Niger Republic. Luckily he managed to return but has not arrived home yet. Now they travel into his traumatic past, seeking revenge and spiritual healing.
World premiere: World Film Festival Montreal (05). |
|
Divorce Albanian Style by Adela Peeva, Bulgaria An Adela Media Production with the involvement of WDR, Bulgarian National Television, YLE. This is a story about love and separation. It happened in Albania, a small poor country in the Balkans in the sixties of the past century. Through the eyes of a few of the many thousands of people who experienced this extraordinary period, our film tells the story of the families that were forcefully separated by the Communist regime of Enver Hodja - the longest lasting European dictator of the 20th century. When in 1961 Albania broke off relations with Soviet Union, Albanian men married to non-Albanian women were forced to split up with their wives and drive them from their houses. The official reason: fear of espionage. Those who did not obey spent years in prisons.
Awards: "Best Bulgarian Documentary" by the Bulgarian National Film Centre (07). "Special Jury Prize" Golden Rython Festival of Bulgarian Non-feature Film, Plovdiv (07). "Golden Chest" Grand Prix Int. TV Festival Golden Chest (07). "SRG SSR idée suisse Prize" Basel-Karlsruhe Forum (08). |
|
Gestapo - Terror beyond All Limits by Holger Hillesheim & Wolfgang Schoen, Germany A tvschoenfilm production in association with West Park Pictures for SWR in cooperation with ARTE. With the participation of History Channel International. The three-part series tells the history of an institution that plunged Germany and the rest of Europe into the reign of terror: the Gestapo. Hitler's war of aggression enables the Gestapo to spread its sphere of power throughout Europe. One focus lies on Special Action Groups - murder squads which wreak havoc in the East - who are recruited from Germany's regular police force. Another focus is on how involved the Gestapo was in the Holocaust.
TV Broadcast: ARD, Germany, ARTE, France, New Zealand, India, Japan, USA and UK. |
|
The The Most Secret Place on Earth - The CIA's Covert War in Laos by Marc Eberle, Germany A production of Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion, NDR/arte/WDR, with the support of film fund Hamburg, NRW and MEDIA NEW TALENTS. The Vietnam War was the most intensely televised war ever. However, next door in neighboring Laos the longest and largest air war in human history was underway and made Laos the most bombed country on the planet without notice of the outside world. It was the largest operation ever conducted by the CIA, yet to this day it remains utterly obscure. Critics call it the biggest war crime of the Vietnam War era and point to striking similarities of the present conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan that were tested and set in motion back in Laos in the 1960s. In The most secret place on earth key players of the secret war – former CIA agents, US pilots, Laotian fighters and war reporters – take us on a journey into the physical heart of the conflict: Top secret Long Cheng, where the CIA built their headquarters in 1962. From here the secret war was largely planned and executed. As the war dragged on, Long Cheng became the busiest airbase in the world and a major center for the global opium and heroin trade.
World Premier: Internationales DOK Festival Leipzig (07). |
|
The Year Without Summer by Elmar Bartlmae, Germany A Cicada Films production for Discovery Channel, BBC and France 2. Almost two hundred years ago Mount Tambora in Indonesia exploded. It was the most deadly volcanic eruption in human history, wiping out 120,000 people. A year later hundreds of thousands of Europeans and Americans starved to death. Two experts on opposite sides of the planet investigate: one to search for bodies beneath the volcano, the other to find out whether this explosion really plunged the world into instant climate change.
Awards: "Special Mention", International Film festival of Mountain and Adventure Films in Graz (06). |
Masterschool Films 2002
|
Atlantropa by Michel Morales & Harald Rauser, Germany A Miromar Entertainment production in association with WDR, NDR, BR an ORF. A documentary drama tells the story of the German architect Hermann Soergel, who had the great plan to lower the level of the Mediterranean Sea to build a new continent: Atlantropa.
