Archive 2003
THE HEINRICH
The Heinrich Prize with a purse of 10,000 Euro donated by our main sponsors, the Feldschlößchen Brewery and the Volkswagen Bank, can be won again this year by a young director or producer for a first or second work. The aucience award is presented publicly on the final day of the Festival.
Our cinematic journey this year takes us through ten different European countries. The atmosphere in the Icelandic film "Noi Albinoi" is at once charming and melancholy. Things are chaotic for the Iranian family in "All hell let loose". Father and son have great plans for their loot in Danish "Stealing Rembrandt"; unfortunately, they steal the wrong painting! "With love, Lilly" accompanies a romantic Russian woman on her search for the love of her life. "Sleepwalkers" describes a night full of unexpected meetings in Budapest. "Occident" is a black comedy about the greatest wish in present-day Bulgaria: getting out! "It's not me" is the Italian contribution. In "Kaltfront" a group of young people hide in an Austrian mountain hut after a break-in. "From Heaven" is a committed portrait of today's France. Music and wild parties characterize the Belgian film "Any way the wind blows".
Gala for the Heinrich Prize
Su, November 2 18:30 CinemaxX 5
The gala for the Heinrich Prize on Sunday at 6:30 pm will be presented by Catherine Ann Berger.
Catherine Ann Berger studied theatre and film in Vienna. In 1990 she was a guest student at Heiner Müller's production of the play "Hamlet/Maschine" at the German Theatre in Berlin. Completing her studies, she worked as a documentary editor for Swiss TV. From 1997 till June 2003 she moderated the awardwinning programme "Kulturzeit" on 3sat.
Today she is a film reporter for Swiss television and works for the production firm "catpics coproductions" in cinematic and stage project development. For five years she has also been working for the documentary film festival "Visions du Réel" in Nyon (Switzerland).
Any way the wind blows
Director: Tom Barman, B 2002, 125 min, 35 mm, colour, EGSU
Th, October 30 20:00 CinemaxX 1 Guest: Eric Kloeck
Sa, November 1 17:15 CinemaxX 2
Antwerp in June: Eight people dream of a better life: this film combines music and wild parties with paranoia, a dead horse and the phenomenal "Windman". Tom Barman has made a film which wants to do more than merely tell a story: it reflects a philosophy of life worth imitating, still leaving room for dreams and making you want to get up from your seat and dance.
Stealing Rembrandt
Director: Jannik Johansen, DK 2003, 104 min, 35 mm, colour, ES, german premiere
Th, October 30 17:30 CinemaxX 2
Sa, November 1 20:00 CinemaxX 1 Guests: Jannik Johansen, Thomas Gammeltoft
A seemingly easy commissioned theft goes wrong: the two thieves, father and son, not only accidently steal the wrong picture from the museum, they also steal the only Rembrandt in Denmark. Suddenly the two crooks find themselves being looked for by Interpol, the police and all of Denmark's underworld. In addition, there are a number of complications in the family to work out.
All hell let loose
Director: Susan Taslimi, S 2002, 88 min, 35 mm, ES, german premiere
Th, October 30 19:45 CinemaxX 2 Guest: Hassan Brijany
Sa, November 1 22:30 CinemaxX 1 Guest: Hassan Brijany
Serbandi, an Iranian middle-aged man, is in turmoil. He has lost control over the women in his home. They ignore him, and his attempts to live up to his patriarchal duties lead only to absurd situations. Serbandi's life gets worse from the day his oldest daughter Minoo, a strong and independent woman, arrives from the States to attend her younger sister's wedding...
From Heaven (Quand tu descrendras du ciel)
Director: Éric Guirado, F/B 2003, 100 min, 35 mm, colour, GS
Th, October 30 22:30 CinemaxX 1
Sa, November 1 19:45 CinemaxX 2 Guest: Eric Guirado
Young farmer Jérome leaves his encumbered farm in December to look for work in the city. There he quickly makes friends with another outsider, a homeless man. He enjoys working for the city hanging Christmas decorations. But then comes an order from city hall: Jérome and his colleagues have to evacuate all beggars from the town by putting them in buses and driving them to the city limits.
