INTERFILM 39 International Short Film Festival Berlin
14 - 19 November 2023

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DOC DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

DOC 02 Challenging Narratives

To challenge existing paradigms is not only a question of content but also of form. How can the unspeakable be told? How to show the invisible? The program "Challenging Narratives" shows the full complexity of documentary short films that challenge, unsettle and subvert established formulas. Here, dominant narratives are ruptured, or approached from new angles, passed-down stories are questioned and the status quo gets a thorough reframing. Can film be activist in and of itself, without depicting activism? And if we tell differently, do we also change what is told?

15.11.23, 20:30h, Pfefferberg Haus 13

18.11.23, 18:00h, ACUD Kino

19.11.23, 14:30h, Pfefferberg Theater

Challenging Narratives
6 films
Demon Box

Demon Box

Sean Wainsteim // Canada // 2023 // 14:00 min

Documentary, Live Action

From off-screen, Sean Wainsteim comments on his own film, a tale of the trauma his grandfather and countless others endured during the Holocaust, reflecting on his personal creative process. Extraordinary storytelling. [CW: Holocaust]

Welterbe – das Schloss und seine Festung

Welterbe – das Schloss und seine Festung

World Heritage – The Palace and Its Fortress

Moritz Siebert // Germany, Ghana // 2023 // 17:41 min

Documentary

How are past events portrayed? Two buildings on two continents, built almost in the same year by the same family, a palace in Berlin and a fortress in Ghana. This film sheds light on two sides of colonial historiography. [CW: torture, slavery]

Speech for a Melting Statue

Speech for a Melting Statue

Collectif Faire-part // Belgium, Congo // 2022 // 10:00 min

Documentary, Experimental

Demolition of a monument. The poet Marie Paule Mugeni has prepared a speech, for the day on which a statue of the colonial ruler Leopold II is to be removed in Brussels.

Le Vide

Le Vide

The Void

Mandana Ferdos // France // 2023 // 16:06 min

Documentary

In memories, we stroll through Paris, through Iran, over beaches, through the night. A highly personal journey treating female servitude in one's homeland, isolation during the pandemic, and the disappearance of cinema. [CW: suicide, self harm, femicide and misogyny]

Einmal wieder dieser Junge sein

Einmal wieder dieser Junge sein

Being That Boy Again

Jan Koester / Lisa Violetta Gaß // Germany // 2022 // 07:30 min

Animation, Documentary, Experimental

"My mother started drinking when I was eight." This is a story of lost trust, toxic relationships and the seeming impossibility of interpersonal connection to others. [CW: psychological violence, abuse in the family]

O Gündür Bu Gündür Uçuyorum

O Gündür Bu Gündür Uçuyorum

Ever Since, I Have Been Flying

Aylin Gökmen // Switzerland // 2023 // 18:30 min

Documentary

Vakıf, a Kurdish man who grew up in a nomadic tribe in the mountains of southeast Turkey, recalls moments from his youth that have shaped his life – memories that include his mother, first love, and mistreatment by the police. [CW: torture]