A clown is grimacing into the webcam from his living room; an aerialist is trying to stay in shape on her balcony; a circus director is suffering from the cold in his caravan because he cannot afford the heating costs: “Zoom on Circus” brings together the social, political and aesthetical aspects of the current Corona pandemic in an accurate yet heart-wrenching way: the human desire or even the human necessity to laugh even in times of a crisis; the hardship of artists and people engaged in the cultural sector who are threatened by losing their means of existence; the art of improvisation that the circus as well as Zoom require equally and therefore the technical and social possibility of decreasing the distance by means of humor. Congratulations, Dominique Mayer, for this authentic and entertaining short film!
67th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen
Anna Grebe
The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen had to take place entirely online also in 2021. A total of 400 films were shown in the festival's programme, which had been expanded to include three new competition sections - the International and German Online Competition as well as the International MuVi Award for International Music Videos. The opening took place online on 1 May. In addition to the films, which were available to the public online for a limited time and after purchasing a festival pass, the festival also offered a large number of other events and clips.
INTERFILM and SIGNIS took the new competition sections into account. In addition to the Ecumenical Jury for the International Competition, they appointed a second jury to observe the International Online Competition. As in previous years, INTERFILM and SIGNIS also observed the Children's and Youth Film Competition, from which the juries awarded two films with a recommendation.
Link: Homepage of the festival
Awards
Home is a film about a son who returns to his family home in Nepal to say farewell to his dying dad. The son films these last days, the passing and the death of his father which appear just as simple and natural in the everyday life of this poor farmer family as the tiny things that usually happen to them. Even though all this is sad, this is the order of life.
How do you remember how you used to be in the past? Minnen is an authentic documentary where we look back on the film-maker's mental illness after she soberly traces her life. Animated sequences display what was in her mind at this particular time of her life. With original footage of her youth added to a recent interview of her own parents, Kristin Johannessen shows, through accurate memories, the difficulties of being different, of raising a child you can’t always understand but never want to leave behind. Minnen talks about the hope of recovery that must be kept when facing sickness.
Kalsubai explores the history of the goddess Kalsu and her meaning for the women of Bari. The film relies on strong visual and acoustic images that neither explain nor falsify scenically. The almost photographic compositions and their expressive simplicity make the film accessible to everyone and invite you to reflect on your own cultural influences and to question them.
Unfortunately, even today, many families are hiding dark secrets. The animated short film “Cradle” properly investigates the innermost depths of a family devastated by domestic violence and alcoholism. In such a climate of terror, we see life still existing with a mother taking care of her newborn, trying to protect him and his big brother from bullying. The animation technique reports perfectly on the different states of mind of the characters and raises our awareness of the difficulties every family could struggle with at one time and must overcome. Particularly effective is the way in which the song "Cantec de leagan" – a traditional Romanian lullaby performed by Maria Tanase – is grafted onto the animation.
About looking and finding for love and the difficulty of dealing with it. 14-year-old Nova takes on responsibility for her little sister and goes in this process on a journey to discover her feelings. Nova is a film that was perfectly staged and wonderfully photographed. The script works without pathos and heavy content and yet does not remain on the surface. A coherent and profound film at the same time.
The atmosphere of uncertainty determines a young boy’s weekend-visit to his father. Here, at this remoted farm in the sparse and impressing landscape of Iceland begins a rough path of mutual approximation for both. The injury of the horse Dalía triggers a decisive change of the relationship of father and son. A film that treats the topic of taking farewell from different perspectives in a quiet and impressing way.