"From Heaven" is based on fact and presents a lively portrait of present-day France.
Noi Albinoi
Director: Dagur Kári, IS 2003, 93 min, 35 mm, colour, GS, german premiere
Fr, Oktober 31 22:15 CinemaxX 2 Guest: Dagur Kari
Sa, November 1 17:30 CinemaxX 1
Is he the village idiot or is he an unrecognized genius? Noi lives at the end of the world in a remote fjord in Iceland surrounded by bizarre mountains and a thick blanket of snow. Toothaches have made an alcoholic of his father; his mother is gone. The headmaster throws him out of school, as a grave digger he is driven to distraction by the frozen earth. But then Iris enters his life. With her he dreams of leaving the God-forsaken place. However it is not till a catastrophe rocks his life that there is a chance for a new beginning.
It's not me
Director: Gabriele Iacovone, I 2003, 92 min, 35 mm, ES
We, October 29 20:00 CinemaxX 1 Guest: Gabriele Iacovone
Fr, October 31 17:15 CinemaxX 2 Guest: Gabriele Iacovone
Matteo escapes from a questionable past in Sicily to Lodz in Poland. He is taken in by Mario, who owns the Italian restaurant "Dolce Vita". Matteo begins to run it and falls in love with the waitress Eva. His happiness quickly sours, however. Poland has changed a lot and resembles in many ways the Sicily he left behind.
Kaltfront
Director: Valentin Hitz, A 2002, 88 min, 35 mm, coulor, ES
We, October 29 17:30 CinemaxX 1
Fr, October31 19:45 CinemaxX 2 Guest: Valentin Hitz
A group of young people breaks into an electrical store. There is an accident and the leader of the gang is left lying there seriously wounded. The others finally reach an idyllic farm in the Tyrol - but is it an ideal hidingplace? For the isolation of the mountains cause tension, reveals base character traits and makes dark secrets burst like festering pimples. Friends become loners. The hidingplace becomes more and more unsafe until the neighbours finally notice that there is something wrong with the people from the city. The situation escalates and in the end not just friendships are destroyed.
Occident
Director: Cristian Mungiu, RO 2002, 100 min, 35 mm, colour, EGS
We, October 29 19:45 CinemaxX 2 Guest: Cristian Mungiu
Fr, October 31 22:30 CinemaxX 1 Guest: Cristian Mungiu
A young couple one day loses its apartment; the landlord simply puts their furniture onto the street. But salvation is not long in coming: Luci finds two wedding rings before a falling bottle hits him on the head and he loses consciousness. The consequences of Ceausescu's fall, the new consumer society, and the attractiveness of the West are treated with a lightly ironic tone. The film changes its perspective three times, thus quickly gaining speed and holding a number of surprises in store. A discriminating black comedy about the greatest wish in today's Rumania: getting out!
With Love, Lilly
Director: Larisa Sadilova, SU 2002, 96 min, 35 mm, colour, EGS
We, October 29 22:15 CinemaxX 2 Guest: Larisa Sadilova
Fr, October 31 20:00 CinemaxX 1 Guest: Larisa Sadilova
Lilly, 35 years old, lives in a small provincial town. She works in a poultry factory and cares for her elderly grandfather. Sometimes she goes to the hotel, where her aunt works as manager, to get acquainted with nice men. Every time it ends in a fiasco though. Then one day she falls for a handsome pianist. Although Lilly does her best to arouse his interest, things don't develop as she wishes.
The Sleepwakers (Ébrenjárók)
Director: Bence Miklauzic, H 2002, 102 min, 35 mm, colour, GS
Th, Oktober 30 17:30 CinemaxX 1 Guest: Bence Miklauzic
Sa, November 1 22:15 CinemaxX 2 Guest: Bence Miklauzic
In Budapest one night three men meet, who at first sight have nothing in common. The office worker Sándor has lost his job and now wants to go the the Adria with his caravan. Anna, the cigarette saleswoman, has lost her job too and she desperately needs some money to get her boy-friend out of a fix. The third person is the electrician Bandi who has been acting strangely since getting an electrical shock. All three of them are seeking freedom and attempt to maintain at least some dignity in a world that always hits below the belt.