Neon-Orange Cows and Anarchistic Grandmothers
By Sarah Stähli

This year's Berlinale Talent Campus theme "Home Affairs — Privacy, Films and Politics" seems to be a very stimulating springboard for aspiring filmmakers. Applying for the Campus involves either a one-minute extract from existing work or a short film of approximately five minutes, dealing with the Campus theme. Fourteen promising examples from twelve different countries, chosen from the countless clips submitted, were shown yesterday evening in a packed HAU 2. Campus director Dorothee Wenner presented the films and introduced the young Talents together with Merle Kröger.

The "Home Affairs" theme was interpreted by the participants in diverse ways. Whether it was an homage to a city or a country, or a person representing "home" for the filmmakers, one aspect often explored was the clash between political and private issues.

Other films didn't deal with the feeling of home so much, but rather with its converse: feeling homesick, not belonging somewhere, or feeling a stranger in your own country. "Home" could also mean a chatroom or an internet video blog — alarmingly represented in the two intriguing contributions, Bangkok Tanks (Thailand) and Real Models (Germany).

A remarkably high number of experimental projects figure among the films selected: "found-footage" films or fake documentaries, some more convincing than others. Outstanding entries include Drawing Wishes and Sukiyaki — A Conversation Piece, both from Japan, telling their story mainly on the audio level in a highly original way. A simple yet excellent concept forms the basis of director Simone Bennett's gem, Ginger Binger (UK). An anarchistic grandmother's comments as she reads a tabloid newspaper had the audience in stitches. Neon-Orange Cow (Germany) depicted Berlin from an unusual angle with a mysterious protagonist.

Orquesta Tipica (Argentina) by Argentinean director Nicolas Entel ended the programmed on a high note. It's a wonderfully hilarious piece about a group of street musicians at the centre of a conflict between a law-abiding policeman and some culture-loving pedestrians.

These fourteen films as well as all the other "Home Affairs" contributions can be watched any time on the computer screens available in the Berlinale Talent Campus locations in HAU 1 and 2.

After the screening the directors were asked about their projects and their relationship to the term "home". Ugandan director Caroline Kamya used the chance she had in front of a big audience, to pitch her feature film project and look for a producer and financing. Her entry, Supa Star (Uganda), served as a brief foretaste of what the full-length film could be.

Sarah Stähli

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