68th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, 30 April – 9 May 2022
Award Winners of the 14th NRW Competition
Award ceremony: Monday, 9 May 2022, 7.30 pm CEST, Lichtburg Filmpalast, Elsässer Str. 26, 46045 Oberhausen
Members of the Jury:
Birgit Hauska (Cologne), Hilde Hoffmann (Düsseldorf), Ulli Klinkertz (Bonn)
Prize of the NRW Competition
worth 1,000 euros
Lamarck
Marian Mayland
Germany 2021, 27'20", colour
Statement:
The view of a landscape devastated by brown coal opencast mining is the pivotal image. The jagged landscape reveals decades of digging and ravage. The digging continues, stripping away layer by layer and exposing what was hidden. The film that gives us this image examines the model of the family. In this complex arrangement, everyone has a position in space and time, layers are heaped upon layers. Parents and siblings look back, remember and take stock, unfolding a mesh of care and love, of heaviness, coercion and control. The meticulously composed images deepen the space of reflection. The excellent montage tells us only what is absolutely necessary while finding the right rhythm.
Everything refers to the issue of becoming. What is passed on? Which traits are inherited? Which kind of behaviour is reproduction? And what does this mean for one’s own life, education, gender roles and modes of communication?
Promotional Prize of the NRW Competition
worth 500 euros
Bruchstücke
(Shards)
Rusudan Gaprindashvili
Germany 2021, 8'17", colour
Statement:
A small room, so many removal boxes still unpacked, a bed, a woman who has trouble getting up. So much pain. Before we see her, we hear that someone else is in the room. A little girl in bed. Two maimed souls equal one pain. Spoken words are almost impossible. A children’s song and writing on naked skin. We turn from observers of the intimate scene into fellow sufferers. In one take, no cut. And at the end this little film about a social taboo gives both us and the protagonists new strength and hope for better times together. A bold film with extraordinary acting.
Prize of the WDR Westart Audience Jury
worth 750 euros, sponsored by WDR Westart
Members of the Jury:
Beate Convent, Thomas Elmentaler, Susanne Kaiser, Jens Nienaber, Beate Pech, Nicole Pichler, Michael Reich, Felix Rudolphi
Allen Zweifeln zum Trotz
(Against All Odds)
Laurenz Otto
Germany 2022, 14'59", colour
Statement:
Subtly and in precisely composed images, Laurenz Otto’s film portrays a relationship of dependence and abuse of power. Feelings of powerlessness and rage lead to an emblematic climactic release which nevertheless lets us feel the longing for human warmth. Excellently directed, the film creates an oppressive atmosphere and develops a suggestive power reinforced above all by the outstanding performance of the two protagonists and absolutely convincing to us.
Oberhausen, 9 May 2022
Press contact: Sabine Niewalda, niewalda(at)kurzfilmtage.de, Tel. +49 (0)208 825-3073