Hof Film Festival, Germany Wrap Up -- Old & New

In the final analysis the 43rd edition of Hof is an important part of international film geography. It offers an intimate relaxed setting where recent German film school graduates can showcase their debut features and German film business vets can see who and what is coming up and can discuss their own issues among themselves. From the retrospective of Lou Castelwho was honored in person to the film which we honor here for its exemplary production value, casting choices and thoughtfulness depicting a beautiful young woman's possibilities for love and her simultaneous loneliness and to the final soccer match between the townies and the film folks, this festival was a great pleasure to attend.

A bit more on the 43 minute film we are discussing here. Streiflichter or Sidelights was financed by the Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR). It was scored by Moritz Schmittat, a Berlinale talent written about in my blog about music in September, another evidence of the talented choices of the director-writer Lena Knauss, a graduate of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. The star, Sandra Borgmann, is someone we would like to see more of and in a larger part than her last part as Ruth in The Baader Meinhof Complex. We would especially like to follow Lena on her journey into features because we see her on a heretofore little traveled road expressing deeply held and seldom expressed sentiments of a thoughtful woman with visual, story and dramatic talents. She seems to be pointing the way to a new thematic approach to female subject matter and internal struggles of female characters. At least we hope so.

Hofer Filmtage 2009 Day 2 Women Filmmakers

More of the trade came in Thursday night including Rainer Kölmel who sold Kinowelt to Pathe just before the latest market crash and who has produced The Two Lives of Daniel Shore, playing here. Daniel Gluckau is still acquiring films for Kinowelt and has just had a son born. Former Kinowelt sales man Stlios Ziannis has created his own international sales agency Aktis Film whose film 13 Semester is premiering here and was produced by 20th Century Fox Germany signaling their possibly renewed interest in German production. This film, depicting life in college is a new subject for German film. Aktis also intends to enter coproductions as well. Also attending are Rudy Tjio of Universum UFA who will also be attending AFM, Antonio Exacoustos of ARRI Media Worldsales, Wigbert Moschall of mdc int., Prokino's Ira von Gienanth, MFA's Christian Meinke

Women in film are receiving some press these days, from an article discussing possible Oscar Best Director award to women, IndieWire's Celluloid Ceiling article at the London Film Festival, an earlier blog of mine, Toronto notes I made about the notable number of films made by women (around 51). And now, reviewing the Hof roster, of 39 shorts, 13 are by women and of 56 features, 14 are by women:


Nothing Personal, Urszula Antoniak, Polish born, German educated. Film is in English.
Porgy & Me, Susanna Boehm, German. Film is in English
Urville, Angela Christlieb, (Cinemania). German. Film is in French
The Song of Two Horses, Byambasuren Davaa. Mongolian.
One out of Eight, Sabine Derflinger. German
Queen of Hearts, Valerie Donzelli. French
Lourdes, Jessica Hausner. French
Wenn Die Welt Uns Gehoert, Judith Keil, Antje Kruska. German
Men on the Bridge, Asli Ozge, Turkish (The Turkish-German films are creating the most buzz among Germans these days)
Mazel Tov, Mischka Popp, German (There is usually 1 but this year are 2 Jewish films (also Such a Schlmazzel which was sold out)
Der innere Krieg , Astrid Schult, German
Hughezovka, Viola Stephan, German
Geburt, Silvia Haselbeck
Schwarz auf Weis, Susanne Jaeger