12 German films and co-productions have been programmed at Hot Docs in Toronto, the most important documentary festival in North America. Four films can be seen as world premieres from 23 April to 3 May 2015, with another five celebrating their North American premiere at the festival.
The world premiere of POSSESSED BY DJINN by the Jordanian-Palestinian film-maker Dalia Al-Kury (DE/JO), who investigates a controversial and little known aspect of Islamic culture: the belief in djinn, is programmed in the World Showcase. ORIGINAL COPY by Florian Heinzen-Ziob and Georg Heinzen will have its world premiere in Screen to Screen. The first feature-length documentary by Florian Heinzen-Ziob is about Mumbai's last movie poster artist and his struggles to pass on his legacy to the next generation.
A world or international premiere at the IDFA in Amsterdam, Europe's largest documentary festival, and a North American premiere at the Hot Docs in Toronto - that's something no less than three German films and co-productions have managed this year. Two of them are graduation films from the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg:
ABOVE AND BELOW (CH/DE) by director Nicolas Steiner about five eccentric individuals in an apocalyptic world, will screen in the International Spectrum competition in Toronto.
Matthias Bittner's WAR OF LIES, co-presented by the Goethe-Institut Toronto, can be seen as one of the Special Presentations. The film is the story of an Iraqi chemical engineer whose information about mobile weapons of mass destruction passed to the BND, MI6 and CIA and was used by the US government to legitimize the invasion of Iraq.
THE QUEEN OF SILENCE by Agnieszka Zwiefka (DE/PL) about the ten-year-old Denisa, who lives illegally in a Polish Roma camp, will have its North American premiere in Hot Docs' World Showcase after being programmed in the IDFA competition.
ON THE RIM OF THE SKY (DE/CN) was first seen in the Semaine de la Critique in Locarno. The film by the director Hongjie Xu, who has been living in Germany for several years, will screen in Toronto's World Showcase and takes its audience on a journey to the Chinese village of Gulu high up in the mountains of Sichuan.
Three German shorts are also featured in the Hot Docs program: DICTATOR’S HOTEL by Florian Hoffmann (DE/CF) and POEM OF THE DAY by Youdid Kahveci will have their world premieres in Shorts. IMRAAN, C/O CARROM CLUB by Udita Bhargava (DE/IN) will have its North American premiere in the Made in India sidebar.
All of the German films and co-productions at Hot Docs 2015:
International Spectrum
ABOVE AND BELOW by Nicolas Steiner (CH/DE, Flying Moon Filmproduktion)
World Showcase
CENSORED VOICES by Mor Loushy (IL/DE, Made in Germany Filmproduktion)
ON THE RIM OF THE SKY (MORGEN WIRD ES SCHÖNER SEIN) by Hongjie Xu (DE/CN)
POSSESSED BY DJINN (BESESSEN VON JINN) by Dalia Al-Kury (DE/JO, Lichtblick Film)
THE QUEEN OF SILENCE by Agnieszka Zwiefka (DE/PL, Ma.ja.de. Filmproduktion)
Special Presentations
WAR OF LIES (KRIEG DER LÜGEN) by Matthias Bittner (zischlermann filmproduktion, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Film- & Fernsehlabor Ludwigsburg)
Screen to Screen
CHUCK NORRIS VS COMMUNISM by Ilinca Calugareanu (GB/RO/DE, Kloos & Co. Medien)
ORIGINAL COPY by Florian Heinzen-Ziob & Georg Heinzen (polyphem Filmproduktion)
Made in India
IMRAAN, C/O CARROM CLUB by Udita Bhargava (DE/IN, Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF)
Outstanding Achievement Award Retrospective
NOSTALGIA FOR THE LIGHT by Patricio Guzmán (CL/FR/DE/ES/US, Blinker Filmproduktion)
Shorts
DICTATOR’S HOTEL by Florian Hoffmann (DE/CF, DFFB)
POEM OF THE DAY by Youdid Kahveci
source: German Films
image: "Morgen wird es schöner sein“ (On the rim of the sky / Ming Tian Hui Geng Hao) by Hongjie Xu
