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Refugees Film Festival

1st Refugees Film Festival (yearly fest) 25.October.2018 - 31.October.2018 BABYLON Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. 30, 10178 BERLIN
von Mariano Aiello

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25.October.2018 - 31.October.2018 BABYLON Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. 30, 10178 BERLIN

(Öffnet in neuem Fenster)

The Refugees Welcome Film Festival borns due to the necessity to put in to highlight the enormous drama of the crisis of the refugees in the XXI century. Through a selection of dramas and documentaries from across the globe, Film Festival aims to raise awareness of refugees, internally displaced persons, and stateless people. Ranging from blockbusters to independent films, the program aspires to shed light on their situation and contexts, their fears, losses, hopes, successes, and their despair, courage, and resilience.  Let us face the harsh realities through documentaries and fiction films that depict circumstances in a desperate bid for freedom or only to survive.

The lineup also includes stories of resilience and hope, refugees for war, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV). Also, the film festival includes productions made by refugees about their new lives in the cities or places of temporary settlement.  The Film Festival will also be featuring special guests from the films, including the filmmakers, actors, and protagonists. 

In one week of programming we will have more than 40 great films from all over the world, the majority will be a premiere in Germany, like “Are you volleyball”, “The boys next door”, “Y”, “Tin Can”, “88 Cents”, “A Piece of Germany”, “Strange Guests” and others that had a local premiere in Germany but not in Berlin, like “Der Schwarze Nazi”, “Arrival”, “Games”, “The Rainbow machine” and “Hänsel & Gretel - Don´t let fear eat you”, among others.

We hope that the main location in Berlin Germany will help to break the stereotypes that some Germans – and other Europeans as well - have about refugees, in the country that more refugees have received in the last years in the Western Hemisphere.  

Thursday 25.10.18:00    Are you volleyball?!

A group of Arabian spoken asylum seekers arrive at an English spoken country border and can't keep going. They conflict with border soldiers every day until a deaf-mute baby becomes a catalyst for better communication between the two groups.

2017, R: Mohammad Bakhshi, with Mehdi Amiri, Esmaeil Alizadeh and Behnoud Yakhchali, 15 Min, OmeU

Thursday 25.10 18:00 Be my Rebel

Children dream of what they will be as adults and adults dream about their childhood. But sometimes, when orderly life becomes paralyzed in routine, adults need the inner child to bring about change: "Be my rebel", the first collaboration of the two music legends Nena and Dave Stewart, premiered at Nenas 40th anniversary on stage. The accompanying video by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Virgil Widrich transfers the story into a dreamlike, glass mirror world that is powered by Dave Stewart at the controls of his classic modular synthesizers. At the typewriter: Nena as an annoyed bookkeeper, who threatens to disappear soon with her flower dress in her flower wallpaper. But the inner dialogue works in both directions and soon takes effect: rebellion changes the past – and thus also the future.

Winner of 13 international film awards!

2017, R: Virgil Widrich with Nena Kerner and Dave Stewart, 3 Min, OF

Thursday 25.10. 18:00 Kein Heimat Film [Kein Heimat Film –No Destination Home]

The film tells the stories of people who have fled and whose path lead them to a emergency accommodation of a small community in Münsterland in 2015. It'll take several months until they'll be able to finally start a new life in Germany.  Without the use of a commentary, the film shows all the spontaneous moments, the motives of escape, the difficulties and moments of happiness, attachment to one's homeland, Fears, despair and acceptance of destiny, encounters, impatience, and gratitude, giving the people who came to us an authentic  Voice.2018, R: Susanna Wuestneck, 87 Min, OmeU

25:10 20:00 The Boys Next Door

‘Startblok’ is a housing project where Dutch youngsters live together with refugees. Director Bobbie lives in a hallway with Motee from Syria, Meron from Eritrea and Salihou from Senegal. In this film, Bobbie examines how they can live together despite all the cultural differences. This is not always easy.

