Spots “Nachhaltiger Filmblick”, Collegium for the Management of Sustainable Development:

“Heavy Potter,” “Popcorn,” “Good Night,” “Eis,” “Scratch,” “Bumerang”

Production: Kollegium für Management und Gestaltung Nachhaltiger Entwicklung (KMGNE)

For the project “Nachhaltiger Filmblick,” a group of 28 students and young professionals from different disciplines produced spots to encourage young people to take interest and participate in political debates about sustainability. “Nachhaltiger Filmblick” is a project by the Collegium for the Management of Sustainable Development, a transdisciplinary research and education institution geared at promoting sustainable development. The object of the project is feed in to an obvious need for effective communication of sustainability and to sketch an “aesthetic of sustainability.”

“Das Rad”/“Rocks”

Directors: Chris Stenner, Heidi Wittlinger, Arvid Uibel.

Producer: Georg Gruber.

Germany, 2001. 8’30’’

Animation, 35 mm.

The stone-people Hew and Kew have seen a lot in their everlasting lives on top of their mountain. Therefore they're only mildly amazed by the ongoings in the valley below - they've got their own little problems to deal with. But all of a sudden, Mankind is discovering and inventing, instead of just woozeling, and this new behavior starts to threaten Hew's and Kew's stoic peacefulness...

The film was nominated for the 75th Academy Awards, in the categories short film/animation and best foreign film/student Oscar. The filmmakers and producer all studied at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg.

“Plac”/”The Market”

Director: Ana Hušman

Croatia, 2006. 9’24’’

Experimental documentary, Beta SP.

In a collaged portrait of a Croatian market, shoppers and buyers in Zagreb talk about the origin of the fruits and vegetables bought and sold. An experimental documentary about the the love for local produce.

Media artist Ana Husman often speeds up durational video, in effect, animating happenings and actions to underscore the development of social mores. She is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts Zagreb and has exhibited her work in numerous galleries at home and abroad.

“Die Deutsche Ostsee”/”The German Baltic Sea”

Director: Hans Cürlis

Germany, 1928. 13’00’’

Silent film, 35 mm.

The silent film about the life of fishermen on the Baltic Sea belongs to the genre of “culture film”. This genre of popular documentary made for a broad audience was widespread in the 1920s - the short films were often screened in the cinema together with a feature film. Coloured as it is by the view of a filmmaker from that time, the film gives an idea of what fishermen’s life, in close contact with the marine environment, used to be like. The film is one of a several-part series by the German director Hans Cürlis.

Hans Cürlis is one of very few German filmmakers who continued making films throughout four different political systems. From 1919 to 1972 he produced several hundred “culture” and educational films. A controversial figure in German film history, he collaborated in propaganda against the Versaille Treaty after the First World War, and worked in the Propaganda Ministry’s Department of Arts during Nazi dictatorship. In the beginning of the 60s, as a member of the Academy of Arts in Berlin, he was involved in establishing the Deutsche Kinemathek, an initiative of filmmaker/collector Gerhard Lamprecht. Cürlis died in Berlin in 1982.

“Heimarbeit“/“Homework“

Director: Fabian Möhrke

Germany, 2003. 2’00’’

Mockumentary, 16 mm.

„We count on homework.“ Klaus and Elisabeth should know, since these Eastern German farmers have been working in poultry production for 27 years. Many people believe that chicken hatch out of eggs but these two professionals know better. Fabian Möhrke studies directing at the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen Konrad-Wolf, Potsdam. He currently lives in Berlin.

“Ropaci”/“Oilgobblers”

Director: Jan Svěrák

Czech Republic, 1988. 20’00’’

Mockumentary, Beta SP.

A fabricated documentary about a new animal species that lives in conditions inhospitable to humans. In 1989, “Oilgobblers” received the most prestigious prize in its category, the Student Oscar for the best foreign film. Jan Svěrák studied documentary filmmaking at the Prague Film Academy (FAMU), where he graduated in 1988. His 1992 feature debut “Elementary School” and his 1996 feature “Kolya” were both nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. He is one of the most prominent Czech filmmakers today, living and working in Prague.

“Zartes Reh”/”Tender Deer”

Director: Claudia Zoller

Germany, 1991. 2’35’’

Animation, 16 mm.

A short animated film about the delights of nature undisturbed.

Claudia Zoller studied at the Academy for Film and Television, HFF Potsdam, and graduated in 2000. She formerly worked as creative director for “Greenlight Media AG” in Berlin for several animated series and an animated feature. Today she works as an independent creative director for animations.

“Finow”

Director: Susanne Quester

Germany, 2002. 7’05’’

Mockumentary, 16 mm.

“Finow” is an independent woodland state whose inhabitants mainly feed on bananas. Their anachronistic environment, however, is threatened by the modern world.

Susanne Quester studied filmmaking at the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen in Munich.

“The Def Song“

Animation: Doctor L and Xavier Reyė

Production: Fat Records / Distribution : Autour de Minuit Productions

Music: Clip Payne and Doctor L

France, 2004. 4’20”

Music Video

At the sound of the “big bang” in an end-of-the-world atmosphere, a surreal collage on the conflicts of our century.

Autour de Minuit is a film production company based in Paris and created in 2001 by Nicolas Schmerkin. The company supports aesthetically innovative projects and develops original graphic worlds with a solid content. Hybridization is at the heart of the artistic approach of most of the works born in the company, allowing an exciting exploration of new ideas and sensations in plastic art and providing exceptional visuals. In 2006, Nicolas Schmerkin received the award for the best French producer of the year in Clermont-Ferrand.