Category: Best Student Film ARFF Berlin 2022

Original Film Title: Mi Vida

Director’s Name: Danny Gonzalez

Writer’s Name: Danny Gonzalez

Country of Origin: Canada

Country of Filming: Canada

Language: English, Spanish

Runtime: 10 minutes 42 seconds

Film Description:

After being raised by a hard-working immigrant single mother, Maria José feels as though she must strive for perfection to appease her mother. However, there’s so much lying one can handle, until things start to fall at the seams. Maria José must now choose between pleasing her mom, or doing what makes her happy.

Original Film Title: Menarche

Director’s Name: Xi Wang

Writer’s Name: Xi Wang, Jiaxi Zeng

Producer: Xihua Luo

Country of Origin: China

Country of Filming: China

Language: Chinese

Runtime: 12 minutes 55 seconds

Film Description:

Because of late-maturing, Yi Yi still has not had a period in Senior 1. To avoid other girls thinking her as an alien, she has lied about this. Yi Yi fell love with a boy in her class, and she always came to the basketball court to peep at him to get close to him and imitated his way to smoke. However, Yi Yi’ s first love was killed with nothing by the hurtful words of the boy. At the same time, Yi Yi found that her first period was coming.

Original Film Title: Specters

Director’s Name: Yoshiya Suenaga

Writer’s Name: Yoshiya Suenaga

Producer: Yoshiya Suenaga

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 37 minutes 34 seconds

Film Description:

In a derelict and unnamed town is the home of two friends, a place both decrepit and vibrant, and where past trauma and dreams linger. Irmin and Adrian, haunted by the town’s past, seeks the uncertain future of their own identities.

Original Film Title: Lion’s Cage

Director’s Name: Linus von Stumberg

Writer’s Name: Linus von Stumberg

Country of Origin: Switzerland

Country of Filming: Switzerland

Language: German

Runtime: 14 minutes 58 seconds

Film Description:

To free herself from her two pimps, Klea hires a hitman whose assassination plan leads up to a tense reunion.

Original Film Title: Disconnected

Director’s Name: Anna Maria Christofidou

Writer’s Name: Anna Maria Christofidou

Country of Origin: Cyprus

Country of Filming: Cyprus

Language: Modern Greek (1453-)

Runtime: 10 minutes 35 seconds

Film Description:

A young woman has been isolated in her house following the loss of her unborn baby and husband in a car accident. Her grief has consumed her, her whole life changed in one nightmare. What begun as grief for her, has turned into regular physical panic attacks. While trying to escape her inner pain, she must come to terms with her grief before she loses herself.

Original Film Title: Someäiti

Director’s Name: Sara Salovaara

Writer’s Name: Sara Salovaara

Producer: Elias Könönen

Country of Origin: Finland

Country of Filming: Finland

Language: Finnish

Runtime: 11 minutes 34 seconds

Film Description:

16 years old Alex has lost his father and it starts to feel like he’s about to lose his mother too.

Original Film Title: Пижама

Director’s Name: lyka Galich

Writer’s Name: lyka Galich

Producer: Aglaya Sidihina

Country of Origin: Russian Federation

Country of Filming: Russian Federation

Language: Russian

Runtime: 18 minutes 49 seconds

Film Description:

A streamer and inveterate homebody find himself outside his flat at night in his pyjamas and slippers. The hermit, who has been expelled from his flat, finds himself in a night in which he is destined to lose touch with reality and then come face to face with it.

Original Film Title: Da Capo – The Town of Music

Director’s Name: Darc Mavid

Writer’s Name: Darc Mavid

Producer: Linh Pham, Darc Mavid

Country of Origin: Germany

Country of Filming: Germany

Language: English

Runtime: 24 minutes 56 seconds

Film Description:

Our protagonist Alien lives in „Da Capo“, a music city where every genre has its own district. Alien is born into the royal jazz family of the major, but he wants to play funk since he can remember. There is only one way out. He has to challenge his brother, the major of Jazz District, to a Jam-Off to get free and immigrate to Funk District.

Original Film Title: 平安锁

Director’s Name: Han Gao, Ruijin Xu

Writer’s Name: Zihang Yan

Producer: Lisa, Ran Geng

Country of Origin: China

Country of Filming: China

Language: Chinese

Runtime: 16 minutes 8 seconds

Film Description:

The traffickers wanted to abduct and sell Dou ding. After many twists and turns, they were unable to sell him all the time. The police were also grasping clues step by step to approach them, so elder brother Wu di wanted to kill him. But during their time with Dou ding, through the safety lock on Dou ding’s hand, A Ren recalled the promise made in front of his mother and awakened his inner conscience. Just when Wu di and Pu sa wanted to do it, A Ren stood up in front of Dou ding……