2017, R: Bobbie Fay Brandsen, 29 Min, OmeU

25:10 20:00 Der schwarze Nazi [Der schwarze Nazi – The black Nazi]

The idea of the story sounds absurd? Well it is. Partly, in any case,  for there are actual examples of black men suddenly becoming followers of Neo-nazis in Germany. However, the film doesn't want to just retell reality, ridiculous exaggerations are also in store.  Just like in black comedy where the viewer's laughter gets stuck in their throat. The film therefore tells not only of swastikas mapped on onto an ECG machine but also of the everyday mistrustful looks a Black man in Germany inevitably receives.

2016, R: Karl-Friedrich König and Tilman König, with Aloysius Itoka, Christian Weber, Bernd-Michael Baier, Judith Jacobs and Michael Specht, 85 Min, OmeU

25.10 16:00 Y

Laura is a self-confident young woman, a member of the new “Me Me Me Generation“, also known as “Generation Y”. Spoilt for choice by life’s abundance of options, Laura has lost track of her own aims and ideals. She’s always looking for something, she just doesn't know what. One night she meets Safi, who has fled her homeland. The encounter gives Laura food for thought.

2017, R: Gina Wenzelwith Maelle Giovanetti and Gina Haller, 23 Min, OmeU

25.10 16:00 Arrival

After months of being on the run, finally, Hasim is sitting on the bus on its way to Stuttgart, his new home. Here he finally wants to find safety and rebuild his life. Quickly, however, he comes across the thick jungle of German bureaucracy and in a loop somewhere between permit of residence and deportation. It's the beginning of a time of unsure waiting.

2015, R: Jan Wittkopp and Simon Schneckenburger, 19 Min, OmeU

16:00 Stories of Refuge

Najwa, a Palestinian separated from her Syrian husband, resides in Lebanon of the Syrian border. Caleb, a young American, faces the challenge to use his voice for an individual suffering from the Syrian Cold War. Syrian millennials across Europe and the Middle East speak with him as he questions his beliefs about free speech. 

2017, R: Caleb P. Hobar with Najwa Khalil, 30 Min, OF

25.10 16:00 Ein Traum im Exil [Ein Traum im Exil –A Dream in Exile]

A lonely man lives in Exile is troubled by severe insomnia. It is triggered by nightmares linked to his mysterious past. He eventually gets questioned about this undeclared past. 

2018, R:Mohamad Shammaa, 17 Min, OmeU

26.10 16:00 Spielen [Spielen –Games]

The European migrant crisis and the impact on German friendships and society. Over 28 million Germans watched the Quarter Final of the European Football Championship Germany v. Italy on 2nd July 2016. Among them were Michael and Alexander, two old friends, who, with their partners, wanted to spend a pleasant evening together in Michael and Ute’s new apartment. Until a current topic overcomes them both.  A film about chess, black and white, and the emergence of deep divisions between two friends. 

2017, R: Marcus Siebler with Stefan Reischl, Andreas Birkeneder, Annika Ziegltrum, Eva Spann, 16 Min, OmeU

26.10.16:00 Zingari D’Acqua [Zingari D’Acqua –There are schipwrecks even here]

Asso, with Dino and Poet, are, as always, in an inn, playing with cards and drinking wine with the owner. It seems a day as always when Nodàr, the local notary, comes into the inn with terrible news: four refugees are taking shelter in their little town, in the North East of Italy. In the meanwhile, another unexpected news is coming. A charming girl enters the inn looking for some bottles of water. The situation takes a turn for the worst when they discover that she’s a coworker of Marco, the social worker that create, in their little town, the new reception center for the refugees.

2017 R: Davor Marinkovic, with Toni Andretta und Matteo Zandoná, 37 Min, OmeU

26.10 16:00 Pulga [Pulga – Flea]

Set in the 1969 war between El Salvador and Honduras –better known as “The Soccer War”– a Honduran foot soldier finds a lone survivor in a raided border town during a recon mission. Moved by mercy, the soldier takes him in and looks after him. Soon enough, the survivor’s presence draws empathy from the Honduran soldier and even from the enemy, who forget about the war for an instant as soon as they see him.