Release: DVD with book (07). Achieved international tribute. |
|
Children of the Decree by Florin Iepan & Razvan Georgescu, Romania A Westend Film Production in association with Subcultura and Periscope Productions for ZDF/ARTE, WDR, TVOntario. The film tells the shocking story of the Romanian baby boom generation from its birth by Ceaucescu's Decree 770 issued in 1966 prohibiting abortion for all women, to its maturity in 1989 when this new generation, in which Ceaucescu had placed all his hopes, turned against him and executed the dictator and his wife.
World premiere: "Silver Wolf Competition," Intl. Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam IDFA (04). |
|
Garden of the Gods by Dr. Michael Schlamberger, Austria A coproduction of ScienceVision and ORF, in association with Off the Fence and WDR. Supported by MEDIA. Nothing has had a stronger and more lasting influence on European ideology than ancient Greek mythology. The aura surrounding magnificent temples and other sites of worship is charged with tales blending epic poetry with religion, literature and historical events. Without a doubt, the writers of these tales drew their inspiration from the abundant nature of Greece, for the flora and fauna of Greece ranks among the most diverse in Europe. So it is hardly by coincidence that human imagination flourished in the “Garden of the Gods.”
Awards: "Best Director" in the category "Man and Nature" 3rd Matsalu Wildlife & Environmental Film Festival, Estonia (05). "Special Award" 6th International Meeting of Archaeological Film of the Mediterranean Area, Greece (06). |
|
My Class - From Russia with Relativity by Ekaterina Eremenko, Russia A zero one film production in coproduction with RBB/ARTE, BBC Storyville and Maximage. Supported by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. MY CLASS is director Ekaterina Eremenko’s very personal journey into the past of a nation that no longer exists. She attended the most prestigious school for Natural Sciences in the Soviet Union, but when Perestroika happens, promises of a golden Soviet future collapse around her and her classmates.
TV broadcast: BBC4, February 19, 2008.
|
|
Sarah's Short Life by Manfred Corrine, Austria A coproduction of Mr. C - Filmproduction and Tellux-Film for ORF, ZDF, Discovery Channel Germany. Sarah is suffering from a very rare disease called progeria, which has made her age rapidly since her second birthday. With her mother, she lives in Innsbruck (Austria), goes to school, has girlfriends and a pet mouse. Sarah knows that her hair will never grow and that she will die soon. Nevertheless, she is a happy and cheerful child. To her mother Lisbeth, she is a gift; Lisbeth tries to spend as much time as possible with her daughter. This portrait of Sarah and her mum shows the intensity with which they live their life. It helps us to grasp the gift of life and casts light on medical science, which hopes to uncover the secret of ageing.
Nomination: "Best Documentary," in the Non-Fiction Category of the Prix Europa Television (04). |
|
The Battle for Our Minds by Monika Halkort, Germany A Zero-Film production in association with Films Transit International for SWR/ARTE. "The Battle for Our Minds" investigates the social and cultural impact of computer games by telling the story of five people whose lives have been significantly shaped by this powerful new medium. The protagonists represent the wide range of factors that contribute to the fascination and popularity of games as fun entertainment, but also reflect their ambiguous power to determine individual behaviour and imagination up to the point of total immersion, obsession and psychological dependency. The very personal stories and experiences presented in the film provide viewers with unique insights into the complex psychological forces at work in computer game playing and reveal the serious challenges and responsibilities they pose for individuals and society.
TV broadcast: ARTE, SWR, Phoenix, Eins Plus. |
|
The Color Blond by Albert Knechtel, Germany An LE Vision production in association with ZDF/ARTE. Supported by MEDIA and Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung MDM. Starting from a world-wide newspaper hoax that trumpeted The oncoming end of all natural blondes, the film takes us on a humorous yet well-founded journey to the roots of the blond myth. We will hear from evolution biologists, art historians and psychoanalysts, as well as celebrities like Catherine Deneuve and Paris Hilton. TV Premiere: ARTE, February 18, 2007. |
|
The Enigma of Sleep by Enrico Cerasuolo & Sergio Fergnachino, Italy A Zenit Arti Audiovisive production in association with Les Films d’Ici for ZDF/ARTE. With the participation of Discovery Channel, RTSI, YLE Teema. Supported by CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Regione Emilia-Romagna, Emilia-Romagna Film Commission and Bologna Film Commission. World sales are handled by GA&A in Rome. In this scientific documentary a chorus of characters tells the story of how sleep disorders have radically affected their lives, and how for leading experts sleep is still very much an enigma.
