The search for identity unfolds in a play of light and shadow. Characterized by the monotony of everyday life, the protagonists wander through labyrinthine memories, encounter psychological abysses and the cold reality of exposed souls. Adolescent spirits flee into the realm of possibilities, while the perspectives of growing up and creeping isolation are interwoven in the silence of a collapsing room. An urge for metamorphosis in order to grow out of the turmoil between inner rebellion and social expectations. (Frauke Rohenkohl)
Leonard Volkmer's journey leads him from Berlin's darkrooms through clubs in Spain’s capital to the archives of a psychiatric institution. Gogol’s short story of the same title describes a protagonist who, in a psychotic delusion, believes himself to be the King of Spain. Volkmer’s years-long work illuminates the tension between the individual and society, between psychiatric records and an auto-sociobiographical text about events that culminate in an institutionalization. Photographs and new video and sound recordings document his self-empowered return to these former locations.
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Nominated:
Goldener Hercules
- Director: Leonard Volkmer
Red lives in a small village, caught between the monotony of her daily life and the unstoppable process of growing up. To escape this tedium, she flees with her best friend to their favorite hill, where they experience absolute freedom and can truly be themselves. One day, everything changes when her friend stops visiting the hill. Is this the end of youth? The painful realities of adulthood open up before her. Confronted with her friend’s absence, Red is forced to ask: Who is she really?
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Premiere:
German Premiere
Nominated:
Goldener Hercules
Over 3,000 men dressed in tuxedos, top hats, and carrying wooden rifles march through the small town of Wildeshausen. Every year at Pentecost, time is turned back 600 years here. The city is the guild and the guild is the city. As the filmmaker documents the guild festival in his hometown, traditional images of masculinity are explored in this biographical reflection.
Nominated for the 2024 Hessian Film and Cinema Award in the category of university graduation films.
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Premiere:
World Premiere
Nominated:
Goldener Hercules
- Director: Jonas Leichsenring
Why do butterflies constantly fly towards light? Their instinctual pursuit of light is genetically ingrained. When observed for a long time, their flight movements create a fluttering on the retina, which can be digitized into countless small pixels. This species begins its journey with a transformation in a cocoon and continues to be reshaped, like the peppered moth that adapted to soot-covered walls by developing darker wings. In this ongoing metamorphosis, there may be a strange sense of calm as the instinctual becomes algorithmic flight paths.
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Premiere:
World Premiere
- Director: Marlene Hessemer
The relationship between psyche, body, and socialization are sources of mental and physical strain. Personal thought patterns collide with societal demands, leading to thought loops that are reflected in a nonlinear narrative. The protagonist’s discomfort is made palpable through a collage of bleak everyday fragments, dance exercises, music, and flickering effects. Between rage and despair, the feeling of isolation is explored. How can we change mental structures? Where do we find strength? The answers reveal a long, endless path.
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Nominated:
Goldener Hercules
- Director: Ysbell Carolina