2017, R: Alejandro Irias mit Carlos Corea, 28 Min, OmeU

26:10 16:00 Romanian Diary. Muslim Diary

We risk to become irrelevant to the community and danger lurks our vanity and leads to isolation.  We only listen to opinions that confirm our own.  "Romanian Diary. Muslim Diary" is intended as a communication vehicle, an invitation to dialogue.  How it influences our location and how much we influence the community to which we belong?  Is Culture one of the pillars of the community?  How does Romania look less touristy and less as seen on television?

2017, R: Carmen Lidia Vidu, 11 Min, OmeU

26.10 18:00 Made in Iraq

A young guy opens his eyes to find himself lonely in an unknown place…Does not remember where he was, or who brought him here, and who is he exactly… He finds a recorded cassette in his bag that contains his diaries, so he tries to start searching for his memory and identity.  Was he a killer? Or innocent? A traitor… or patriotic ??? Through all these Contradictions and Hallucinations we learn a lot of stories taken from the bitter reality of Iraq after 2003.

2016, R: Jasin Mohammed Jasim, 70 Min, OmeU

26.10 20:00 Touch of an Angel

I would like to present for your consideration my most recent documentary “Touch of an Angel", which took five years to produce. I searched all over the world for documents to prove the truth of this story. It’s a very personal, poetic tale of a deaf man who returns to the places where he found refuge as a boy. He finds his hiding places bringing back horrific memories. Sounds return to him, which as he describes "shut in him like in a shell". My hero, Henryk Schoenker, remembers people who consumed by fear refused to help and those who selflessly risked their lives. It’s not just a wartime story but an account of how even the smallest gesture can save a life. The film presents completely unknown facts about the existence of a failed Bureau of Emigration of Jews to Palestine in Auschwitz town, run by Schoenker’s father. What went so terribly wrong in a place which became later infamous for its gas chambers? Schoenker speaks about it boldly, looking directly into the eyes of the viewer. The language of my film is deliberately different. Schoenker is a painter. Art played important role in his family’s history. That’s why I decided to use an innovative language that I call archicollage. It requires the viewer’s imagination but I believe that it’s self-explanatory.  I am aware of the problems posed by the contemporary world and I use history as a point of reference for delivering a message of universal importance. Schoenker’s story concerns dilemmas facing today’s Europe such as the status of refugees. My film speaks about the consequences when the response comes too late. I hope that you will also find this story deserving your attention.

2015, R: Marek Tomasz Pawlowski withHenry Schoenker, 60 Min, OmeU

27.10 16:00 In between

Omid is a 15 years old refugee from Afghanistan. He and his family escaped persecution in their homeland and started their trip to Western Europe. They managed to reach Greece, but in the summer of 2016, the borders closed. His family was split. Now he lives in a refugee camp in Athens with his mother and sisters waiting for the family reunification decision. But life doesn't stop. Sit and wait is not an option for Omid.

2017, R: Nikos Katsos, 21 Min, OmeU

27.10 16:00 Broken Earth

«O Canada! Our home and native land!»

2017, R: Alexandre Rufinmit Aymen Bouabdallah, 14 Min, OmeU

27.10 16:00 Die Regenbogenmaschine [Die Regenbogenmaschine–The Rainbowmachine]

Young Eritrean refugee Binjam lives in a container with asylum seeker Omid from Iran. The two work as cleaning staff in a sports club where by chance Binjam's great sprinting talent gets recognized by running coach Helmut. Out of different motives both men start to work on the career of Binjam as an athlete. They have to encounter resistance from society and the envious chairman of the club but yet Binjam hopes to remain in Germany through his sprinting achievements.

2017, R: Samuel Maasho with Meron Kubrom, 30 Min OmeU

27.10 16:00 Hänsel & Gretel Don’t let fear eat you

The fairytale story by Brothers Grimm interpretated in its own way by a group of refugee children age 3 to 15 from Somalia, Syria, Irac, Afghanistan and Jemen.

2017, R: Stefanie Bruhn with Fatima Akberi and Nawas Ghanem, 22 Min, OmeU

27.10 18:00 Freedon Stories

Freedom Stories is a collaborative feature documentary giving voice to former refugees who arrived in Australia seeking asylum and endured years in mandatory detention and/or on Temporary Protection Visas. Now, more than a decade since their arrival, they are all Australian citizens and their inspiring & poignant stories can finally be heard.

