What lies between leaving and arriving, between here and there? These five films are dedicated to the liminal state, the in-between. The in-between can be found in their content, with topics of seeking refuge from war, the loss of one’s home and revolution; and in their form, when the filmic image is caught between freeze frame and movement, between focus and blur. It is precisely in this in-between state that we can closely observe and question the conditions outside of it. The absence of a fixed position unlocks a possibility for us to negotiate into which state we want to pass – or if we prefer to remain in liminality. (Samira Jakobi)
Behind the "sensitive content", behind this symbol of the crossed-out eyes, in this Deep Blur, two real eyes have been erased by the violence in the Middle East. This Deep Blur video is about the eyewitnesses who don't look away, who stay there, with their fainting eyes and their trembling hands, recording the "sensitive content." They are risking their lives, fighting for visibility. But to what extent we in the West should deepen ourselves over these symbolic eyes, or consciously choose "hide visibility"!… >>>
Nominated:
A38-Production Grant Kassel-Halle
Hanna’s childhood home doesn’t exist anymore. The public housing project in 32 Sannergata in Oslo, called home by various low-income families long ago, has been bought by a private investor who turned it into expensive rental properties. Between pieces of a miniature set of this house – resembling a doll house with no tenants – Hanna remembers: her home, her neighbors, the warm-heartedness, and the precarious conditions some of them lived in. At first reminiscent, then fiercely, Hanna reclaims this place that was taken from her and her childhood memories.… >>>
Nominated:
A38-Production Grant Kassel-Halle
- Director: Signe Rosenlund-Hauglid
A former military barracks of the Wehrmacht now serves as a refugee camp for people from Ukraine. The film accompanies the children on their journey, where their own history intertwines with that of the barracks. A moment between past and future, war and silence, departure and arrival, which paints a portrait of German past and present through the eyes of its young protagonists.… >>>
Nominated:
Goldener Key
- Director: Mila Zhluktenko, Daniel Asadi Faezi
Xiyuan and PP spend their summer holidays between construction debris, machine noise, and empty towering skyscrapers. The machines seem more in place than the kids and the debris barely makes for a playground. When they find a wood-carved statue of an old god, they decide to return it – but where to? The “Land God” does not seem to belong anywhere. Narrated by a voice coming from a speaker resembling a propagandistic broadcast, this photo film comments on forced urbanization with bitter irony.… >>>
Nominated:
A38-Production Grant Kassel-Halle
A small supermarket somewhere in the American backwoods. The staff come in early, drink coffee and restock the shelves. They chat about the air conditioning, would like to read poetry in peace and sometimes even get lucky on the slot machine.… >>>
Nominated:
A38-Production Grant Kassel-Halle
