Category: 2023 ARFF Berlin

Original Film Title: 达里诺尔

Director’s Name: Heqian Tan

Producer: Zhaodun Situ

Country of Origin: China

Country of Filming: China

Language: Mandarin Chinese

Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes 30 seconds

Film Description:

The Dalinor Nature Reserve is located in Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia, China. The people here rely on the Dali Lake at the center of the reserve for their survival. There is a fishery built on the north shore of Dali Lake, where a team guards this land day after day. Baofuchang is the captain of this team, and they carry out winter fishing and spring protection work year after year. They fish in the winter by chiseling through the ice, and protect the fish in the river during the spring and summer. Fishing is for livelihood and inheritance, while fish protection is for future generations and nature. These seemingly contradictory tasks contain the secret of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

Original Film Title: Beneath the Surface (of Ice)

Director’s Name: Zhang Xiquan

Producer: Zhang Xiquan

Country of Origin: China

Country of Filming: China

Language: Chinese

Runtime: 1 hour 21 minutes 20 seconds

Film Description:

This is a biography of a girl from an ordinary family. The documentary tells the story of Sui Wenjing, pair skating athlete who has changed her fortune through sport, a path full of hardships and injuries. Divided into multiple chapters, the conversations and records of live experiences constitute an inspiring tale. In the 10 years documenting her life, the director captured the moment when she got the gold medal of pair skating in 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the ninth gold medal of the Chinese team. This gold medal is also the highlight of her career, and the hard-earned reward for all her efforts and sacrifices in these years. 


But for her, she felt ‘devoted to two or three causes in the journey of life, while the Olympics only occupied a few days’.

Taking her gender as a starting point, the documentary presents her different facets: her loving family, her friends, her emotions, her pains and her tiredness. She is also reflective, and accepts new things eagerly. Peering into her inner world, is it black and whit, or colorful? What else are there beneath the surface of her skating career? Though she is an Olympic champion, the documentary strives to strives to show her as an individual coming from humble background , instead of the stereotypical emotionless athlete. ‘Beneath the surface’ is the core of this film. 

How has she achieved success?

Original Film Title: BELONGING – BECOMING

Director’s Name: Robert Golden

Writer’s Name: Robert Golden

Producer: Robert Golden, Tina Ellen Lee

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Country of Filming: United Kingdom

Language: English

Runtime: 1 hour 7 seconds

Film Description:

Interviews with 29 young people from 17 countries who movingly describe their world, their worries and their hopes.

Original Film Title: Fitter Stronger Better -Be more 

Director’s Name: Benjamin Birkhold

Writer’s Name: Benjamin Birkhold

Producer: Benjamin Birkhold

Country of Origin: Germany

Country of Filming: Germany

Language: English

Runtime: 1 hour 9 minutes 7 seconds

Film Description:

“Fitter-Stronger-Better” takes viewers on a journey into the world of Fitness, CrossFit & Bodybuilding. 

The film showcases the stories of several individuals who have embarked on a journey to improve their physical and mental health.

Through interviews and personal anecdotes from the portrayed athlete profiles, viewers gain insight into the many benefits of fitness and the challenges people face when trying to lead a healthier lifestyle.

The film features a diverse, completely different cast of characters, including a bodybuilder, a bikini wellness athlete, a pro figure character, a crossfit box owner and a fitness athlete.

Each individual offers a unique perspective on the world of fitness and the ways it has transformed their lives. As well as their advantages.

The film ultimately conveys an uplifting message of hope and inspiration. It encourages viewers to take control of their health and well-being and offers practical advice on how to achieve their fitness goals.

