Highlights: 17 October

"Meine Damen und Herren" - A Game of Methods of Political Science Communication

9.00 am- 7.00 pm At ASTOR Film Lounge
By Roman Roth

"Meine Damen und Herren" is a cacophonic simultaneous montage of all federal press conferences from the years 2020 and 2021 that dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Everything is almost as usual, except that the speakers do not take turns while speaking. The work playfully utilizes the power and quantity of political science communication that was produced in explanatory and appeasing attempts during this particular time. The speakers' audio follows them from right to left in stereo, making individual statements and buzzwords intelligible within the chaos. What is heard heavily depends on which person and lips the viewers are currently following with their eyes. To achieve this over 20 hours of press conference footage was analyzed, edited with greenscreen techniques, and rearranged on the iconic wooden podium.

Artists and filmmakers on personal experiences and stories as the foundation for Creating Moving Images and as a Catalyst for Change

Panel Discussion
10:00-11:30 am at ASTOR Film Lounge
With: Katarzyna Perlak, Webb-Ellis, Karen Russo

Filmmakers are not just storytellers; they also mirror their own experiences. In this panel, we illuminate how these experiences find their way into their works and shape social and political developments in our contemporary world. Personal experiences have the potential to infuse films with emotional depth, allowing for the interpretation of universal themes in a personal manner.

Concurrently, they serve as a catalyst for significant discussions on current societal issues. Our guests, seasoned filmmakers and artists, share their insights on how incorporating personal narratives not only enriches the artistic quality of their works but also holds the potential for a transformative impact on society, and more importantly, why this is the case.The discussion will provide deeper insights into the creative process and the practice of filmmaking. Gain firsthand knowledge of how personal stories can serve as powerful instruments to initiate, among other things, social and political movements and changes. Filmmaking, thus, is not solely an art form but also a driving force for positive societal transformations.

Art, Morality and Film: Towards an Ethics of Film, Art, and Media. Can and Should Everything be Shown, and at Any Cost?

Presentation
05:00-07:00 pm at ASTOR Film Lounge
With: Jasmin Hagendorfer, Aaron Hillis, Jörg Buttgereit

At the beginning of the event Jörg Buttgereit will give a book presentation

Ethics of film and the moving image: Can and should everything be shown?Since the beginnings of cinema, movies have possessed a special ability to reflect, manipulate, and reinvent reality. The moving images projected onto the screen are more than just entertainment. They are powerful tools that can be used to generate empathy, highlight social injustices, or convey a political message. But along with this power comes great responsibility. The question of what can be shown and what should be shown will always be of key importance to the entire film and moving image industry.

The technological possibilities make it possible to visualize almost anything, from explicit scenes of violence to depictions of the deepest human emotions. But just because you can show something doesn't mean that you should. In an increasingly globalized world where moving images can reach a wide international audience, it is crucial that filmmakers and artists be aware of the cultural contexts in which their works are seen: Do they bear a specific ethical responsibility for what social or political messages they convey through what means and media? Should film and the moving image be used even more to highlight social injustice and to encourage people to make changes? Or should they focus on pure entertainment and avoid political or moral issues? A panel of filmmakers, moving image artists and ethics experts will address these questions on stage.

EMPTY NETS - A powerful drama about cemented inequalities in contemporary Iranian society

9:00 pm at ASTOR Film Lounge
Director: Behrooz Karamizade

Twenty somethings Amir and Narges have found what feels like true love in their hometown by the coast of the Caspian sea. But in today’s Iran that’s far from enough to build a life together, and they are forced to keep the relationship secret. To win over Narges’ upper class family and pay an appropriate dowry, Amir needs money, and he needs it fast. With his back against the wall, Amir finds work at a local fishery, where he is drawn into the dangerous but lucrative business of black market caviar smuggling. As Amir’s values are compromised by the illegal underworld, Narges stalls for time and tries to delay the arranged marriage her parents are planning for her. Can their love, hopes and dreams survive the tightly knit web of tradition, corruption, and social hierarchy that continues to rule over the lives of a new generation in Iran?

Behrooz Karamizade's feature-length debut film won the Special Jury Prize in Karlovy Vary this year and will now also receive the Newcomer Award at Hessischer Filmpreis.