2015, R: Steve Thomas, 99 Min, OF

17.10 20:00 Haven in Germany – A test of humanity

Pfinztal is a small town in Southwest-Germany. In October 2015 about 180 refugees moved into the communal housing in Pfinztal. Many citizens welcomed the refugees, helped them to get along, but for some of the refugees seemed to be a threat. In this sense, Pfinztal is an illustration of what is going on in Germany related to the "refugee crisis". Haven in Germany follows a handful people for 1 year (Dec 2015 - Jan 2017) - refugees and Germans. The documentary screens a historic year, shows how the refugees change Pfinztal and how Pfinztal changes the refugees. Face the facts and face the sentiments!.

The daily BNN ( Badische Neueste Nachrichten) wrote in their film review: "Listening, watching, making up one´s own mind: this is a film without comments of the author, but especially this is the reason, why the film is so intense and powerful - an appeal for humanity, which thrilled the audience."

2017, R: Walter L. Brähler, 87 Min, Omeu  

28.10 16:00 Should I stay or should I go -  Perpectives from the Gambia

The Gambia has one of the highest Migration rates worldwide. Going to Europe is a life goal of many Gambians. How does this situation affect the country? Different voices about opinions, perspectives, and experiences related to migration to Europe. A contradictory and rare view on the migration issue.

2017, R: Christian Weinert, 28 Min, OF

28.10 16:00 Sanctuary 

Darioush is an Iranian paperless person in Gothenburg facing his worst nightmare, as two Swedish police officers come knocking. He barely escapes and heads towards his employer to cash out his remaining salary. Later he needs help to work out a plan B and calls everyone in his contact list. Only one person returns his call and offers him a hand; Ali, the human trafficker that served him his entry to Sweden in the first place.  Will Darioush avoid the police hands of the state and once more go into hiding, or will the state representatives finally catch up with him and send him to his certain death abroad?

2017, R: Farid Zarrinbal mit Farid Zarrinbal, 15 Min, OmeU

28.10 16:00 Weird

"Weird" is a short animated film about the diversity.  It is a shout of a girl usual to be judged as weird and different.  She expresses in the monologue her sufferance and her dream to make possible to delete the concept of weird  She thinks that in the end weirdness is only a point of view and that we are all the same.  But sometime during her speech, she falls into the error to indicate something like Weird because again Weirdness depend on each self and a personal perspective

2017, R: Fausto Montanari, 2 Min, OF

28.10 16:00 Testimonies of a Massacre: Tula Toli

Filming in the border areas between Myanmar and Bangladesh and also the Rohingya refugee camps, Shafiur Rahman encountered survivors from what is likely to be the worst massacre of the Rohingya crisis of 2017 - Tula Toli. The film shows distressing images from the border as well as harrowing interviews with refugees who describe mass killings, including the killing of children, rape, and the destruction of entire villages. This film is the first documentary to discuss crucial evidence of pre-planning of the massacre on the part of the Myanmar military and officials designed to drive the Rohingya from their ancestral land. The crisis itself has resulted in well over half a million people, mainly children, fleeing their homes and becoming refugees.

2017, R: Shafiur Rahman, 20 Min, OmeU

28.10 16:00 Finding Water 

In north-western Kenya, one of the driest places on Earth lies the UNHCR Kakuma Refugee Camp. Home to roughly 200,000 refugees, and another 150,000 locals living nearby, getting enough fresh, clean water is one of the major struggles of daily life. In 2016, a team of Canadian geoscientists traveled there to try to find more sources of fresh water.

2017, R:Brendan O'Brien, 30 Min, OF

28.10 18:00 In search of a nation

Desh Khojdai Janda (In Search of a Nation) film narrate more than 120,000 forgotten Nepali-speaking Bhutanese citizen from Bhutan. Who had lived 2 decades and some are still living in a refugee camp in Jhapa and Morang Nepal. Their years of repatriation struggle to their homeland continue with the character Karbari kaka.