Original Film Title: Bilûra Nişo

Director’s Name: Sedat Kiran

Writer’s Name: Sedat Kiran

Producer: Sedat Kiran

Country of Origin: Turkey

Country of Filming: Turkey

Runtime: 1 hour 5 seconds

Film Description:

The Armenian relocation of 1915 also caused a significant upheaval in the Kurdish geography. During this relocation, the adult males of the Dikran family from Eğilli in Diyarbakır were killed, while women and children were exiled in caravans. Nişan Dikran (known as Master Nişo), a 9-year-old who lost two of his brothers during this exile, managed to break away from the caravan and return to Diyarbakır with his mother. In the same period, Zülfü Yokuş of Ergani (Zilfo, the Vivaldi of the East), whose father served in the Ottoman Army, was also of the same age as Nişo and lost his eyes from crying when his father died in the military. While Nişo gained fame in Diyarbakır with his talent and became a master of crafting wind instruments, Zilfo became known for his skill in playing the kaval.

What brought these two teenagers, one Armenian and the other Kurdish, together in Diyarbakır was the musical instrument kaval. Zilfo moved from Ergani to Diyarbakır city center and became neighbors with Nişo, the kaval master who showed him special attention. The families bonded, and a friendship built on solidarity and support took shape. Nişo, the master, crafted a special kaval for his friend Zilfo, and Zilfo gained reputation in the region by playing his kaval on the Eastern Express trains. Nişo’s kavals and Zilfo’s kaval playing skill brought them both unique fame.

Finally, from the 1950s onwards, Armenians began to feel uneasy in Diyarbakır as well and migrated to the West. Nişo initially resisted this migration, but eventually, he had to leave Diyarbakır and go to Istanbul. After Nişo went to Istanbul, he struggled to obtain the wood materials for making kavals he used in Diyarbakır, and he lost his ability to craft kavals like before. Zilfo also aged and had to sell his kaval, which had different measurements from all the existing kavals, with deeper and wider breath intervals. Nişo passed away in Istanbul, and Zilfo, too, in Diyarbakır, around roughly the same time.

Nişo’s son, İbrahim, and Zilfo’s daughter, Hatice, have led lives that are almost entirely separate from each other. Each of them narrates their own father’s story, while the kaval masters, who developed their art with Nişo’s kavals, continue to perform their awe-inspiring arts.

Original Film Title: A World of Difference

Director’s Name: Robin Newell, Simon Smithers

Writer’s Name: Sam Pollard

Producer: Damien Reilly, Kate Louise Ingham, Colin Seeger, Simon Smithers, Sam Pollard

Country of Origin: Australia

Country of Filming: Australia

Language: English

Runtime: 1 hour 42 minutes 52 seconds

Film Description:

A film that takes place in the Australian Outback. Follow the journey of Sam Pollard as he cycles 4000km from Sydney, New South Wales, to Busselton, Western Australia. He crosses the Nullarbor Plains and goes on to compete in the Busselton Triathlon IronMan Championship.

Set to Sam’s original independent rock music soundtrack, ‘A World of Difference’ is for dream-seekers, for cycling-enthusiasts, for adventurers who love pushing self-limits to reach unforgettable goals. It shows the great Australian Outback, its characters and extraordinary countryside.

Sam Pollard, in partnership with Planet Blue Pictures, brings this journey to your screen in the feature documentary ‘A World of Difference’. Riding 4000km across Australia takes physical toughness, mental strength and perseverance – it’s one hell of a ride!

Original Film Title: 变迁

Director’s Name: Binghui David Sun

Writer’s Name: Binghui David Sun

Producer: Binghui David Sun

Country of Origin: China

Country of Filming: China

Language: Chinese

Runtime: 12 minutes 29 seconds

Film Description:

At the foot of the mountains in southern Anhui, China, surrounded by mountains, the ancient village is closely related to the mountains and rivers. With the implementation of the government’s rural revitalization plan, changes in the local area have followed. This time, we stepped into the local area and launched an exploration that lasted for many years.

Original Film Title: König Der Nacht – Leben zwischen Schall und Rau(s)ch

Director’s Name: Martin Miron

Writer’s Name: Benjamin Braun, Nadine Basten

Producer: Katalin Kochansik, Lukas Gardemann, Martin Miron

Country of Origin: Germany

Country of Filming: Germany, Italy, Spain

Language: German

Runtime: 1 hour 10 minutes 46 seconds

Film Description:

Since its founding in 2000, the Nachtresidenz Düsseldorf has mastered numerous challenges and is now one of the best-known and oldest discos in Germany. The former cinema on Königsallee attracts guests from all over NRW and Germany (a conurbation of 11 million people) who leave everyday life behind them in extravagant outfits and plenty of champagne.

