Films by Patrick Hamm

Romania, Canada, Germany 2023, 103 min
by Tünde Skovran

What is a female? What is a male? What or who determines whether you are one or the other? Can you be both or neither? And does it even matter? WHO I AM NOT follows two intersex South Africans who were born with bodies that are not typically female or male. Sharon Rose (she/her) is a beauty queen, and although she is officially recognized as one of South Africa’s most beautiful women, she still struggles to understand how could she be born with male genetics. She finds support in Dimakatso (they/them), a male-presenting intersex activist who also struggles with gender dysphoria and to understand what they really are. An important and moving film, and one of the very few about the approximately two percent of the world’s population defined as intersex. [36 efa]

Ukraine, Germany 2020, 103 min
by Alina Gorlova

Filmed in striking black-and-white, This Rain Will Never Stop observes the endless cycle of war and peace, in which we meet 20 year-old Andriy Suleyman. Fleeing the Syrian civil war, Andriy and his Kurdish family start a new life in a small town in eastern Ukraine, only to be caught up in another military conflict. Following Andriy back to his homeland, This Rain Will Never Stop takes the viewer on a journey from Ukraine to Iraq, Syria and Germany, featuring war zones, military parades, humanitarian missions, refugee camps, cultural, religious and funeral customs.'Striking monochrome imagery and disruptive editing lends edgy gravitas to this absorbing documentary on a Syrian-Ukrainian Red Cross worker.' Jessica Kiang, VARIETY"A striking, beautifully shot and edited film that embarks on the disaster of war through a personal journey and rocks the spectator between furtive moments of joy and pain. This moving film encompasses traditions, modernity, death, and the power of moving forward. This Rain Will Never Stop is a powerful story that does not allow us to escape from the destruction and heart-wrenching losses of wars," the IDFA jury reported.