unafilm

Germany 2020, 104 min
by Jeanine Meerapfel

A WOMAN is a cinematic essay, a deeply personal look into the past of a woman. The story of Marie Louise Chatelaine, the director's mother, is the starting point, but several stories are added and told in parallel, in a fragmented reflection of yesterday and today. A family history that makes contemporary history recognizable, a deep search into the wounds of exile and a reflection on the function of memory. The images that follow the stations of this woman's life flow like a stream of consciousness: Chalon-sur-Saone, Strasbourg, Untergrombach, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires. What does it mean for a person to feel foreign? Being a foreigner in the country, in life, in language... particularly estranged as a woman.

Germany 2018, 80 min
by Johanna Sunder-Plassmann, Tama Tobias-Macht

outside portrays four homeless men. Starting from the objects they cary around with them the film opens the gates to a world that otherwise remains hidden.outside not only invites to a change of perspective but tries to show four homeless people that have preserved a sense of dignity and pride that is all too often denied to them.Belinale catalogue:Homeless people, tramps, vagabonds and vagrants. Are they all the same idea? Or are they completely different? Sometimes the choice of words can help to change perspectives. The film draußen also adopts a different perspective by following four people living on the streets who own very little. Nothing they possess would ascribe them any apparent social status and yet everything they have is of value. Matze, Elvis, Filzlaus and Sergio are all survivors - and each of them is a real character. In order to hear their stories the two directors decided to adopt a particular strategy and concentrate instead on the items that their protagonists carry about with them. They asked them to open the door to their world by allowing them to take a look inside their plastic bags, pockets and shopping trollies, much as if they were entering someone’s home. The few objects that are to be found within contain a wealth of information and meaning. Charged with emotions and memories, these objects are no less than the fragments of their lives. In their conversations, the full import of these treasures begin to take shape.

Germany 2012, 81 min
by Carolin Schmitz

BEAUTY is a film about hopes and dreams of people. People in this film are united by the fact that they have been operated upon. How do people live their lifes, if their wish for beauty surpasses the physical integrety of their own bodies?

Germany 2011, 90 min
by Hannes Lang

The Alps are an ancient region of natural beauty that is changing as a result of climate change. Snow is no longer guaranteed. PEAK shows how the tourist industry is dealing with the problem. Millions are invested into massive technology to produce the perfect landscape independent from nature. High-altitude water reservoirs replace melting glaciers, excavators rip up the earth, a computer operated switch room lies deep in the mountain, pipes and cables are laid in the ground, snow machines continuesly spray artificial snow onto slopes. A neverending story taking place in the Alps, but with parallels worldwide. A theatrical masterpiece in Cinemascope.

Germany 2011, 79 min
by Mareike Wegener

A few weeks after 9/11, an FBI agent called the Whitney Museum of American Art and asked to see a drawing on exhibit there. The piece was by Mark Lombardi. Just months earlier, the artist was found dead in his studio. Although the official cause of death was documented as a suicide, there were many doubts. Using just a pencil and a huge sheet of paper, Lombardi had created an intricate pattern of curves and arcs to illustrate the links between global finance and international terrorism. This documentary is a dense portrait of Lombardi‘s life and work that examines how art can express universal truths that are reflected in our present.

Germany 2011, 81 min
by Carolin Schmitz

The full length documentary BEAUTY describes people’s conceptions of life. Having cosmetic surgeries ist the common thing of the protagonists in this film. What is the way of life for people, whose desire for beauty exceeds the physical integrity of their bodies?