Regie: Alexander Rastorguev, Susanna Baranzhieva 

WILD WILD BEACH zeigt eigenwillige Portraits von Menschen am Meer, deren Leben von Wodka, Karaoke und Gewalt bestimmt ist. Der Film lässt tief in die Abgründe der menschlichen Seele blicken. Der Titel gebende wilde Badestrand an der Schwarzmeer-Küste bot schon einmal die Szenerie für einen Dokumentarfilm. In "Broadway. Black Sea" wollten die Filmemacher ein cineastisches Modell unserer Welt am Beispiel dieser sommerlichen Ansiedlung von Menschen am Strand schaffen. Seit dem Ende der Dreharbeiten von "Broadway" sind Jahre vergangen. In diesen Jahren kam der Gedanke auf, dass zu viele Geschichten noch nicht zu Ende erzählt wurden. Deshalb kehrt Vitaly Mansky, jetzt in Begleitung des Regisseurs Alexander Rastorguev, zurück in diesen Mikrokosmos der russischen Gesellschaft und begegnet einigen Protagonisten von damals wieder, so zum Beispiel Evgeni, der sich noch immer als Strandfotograf mit seinem Kamel mehr schlecht als recht durchs Leben schlägt. Gemeinsam zeichnen die Regisseure ein einzigartiges Bild vom Zustand der Welt, in der wir heute leben, eine Welt voller Ironie und Trauer, menschlicher Aufrichtigkeit und Heuchelei, geprägt von Liebe und Verrat: und das alles erzählt mit Melancholie vor sommerlicher Strandkulisse. Die deutsch-russische Koproduktion WILD WILD BEACH wurde beim diesjährigen Internationalen Dokumentarfilm-Festival IDFA 2006 in Amsterdam mit dem Spezialpreis der Jury ausgezeichnet. Bei der Preisvergabe am 3. Dezember 2006 hieß es in der Begründung: " Ein mutiger, unnachgiebiger, bewusst unpopulärer und bewusst geschmackloser Film, der die brutalsten Seiten der Putin-Ära Russlands zeigt. Gedreht an einem Strand am Schwarzen Meer begeht er Grenzüberschreitungen und hat dadurch die extremsten Reaktionen innerhalb der Jury ausgelöst: sowohl positiver als auch negativer Art.". Dokumentarfilm von Vitaly Mansky und Alexander Rastorguev

 

Regie: Alexander Rastorguev, Susanna Baranzhieva 

Yaptik-Hasse is one of the younger members of the very large Yaptik family. He is also their good spirit and therefore privileged to ride on a holy slide. As it is the end of August the Nenets people commence their journey on the 'middle-world' as usual (under-world - the north, upper-world - the south, middle-world - the way). Their camp was in Tundra, on the Yamal Peninsula. We meet Jarkalyn, who is only one year old and Jako, his two and a half years old brother, who is already very precise at throwing the lasso; there is also Ejne, without children, the parents, and the 90 years old shaman Iri Tadibe (felt age: 35) as well as the eldest, Chado, who was all her life considerate of the reindeers and therefore never carried or pulled by them. Film-maker Edgar Bartenev chooses three different means to tell the story of the breathtaking everyday life of these Siberian nomads. Music (relatively aggressive, structuring the rhythm of perception), inter-titles (fairy-tale-like and funny), and last but not least a camera. Yet, the latter is used in a very sophisticated way, well above the feature-film standard. The result is one of the most exciting forms to reanimate the ethnographic genre in an alienated way!

 

Regie: Marco Wilms 

Isaar, the unique Indian tailor, sets off on an adventurous trip across Europe to his once faithful customers, in hope of new orders, the reunion with old friends and in hope of love. Marco Wilms accompanies Issar on his trip through European cities, living rooms and mentalities. This final journey is also Issar's last chance to fulfill a secret wish: his first role as Bollywood star - in Europe's first Bollywood documentary!

 

Regie: Gerd Kroske 

In the 80's, new border barrier systems were used in the former GDR. The escape attempts with cars towards West Germany increased. Metal workers and Stasi (Ministry for State Security) are working hand in hand for the defence against “terrorism” in order to prevent escape attempts. In conspiratorial work they created new barriers after their actual working hours. Crash tests for the defence against terrorism, collisions for the case of emergency. Cars crashing into the new barricades, leaving a total loss. From the mid-80s those barriers were installed at all border crossing points. The film is about the motivation of all who were involved, from tragic ending escapes and gives insight into the German engineering ingenuity and the military spirit. Pure GDR archeology Original dialogue:: Question: „Why did they use cars from West Germany for their tests?” Answer: „In a Trabant automobile, it would have been a futile attempt already thwarted by the wire mesh."

 

Regie: Peter Kerekes 

This documentary film about the Old Swimming Pool in Ko?ice, where the history came to bathe, was made over the summer seasons 2000 to 2002. Seen through several stories which unfolded between the years 1936 and 2002, the film captures 66 seasons at the popular swimming pool, and also the same number of years in the history of Central and Eastern Europe. The film is supported by the reminiscences of several visitors to the ??éhá?ko?, as the pool was known, which the film crew try to reconstruct years later. The swimming pool thus acquires another metaphysical dimension ? it resembles a model of the world where, with greater intensity, private stories merge with universal history. Different generations of swimmers replaced one another over the course of the decades, only the craving for water as a place of absolute equality and also a source of security remains just as strong.

 

Regie: Vitalo Mansky 

Refugees from the Caucasian republics, Armenians, Azerbaijanis and Russians, meet on the shore of the Black Sea: they work as shop keepers, life guards, karaoke singers, or just enjoy their holidays. It all happens at a place called Broadway, which is no-where to be found on a map, not even the most detailed ones. The temporary inhabitants of Broadway construct a whole world en miniature, consisting of small carts, tents or booths parked in close, haphazard rows. eintragen102 rows. The scenery, which is put up for a few weeks during the summer, bubbles with life - and in no way corresponds with ordinary daily life in Russia.

 

Regie: Yury Khashchavatski 

Three months before elections the president of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko claimed: "You have no other choice, you will vote for me!" This is exactly how it happened in March 2006. We started to film in January 2006, two months before elections, and continued through the whole year. We were trying to figure out how did it happen that 83% of population voted for Lukashenko? The film tracks the opposition struggle during few post-election days. Using a lot of archive material imprinted in the course of Lukashenko's governing author draws a parallel between history and recent days. The movie shows the falsehood of the official propaganda and the ambiguous, sometimes polar, attitude of simple people. Assembling together all the debris of the opinions, comparing different historical events, jeering at dictator's arrogance and manners, admiring courage and dedication of the young generation, the feature approaches the understanding of what is really going on in the center of Europe. And one more thing - the director's sarcastic comment throughout the film does not make you bored!