However, digitalisation and the accompanying change in nightlife culture make it more difficult to maintain club operations, culture and visitor flows. Nevertheless, managing director and bon vivant Marcel Oelbracht and his team manage to maintain the attractiveness of the Nachtresidenz with new concepts, spectacular shows and international acts. He is our leading figure and we look at a person between genius and madness or between sound and sound(s)ch. He is our King of the Night.

The King Of The Night is a film about a man who sacrifices everything to be at the top. The factual entertainment documentary highlights the challenges Marcel overcomes on his road to success, including his difficult childhood, his marriage and struggle for recognition in the industry, and his unquenchable thirst for success to this day.

In March 2020, the Night Residence was forced to close due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This is where the journey begins with an intense look behind the scenes. The work shows the emotional rollercoaster Marcel and his team go through on their way to reopening and how they try to keep the business going. Numerous obstacles, such as renovation work, thefts, gang crime, drug escapades and a ceiling collapse during ongoing operations, bring Marcel and his team to the brink of despair time and again.

The film also shows an insight into the private life of Marcel and his wife, who supports him, as well as intimate situations of some of the permanent team members, in real, not posed situations.

In several chapters, one gets a glimpse into a world full of dubiousness with an extremely entertaining and inscrutable protagonist. A world with contradictions, fears and a lot of passion. The King of the Night is close, independent and a portrait of a dying culture.

The production illuminates authentic facets of nightlife and is in no way an advertisement for the club or its operators. Quite the opposite. It was important to us to capture critical voices and show an honest picture. This is the only way to form a realistic picture of this world and its people.

Original Film Title: Hopper X Vermeer

Director’s Name: Annie Calm

Writer’s Name: Annie Dautane

Producer: Calm

Country of Origin: France

Country of Filming: France

Language: English, French

Runtime: 52 minutes

Film Description:

Edward Hopper, belonging to the Realism movement, is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. 
Johannes Vermeer, nicknamed the Sphinx of Delft, is recognized as the grand master of the Dutch Golden Age. 
With 300 years apart, both of them cast a unique gaze upon individuals, confined within their private space. By sharing the isolation of their characters, we experience it collectively. A very contemporary perspective that was profoundly felt during the lockdown.

Original Film Title: Alle Filme über die Ausstellungen von “BrückenKunst” von 2014 bis 2019, einer Gruppe nicht anerkannter Künstler aus Berlin.

Director’s Name: Gilbert Brüning

Country of Origin: Germany

Country of Filming: Germany

Language: English

Runtime: 1 hour 54 minutes 28 seconds

Film Description:

These short films show how difficult it is to achieve recognition in our world as an unknown and unrecognized artist. 
Bridges stand for the connection between two different poles. The name Brückenkunst is intended to express this intention to establish connection. The connection between two different banks. Between art and life. Between East and West. Asia and Europe. Top and bottom. It is generally accepted that art can possess magical abilities, so art can sometimes combine what is normally separate. 
This is the unique thing about art and that distinguishes it from the average and everyday. 
The art of Brückenkunst therefore stands for a very special spirit. A spirit that is open to the vastness, the open, the connection and not to the separating, the narrowing and exclusion. 
The bridge also stands for the ability to take and endure very different sides and perspectives. Brückenkunst stands for this and therefore deserves attention.

If there was a formula for becoming a successful artist and my film would show that, then everyone would probably want to see the film right away. Unfortunately, my film cannot show it. It shows the dedication and hard work of talented artists. Nevertheless, the BrückenKunst artists have not had a social breakthrough to this day. 
I am glad that I was able to accompany the artists on this very difficult path for many years. I think that the distributors should not only be interested in successful artists. They should also show interest in the less successful artists.