Awards: “Special Jury Award” Torino Film Festival, Italy (04). “Jury's Special Prize” Int. Documentary Film Festival of Scientific Exploration and Adventure, Castellana Grotte (05). "Prix Spécial Film de Recherche Médicale" Festival des Entretiens de Bichat, Paris (05). |
Masterschool Films 2001
|
Before Flying Back to the Earth by Arunas Matelis, Lithuania A TAG/TRAUM production in association with Nominum and ZDF/ARTE. Supported by Filmstiftung NRW, Lithuanian Ministry of Culture, Lithuanian Fund for Culture and Sports. The film is based on the director's personal experience. Following his daughter's treatment for leukemia, Arunas Matelis returns to the hospital and tells, through the eyes of the children and parents, about the possibility of happiness, the values of love and sacrifice, what we can learn from the children and about moments of stoicism and faith. World premiere: Intl. Competition, 48th International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film 2005. Awards: "NPS Silver Wolf Award" best documentary IDFA, Amsterdam (05). "Golden Dove" Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film (05). Nomination for Best European Documentary "Prix ARTE" European Film Academy, Berlin (05). "The Best Lithuanian Film" (Lithuanian "OSCAR") (05). "Lithuanian National Culture and Art Award" (05). "Spirit Award for Documentary" Brooklyn International Film Festival (06). "Big Stamp Award" best film International Competition Program ZagrebDOX (06). "Jury First Prize" International Documentary Festival Documenta Madrid (06). "Grand Prix" 20th Pärnu International Documentary and Anthropology Film Festival (06). DOCS Rx "Honorable Mention" Silverdocs Washington (06). "Spirit Award" for DOC, Brooklyn Film Festival (06). The film encourages and provokes worldwide charity actions. 2007 Lithuanian candidate for Oscar in Foreign language section (07). Directors Guild of America Award 2006 for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary (07). Lithuanian "Identity LT" award 2007. Special Mention: "Honorable Mention" Silverdocs Washington (06). >br> Nomination: "Prix ARTE" European Film Academy, Berlin (05). "Progress Award”, Lithuania (07). "Goodness Wing" (07). |
|
Irish Oranges by Anna Schmidt, Germany A MA.JA.DE. production in association with MDR/ARTE, Paradox Pictures (Dublin) and pre-sold to RTE. Supported by MDM. In 1945, Ireland launched a unique aid campaign which saved over 1,000 children in war-torn areas of Europe from starvation. The film tells the unknown, touching story of "Operation Shamrock," which was destined to have an unforeseen impact on the future of the children it rescued. Five of them look back. |
|
The Devil's Miner by Richard Ladkani & Kief Davidson, Germany/USA A coproduction of Urban Landscapes Productions, Provobis Film Hamburg and Polar Star Films for PBS, BR, ARTE, ORF, TVE and 3Sat. In the mines, death can be sudden and unexpected. The life of 14-year-old Basilio Vargas, a child labourer, is followed into the Bolivian Mines of Potosi that are said to have claimed eight million lives since the Spanish conquistadors first began extracting silver. A journey to hell told through the eyes of a young boy determined to overcome his destiny of certain death in the mines.
World premiere: Rotterdam Intl. Film Festival. |
|
The Great Communist Bank Robbery by Alexandru Solomon, Romania A coproduction of Les Films d'Ici and Libra Film for ZDF/ARTE, BBC and France 2. Broadcasted also by SVT Sweden, YLE TV Finland, TVP Poland Duna TV Hungary, SBS Australia and VPRO Holland. The film retraces the incredible story behind a propaganda film about a bank robbery in socialist Romania in 1959.
World Premiere: Movie theatres in Romania September 30, 2005. |