2016, R: Prakash Angdembe with Hemanta Budathoki, Baboo Bogati and Meena Koirala, 105 Min, OmeU

28.10 20:00 Grenzenlos [Grenzenlos Geschichten von Freiheit &Freundschaft –Beyond Borders- Stories of Freedom & Friendship]

Films for refugee children, for their friends and for everyone else. This creative documentary (episode film) without dialogues takes the viewer on a journey into children's worlds of different countries, real and dreamed. Ola befriends a giant, a boy from Jordan learns to laugh again, a magnifying glass leads us into a dream world and creates a new friendship, Jumana longs for their homeland and simply turns Germany upside down over and over again ... In these cinematic miniatures, which were designed by filmmakers from countries such as Syria, Iran, Jordan, Germany and Colombia, the whole emotional range of refugee children is renegotiated.

2017, R: Sandra Dajani, Nazgol Emami, Johanna Bentz, Madeleine Dallmeyer, Camilo Colmenares, Diana Menestreyand Khaled Nawal, 79 Min, OmeU

29.10 16:00 The Alien Trail

A documentary following four photographers who captured with their lens the migrant and refugee population in the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Photographers Antoine d'Agata, Nicolas Iordanou, Bieke Depoorter, and Nikos Economopoulos give their own testimony, share their experience and ethical dilemmas on how to document from their perspective, the migrant/refugee crisis.

2018, R: Nicolas Iordanou, 20 Min, OmeU

29.10 16:00 The Pianist of Yarmouk

The real-life story of Aeham Ahmad: a classically-trained musician attempting to escape the war in Syria. Aeham rose to international prominence in 2014, after being filmed singing songs of peace amid the rubble of his beloved hometown of Yarmouk – a besieged Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria.

Surrounded by war, starvation, and displacement, he sought to bring hope to the children of Yarmouk and spread a message of friendship to the outside world. When invading fighters threatened his life, Aeham was forced to flee with his wife and children, embarking on a perilous voyage across land and sea.

This 13-minute debut documentary film by producer/director Vikram Ahluwalia combines animation, original music, and interview, with performance and archive footage, to share Aeham’s remarkable journey.

2017, R: Vikram Ahluwalia mit Aeham Ahmad, 12 Min, OmeU

29.10 16:00 D for Dostojewski He has nothing more to lose than the clothes he is wearing. He´s a stranger in the city of hope. The mission: get a residence permit. In a few hours, he experiences happiness, grief, hope, humility, and disappointment. The number "37.501" becomes his destiny. What remains is a novel by Dostojewski. What comes is a letter that reveals evil.

2017, R: Jaqueline Rauter with Gerhard Lee and Marleen Osinger, 23 Min, OmeU

29.10 16:00 Land of Good -  Seeking asylum in Germany, and finding hatred

Escaping violence in Libya, Abode struggles to belong in a German town that has become a flashpoint of anti-immigrant anger.

2017, R: Ainara Tiefenthäler, 14 Min, OmeU

29.10 16:00 Broken Borders

Noah came to hide as a refugee. Amir seeks a new freedom. But they soon  encounter unexpected obstacles. Slowly, they start realizing that things might not happen as  they hoped they would. The story of this short film, depicts a harsh world where good  intentions can cause ruinous results. We want to show you how people react in extreme  situations in reality. Its all about decisions and their development.

2017, R: Jannis Hollmann & Nikita Menkov with Jannis Hollmann and Abbas Saberi, 23 Min, OF

29.10 18:00 No human is illegal

Completed in 2018, NO HUMAN IS ILLEGAL is a uniquely poetic and truthful documentary about what is arguably one of the darkest and most seminal political historical events of the start of the 21 century: the founding of a zone of exclusion within the Eurozone. The end of March 2018 marks the second anniversary of the ruling body of the Eurozone radically revising its policy regarding undocumented migrants arriving on the Aegean shores of Greece. At that time the European Commission declared undocumented migrants arriving on the Aegean islands would be sent back to Turkey. We were there a few weeks later with our camera on Lesvos—the main point of entry—interviewing people experiencing for the first time camps that had been constructed for the purpose of processing people transformed into concentration camps where people are held today indefinitely. NO HUMAN IS ILLEGAL is a compassionate record of the humanity of these people whom Europe cannot send back because its statements contradict its founding principles nor let in but hold indefinitely on its border.

