This year's program of the 58th Hof International Film Festival includes a variety of short films that tell moving stories and open up new perspectives on current issues. Films from countries such as Spain, Israel, France, Austria, Turkey, the USA, Singapore, Malaysia, Iran, Estonia and Switzerland provide insights into various topics. The 62 short films deal with topics such as climate change, wars and their consequences, flight from one's homeland and the rise of non-democratic parties. The distant future also plays a role in many cases. How will we live beyond 2030?
In her film FLY, BIRD FLY!, director Rabeah Rahimi tells the story of 13-year-old Adina, who lives with her father in Germany after fleeing the Taliban and discovers her passion for dancing, contrary to his expectations. In FIRE DRILL, Maximilian Villwocks deals with the challenges faced by a young Ukrainian working on a container ship. In a sophisticated and humorous way, 59 DEGREES by Matias De Sa Moreira and Cyril Pinero shows the search for housing during the 2050 climate crisis, where it is constantly over 50 degrees. The fear of right-wing extremism is the subject of NEXT DOOR by Lukas März, who tackles the topic through the story of the couple Tom and Marcel, who are not left in peace by their neighbor Adolf Hitler.
Documentaries, animated films and feature films as well as combinations of the three categories will be shown. In their film LOST IN HELSINKI, directors Sara Fazilat and Antonia Langes combine documentary and animation and present the challenges of BIPOC (Black People, Indigenous People and People of Color) in an original way. Other films deal with relationships and identity, such as Katharina Zorn's THE WOMAN WHO TRIED TO CATCH HER ECHOES with Jasna Fritzi Bauer, a homage to personality and creativity, or Nathan Engelhardt's film LES GORGES DU VERDON, in which Jonathan finally finds himself during a summer vacation.
Themes such as decisions, dreams and role models are addressed using different ideas and means. In her film COUP DE GRÂCE, director Lisa Vicari deals with a case of illness in the family and the question of whether and how a loved one can be released from their suffering.
ARTIST UNCREDITED by Sven Fuhrken and Chris Hirschhäuser (Friedrich Baur Gold Prize HoF 2020) also features actor Tim Seyfi, who plays a man who forces explanations about his exhibited work on museum visitors. But if the art is not sincere, the truth behind it is often tragic. LOONEY EYE 2 - THE MOVIE by Alexander Peskador is a Dadaist rollercoaster ride about private detective Norman Hope's search for a stolen burger.
Emma Bading is represented with three films at the Hof International Film Festival this year, as the director of the short films SHUT UP AND SUFFER and DOMESTICATED, in which femininity and role models are addressed, and as an actress in THE MAN FROM ROME by Jaap van Heusden. In FACTORY DROP, Petja Pulkrabek focuses on forced laborers in the gloomy factory in the year 2118. They tirelessly produce diamonds. When the worker Mia finds a music box, her longings are awakened. Forbidden, Mia and Juri get closer and are finally faced with a decision: surrender or one last dance together.
Simon Morzé tells a sibling story in SÉANCE. Ben and Felice, who both suffered a difficult childhood at the hands of their father, await a reunion with him on Felice's birthday. While they wait for him together, old memories come flooding back. The planned relaxation by the pool turns into a major conflict. Christine Jezior and Piotr Gromek also go back to childhood in their film BELLS. Maria is plagued by childhood nightmares that reinforce her mistrust of her village. When she discovers that her neighbor has dark plans, she is faced with a decision that will change her life forever.
This is just a small preview of the wide range of short films that will be screened before the long films. We cordially invite you to also watch our three kurzGeschichten programs on Friday, 25 October and Saturday, 26 October 2024.
Yours, Hof Film Festival Team
Follow us on Instagram