SHORT NEWS

Berlinale 2012: Five Austrian films selected for FORUM and PANORAMA

 

Umut Dağ’s feature debut Kuma will be opening Berlin’s Panorama, The Wall by Julian Pölsler,Faith Love Death by Peter Kern, Spain by Anja Salomonowitz and What Is Love by Ruth Mader complete a strong Austrian presence at the 62nd Berlinale (9-19 feb).


 

PANORAMA

  • KUMA by Umut Dağ Panorama opening film
  • THE WALL by Julian Roman Pölsler Panorama Special
  • FAITH LOVE DEATH by Peter Kern Panorama

 

FORUM

  • SPANIEN by Anja Salomonowitz
  • WHAT IS LOVE by Ruth Mader

 

 

PANORAMA

KUMA by Umut Dağ (Wega Film)

Panorama opening film 


supported by: Austrian Film Institute, ORF, FISA


Fatma lives in Vienna with her family, and they maintain the traditions of their old homeland, Turkey. When the young Turkish woman Ayse marries into the family, the two women develop a friendship based on deep trust. “Kuma” is the story of this relationship, and of the rift that develops between them when Ayse oversteps the limits Fatma has laid down.

with: Nihal Koldaş, Begüm Akkaya, Vedat Erincin, Dilara Karabayir, Murathan Muslu



THE WALL by Julian Roman Pölsler (coop99 filmproduktion, Starhaus Filmproduktion (D))

Panorama Special 


supported by: Austrian Film Institute, ORF, Film Fund Vienna, Land Oberösterreich



A woman wakes up one morning in a cabin in the mountains and finds herself surrounded by an invisible and impenetrable wall, behind which there is apparently no more life. With a dog, a cow and a cat she meets the new challenges of her new life.

FAITH LOVE DEATH by Peter Kern (Kulturfabrik Austria)


Panorama Special 



Mary (82) picks up her son Peter (63) from a home for the disabled to take him for a vacation ride on a houseboat. They take a hitchhiker from Africa but the mother gets rid of the intruder quickly. Life in the houseboat turns claustrophobic. The two become prisoners of their feelings, they do not realise that their inability to love combined with their fear of strangers drives them into terror, which originates in prejudice.

with: Traute Furthner, Peter Kern, Joao M. Pedrosa



 

FORUM 




SPAIN by Anja Salomonowitz (Dor Film)


supported by: Austrian Film Institute, ORF, FISA, Film Fund Vienna


Spain is a story of love, quests and obsessions. A stranded stranger embarks upon a search for justice. Instead he finds a mysterious woman, whose desperately aggressive ex-husband is searching for words that might bring her back to him, while a crane operator with a gambling addiction is tempting fate.

with: Tatjana Alexander, Grégoire Colin, Lukas Miko, Cornelius Obonya


 
WHAT IS LOVE by Ruth Mader (KGP Kranzelbinder Gabriele Production)


supported by: Austrian Film Institute, ORF, FISA, Film Fund Vienna, Land Niederösterreich, Cinestyria



This film is a portrait of life, a portrait of people with varying life plans. It asks the meaning of life, about how to fill the gap between birth and death, and what is happiness. Short documentary pieces tell the stories of some very different protagonists of a generation: from the forest-owning family in their stately home to the factory worker following her daily routine.