Personal Documentary

Aya grows up with her mother on the island of Lahou. Joyful and carefree, she likes to pick coconuts and sleep on the sand. However, her paradise is doomed to disappear under the waters. As the waves threaten her house, Aya makes a choice: the sea can rise, but she will not leave her island.

A village meeting in communist Russia to pay homage to Stalin leads to a gossip marathon, which develops into an endurance test for the participants.

David turns the terrible 30s. He celebrates it with his friends from the town, those of a lifetime. They have not seen each other for a long time, although there is desire, something changes. The celebration becomes a reflection of their lifes and a memory of those who no longer come. A docufiction about the Millennial generation.

In a follow-up to his 2021 short, SUMMER, Liam once again spends the duration of a summer filming, editing, and releasing a single shot every day. Things have changed or have they?

Gravedigger is the last name on the list of fighters facing the Corona epidemic. The gravediggers have buried the dead in one corona after another at the call of humanity even though they were not paid. In return, they received some rewards and an invaluable realization. One of them is Aslam of Ray Bazar Cemetery, The Last Man.

An Editor recounts the diaries of a failed film production as they attempt to construct a new narrative from the remaining footage.

The Kurdish Iraqi poet and actor Zeravan Khalil travels with his dog through an Alpine gorge after fleeing from IS war and genocide. As he remembers the abomination, he writes a poem with the title “You drive me mad” in Kurmanji Kurdish. In his home country, Yazidic Kurds are forbidden to work in his profession. Then he eats his apple and wanders through Europe’s middle with more hope.

Filmmaker Julia interviews people who photograph sunsets. During filming, a man demands that she deletes the pictures of him. When she refuses, an argument ensues.

After hitting a dog with his car, Stefan, guilt-ridden, decides to bring it with him to the hometown lake, where he is headed in order to complete the film about his mother who has recently passed away.

With noise-canceling headphones, they communicate with an inaudible counterpart. Decoupled, they move around the room and meet their surroundings. Intimate stories and needs are discussed. The personal blends into a shared portrait.

How do German couples communicate in private? What are they arguing about? Is the way to a man’s heart really through his stomach? This docu-fictional hybrid production discusses such questions with the help of authentic interview snippets that were edited under the staged plot. We get an insight into the life of an animal couple, who experience typical everyday situations on behalf of us humans. At first, our fox is emotionally contained, while the penguin lady may get wild as hell. With a wink, the filmmakers hold up a mirror to the audience in the cinema.

It is summer, a day in the life under the blistering heat. This is an archival journey through different pairs of eyes and different layers of skin - all in the hopes of finding someplace to sit and do nothing, while the world around you always wants you to do something.

In this short docu-fiction film, strong and hardy Inuit hunters demonstrate and test their strength in boxing, tug-of-war, and other strenuous activities. We see and hear the drum dance, a demonstration of Inuit poetry and rhythm.

"A country without artists is a dead country... I hope we are alive..." It is in this film by Fawzi Sahraoui produced by the RTA in 1985 and filmed a few months before the painter M'hamed Issiakhem 'turns off this sentence is spoken. A very interesting docu-fiction in which Issiakhem delivers himself with finesse, passion and generosity.

On a Summer afternoon, Pedro packs the last few boxes before having to leave his apartment in New York. 12 years ago, Pedro and Ana had arrived in America from Portugal, in search of a dream. Now, Ana's voice describes, from the other side of the ocean, that same country to which they are returning. As the rooms are emptied, Pedro bids farewell to one life, welcoming another. But the dream that brought him will remain forever in the city that never sleeps, awaiting his return.

Felix and Mark are close to being invited to a party after school. Problem is — they need to bring their own alcohol. With zero experience, they enlist the aid of Ethan, but things don't go as planned, leading Felix and Mark into an argument that puts their friendship hanging in balance.

Dreaming in Black and White is a portrait of Singapore artist Tang Ling Nah. The film takes us on a journey into Ling Nah’s inner world—her memories, dreams and angels, and her fascination with black-and-white media, drawing charcoal and the city’s transitional spaces. The film explores her practice over the last 15 years and hints at the possible new directions in her art career. It highlights Ling Nah’s courage to pursue her dream to be an artist, the choices and sacrifices she has made, as well as the challenges of being a woman artist in Singapore and her regrets in this journey. The film’s dream-like form mixes documentary, fiction and animation. It blurs the boundaries between us, Ling Nah’s art and her deepest being. Ultimately, it celebrates our dreams—and reassures us that dreams do come true if persevered.

Greetings to you from all of us; the family structure, dreaming, and not being able to go are the main themes. The film consists of four letters written by people around Serap at different periods of her life; her aunt who calls her and her brother to Canada after their parents died in 1984, a letter from Serap's boyfriend in Turkey trying to start a new life with her sister in 1995, a letter from Serap's son to his father in 2020, and a letter from Serap's little daughter to her aunt to find her imaginary friend. Serap cannot go to Canada, she has to return to Turkey from her sister's side, her son cannot realize his dream journey due to family reasons. This film, one of Simar Sans's first short film attempts, is embellished with guerrilla street footage, character designs by Zeynep Tavukçu, and original music by Erim Yararbas on top of it's docufiction story. This is not just a film, but also a film concert.

Amaranta

Abeba (2023) is a hybrid genre film for Migration and Mobility (Global Cinema) course. Inspired by the aesthetic approaches found in Nollywood , Documentaries and other genres, and through a fictional narrative. The film centres around Abeba, a young migrant who moved recently to the UK. She works as a cleaner; the film follows her daily routine. We see Abeba doing mundane everyday chores. One day after work, Abeba receives a text message from a guy that she fancies inviting her to a house party. While getting ready for the party, she receives a sudden phone call from her overbearing mother. During the call, Abeba engages in a web of lies to escape her mother's interrogation.