2018, R: Richard C Ledes, 61 Min, OmeU

29.10 20:00 Forget Winnetou! Loving in the wrong way

“Indians feel no pain!” and “No ‘firewater’ for you, it makes your people crazy!” are comments Natives living in Germany may still hear daily, such as Gerald “Kunu” Dittmer (Ho-Chunk). He grew up in Berlin and has experienced a range of “treatment” from shallow adoration of his “Indianness”, to antagonism and resentment of his heritage, especially if he didn't oblige requests to meet white German expectations.

2018, R: Red Haircrow, 69 Min, OmeU

30.10 16:00 Dangerous Crossings– The making of a campaign

“Dangerous Crossings” is part of a major campaign by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, to spread awareness about the dangers of crossing to war-stricken Yemen through the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea from Africa, highlighting the horrendous conditions and rising risks in Yemen. The music is arranged by acclaimed Hollywood producer George Acogny and the video is directed by Egyptian film director Amr Salama. Aaarmaanta’s song “Tahriib” sowed the seed for the creation of “Dangerous Crossings”, with the Somali lyrics forming the basis of the chorus. The song marks the launch of the UNHCR Dangerous Crossings campaign and intends to send a key message – to make people think very carefully before deciding to cross to Yemen. Prominent artists featuring include – Maryam Mursal and Aarmaanta from Somalia, Yeshie Demalash, Dawit Nega and Tadele Roba from Ethiopia, and Hany Adel from Egypt. "Dangerous Crossings - The Making of a Campaign" is a compilation of the five Behind the Scenes videos intended for distribution on social media, which reveal the writing, rehearsing, recording and filming process of creating an international humanitarian campaign.

2017, R: Ismail Elmokadem, 20 Min, OmeU

30.10 16:00 Strange guests

This film portrays three Dutch families in different stages of life, who host a refugee for three months via voluntary organization Take Care Bnb.

2017, R:  Eva van Pelt, 14 Min, OmeU

30.10 16:00 Welcome to Europe

The agreement between EU and Turkey took effect on March 20th, 2016. Since then, thousands of citizens have been blocked on the refugee camps of the Greek islands suffering a limbus of uncertainty. Abdullah and Wassim are two victims of an unfair system which condemns neglected men and women. This is their story, the same of thousands and thousands of people who just want to escape war and violence in their countries.

2017, R: Celia Hernández García, 18 Min, OF

30.10 16:00 Change of perspective – My new life

From the perspective of two young refugees, the short film gives insights into their new everyday life in Berlin away from their home countries and herewith their challenges and hopes.  The short film also shows the encounters between young refugees from an asylum hostel in Hohenschönhausen/Lichtenberg with youngsters from a local youth club - and encourages a dialogue on how encounter projects for integration/inclusion with the participation of all sides can be done better.

The filmmaker Tresor Ilunga Mukuna was once himself a refugee from DR Congo in South Africa and is currently living with his family in Berlin - Germany

2018, R: Tresor Ilunga and Dayana Dreke with Sajad Sheykhiund Mohammad Alshabani, 26 Min, OmeU

30.10 16:00 Same drum

A story made in Australia for the whole world. Young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds use music to call for all cultures to unite and live in happiness and peace. Sung in four languages: Swahili, Dinka, Kinyarwanda and English, their song delivers a strong message to other newcomers about embracing life in a new country, while never forgetting where you come from.

2018, R: Poppy van Oorde-Grainger, 3 Min, OF

30.10 16:00 Bini

At the outbreak of the Kosovo War, six year old Bini is only thinking about his most prized possession, a piece of candy. When suddenly he and his family are packed into a crowded truck and faced with life threatening obstacles, Bini learns that candy may not be the only thing of value he loses that day.

