Films by Jakob Stark

Germany 2019, 30 min
by Hannes Lang

RIAFN is a cinematic journey into the soundscape of the Alps. Idiom, song, as well as calls and commands of farmers and shepherds are condensed to create a motion picture driven by local character and rhythm. Between artistic ideal and documentarian realism, the musical portrays a utopian site detached from the compulsive speed and accessibility of communication technology saturating modern life.

Germany 2018, 94 min
by Veronika Kaserer

Heiko, 29, is a fun-loving dance teacher from Berlin. For the past seven years he has battled with a fatal illness. Just when his family and his friends had begun to get used to Heiko’s continued survival in spite of all the prognoses, he receives the diagnosis that he does not have much longer to live. He decides to return to his parents’ house to die. But even now, Heiko and especially his father, Jürgen, refuse to give up hoping for a miracle. His mother, Karin, on the other hand tries to prepare him for what is to come. She would like to tell her son about her own near-death experience but can’t seem to find the right moment. Day and night, so many of Heiko’s friends and relatives come to the house to spend time at his bedside, wanting to be near him again, to cry, but also to laugh together. Heiko’s sister preoccupies herself with the organisational side of things and tries to hold up by keeping her distance. The ways in which all of these people cope with loss and grief are as diverse as they are.

Germany 2017, 90 min
by Tristan Ferland Milewski

Once a year the DREAM BOAT sets sail for a cruise only for gay men. Far from their families and political restrictions, we follow five men from five countries on the quest for their dreams. The cruise promises seven days of sunshine, love, and freedom – but on board are also their personal stories, their doubts and uncertainties…„It’s raining men! Hallelujah, it’s raining men!“ The Weather Girls

2017, 91 min
by Andreas Pichler

There's one thing milk stands for — health. It's seen as natural and nutrient-rich. Which is exactly what makes it so attractive for the market. But is it really that healthy? We set out to take a critical look at the milk system. Along the way we'll meet farmers, dairy owners, politicians, lobbyists, NGOs, scientists. Each has their own views on the value and consequences of an industry with world-wide impact. Whether in Europe, Asia or Africa, milk is the allegorical model of streamlined-for-growth global food production and its consequences. The film uncovers surprising truths behind the system. Who profits at whose cost? Does the system have a future and are there alternatives? A journey across continents (Europe, Africa and China) that deals with preconceptions and brings solutions to light.

Germany 2010, 28 min
by Jànos Richter

Guañape Sur. A barren rock island off the coast of Peru. No soil, no water. Nothing is growing here. Around its shores a restricted area has been established. The island serves hundreds of thousands of sea birds as a breeding ground. One of its peculiarities is that for a period of ten years only two men may live on it, in the eleventh year though, hundreds of men simultaneously pounce on its slopes in order to recover the bird's bequests: dried excrement, an acrid mixture of nitrogen and phosphor compounds, potassium ox- ide and quicklime, which blunts one's sense of smell. It can be used as a fertilizer or for producing dynamite. Its name is one of the few words the world borrowed from the language of the Incas: guano. A war has been fought over guano. And even dur- ing peacetime, harvesting it from the sharp rock is a brutal fght. Everything on the island is done by hand. IDFA Students competition 2010 Plus Cameraimage 2010