2018, R: Erblin Nushi with Eshref Durmishi and Fjolla Nushi, OmeU

30.10 18:00 A piece of Germany

A Piece of Germany is a poetic documentary film. It is the story of love towards a long-left homeland. It is about family, friends, home, culture, identity, and “liminality.” It’s about children who unwillingly left their country of birth and since then have been existing in-between in a third culture. The director Ela Elisabeth Beken unlocks the inner dynamics of history to see through the children’s eyes and feel through the children’s hearts. A Piece of Germany envisions a peaceful world where people get along well in peace and friendship regardless of their religion or skin color.

A Piece of Germany goes back in time and depicts a period in history when the Turkish guest workers in Germany and their German hosts were close friends and when religion and nationality did not seem to matter as much. We learn that at that time people were interested in each other’s lives. The immigrants with their “born in Germany” babies were celebrating Christmas holidays, birthdays, and other feasts with their German friends and together they were happy like in fairytales. This went on until the early 1980s when the economic and social conditions changed dramatically.

2018, R: Ela Elisabeth Beken, OmeU

30.10 20:00 Lea and Mira

Lea and Mira tells the story of two elderly Polish Jewish women living in Argentina. As children, they were taken to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where they were imprisoned for two years. Having survived such horror was, in their own words, a miracle. The movie depicts the thoughts of these two women who, in the twilight of their lives, transmit their wisdom, their resilience, and their particular way of looking at the world and life after trauma and horror.  This movie pays homage to the life and its power to triumph over death, even in the face of terrible suffering. 

2017, R: Poli Martinez Kaplunwith Lea Noveraand Mira Stupnik, 52 Min, OmeU

31.10 16:00 88 cents

After losing five years behind bars, a man begins his new life in San Francisco, eager to find a job, a home, and a second chance.

2018, R: Tyler Pina with Matthew Weitz, 37 Min, OmeU

31.10 16:00 Lifeboat

LIFEBOAT showcases the crisis of refugees desperate enough to risk their lives in rubber boats leaving Libya in the middle of the night and pushing off into the unknown, despite a high probability of drowning.

With few resources but certain that civil society must intervene, a team of global volunteers risks the waves of the Mediterranean to pluck refugees from sinking rafts.

In a political environment increasingly hostile to immigrants and refugees, documenting and showcasing the real-life predicament of those fleeing war and oppression is more vital and important than ever. In a real-life context with dire consequences, the LIFEBOAT puts a human face on one of the world’s greatest contemporary, global crises and provides a spark of hope surrounding how civil society can intervene in the refugee crisis in a meaningful way.

2018, R: Skye Fitzgerald, 34 Min, OmeU

31.10 16:00 Tin Can

J.C. came to America as an illegal immigrant when he was just a child. Now, as an adult, he's still an illegal alien but has managed to persevere and prosper working as a rodeo clown. However, after a series of unfortunate events, J.C. finds himself down on his luck and in search of a new happiness. He eventually finds it near the Mexican border but the price he pays could get him kicked out of the only country he knows.

2018, R: Pat Battistini with Carlos Ragas, Kevin. E. Westand many others, 20 Min, OmeU

31.10 18:00 Look away

Europe, rule of law and welcoming land? Look Away reports on what is happening in many cities in Europe by taking the example of Calais. From the demolition of the “jungle” back in October 2016 to the situation one year later, Arthur shared the everyday life with men and women originally from Sudan, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Calais citizens. Highlighting the difference between real life and official statements, this documentary shows the strategy put in place so the exiles would not want to stay there. With unconventional filming methods and the civic eye, the director managed to get footage of the State harassment, the media stage management, but also the mental strength and the sense of humor of the exiles.

2018, R: Arthur Levivier, 85 Min, OmeU

31.10 20:00 Mi viejo rebelde [Mi viejo rebelde –My old rebel dad]

The look of the daughter of Osvaldo Bayer, Argentine historian and journalist, who has been in exile in Berlin / Germany, during the dictatorship of `76 in Argentina. Being a reference for the exiles in Europe has fought against the indifference of the German government on the crimes committed in those years, by the Argentine military. A document in which the family life is seen highlighting the human aspect of the father with his humor and his coherence of his ideals, showing also the continuous search for the identity of the daughter.

2018, R: Ana Bayer with Osvaldo Bayer and Corrado Mignani, 69 Min, OmeU