Hof International Film Festival 2024 features 14 FABW productions

When the 58th International Hof Film Festival takes place from October 22 to 27, 2024, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg will be represented with an impressive 14 entries. Film enthusiasts and industry guests can look forward to the following productions from Ludwigsburg:

WAS DU VON MIR SEHEN KANNST (Director: Isabelle Caps-Kuhn) is part of the feature film programme. In this diploma film, Gwen and her boyfriend Adam stumble into an open relationship. What begins as a carefree experiment develops into a whirlpool of jealousy and unexpected feelings. Ultimately, Gwen has to face the familiar fear of being alone.

ALLES OPTIMIERT (Director: Florian Karner) is also in the documentary section. The film shows the well-organized daily life of a 60-year-old father and consultant who has implemented his professional concepts in his private life as well. In his efforts to successfully make his way through life as a “healthy egoist,” he pays little attention to the feelings and needs of those around him.

Also in the documentary section, POLIZEIAKADEMIE (Director: Moritz Schulz) follows three people from very different social and ethnic backgrounds for a year during their training at the Berlin Police Academy. The challenges that arise not only from structural racism and the training itself become clear. The film also reflects the growing diversity and profound changes in German society.

The other FABW entries are in the short film category:

In DETLEV (director: Ferdinandt Ehrhardt), a man in his mid-forties who is always cold drives to a lonely gas station every evening and orders a microwaveable slice of toast Hawaii. Detlev devotes himself to this in a bizarre ritual, because it is the only thing that gives him warmth. However, when a stranger watches him doing so one night, his world begins to fall apart.

The setting of HEARTWARE (Director: Leander Behal) is the “Nicecream” ice cream parlor, which is open 24/7 and whose staff consists exclusively of androids. When waiter Echo destroys himself by eating raspberry ice cream, his colleague Clu falls into a deep mourning that his colleague Lia does not seem to share. Lia is forced to watch helplessly as Clu takes increasingly drastic measures to ease his pain.

In LOONEY EYE 2 – THE MOVIE (Director: Alexander Fischer {Peskador}) a washed-up private detective in Los Angeles, Norman Hope, is hired by a client to hunt down an invaluable object: a burger.
Will he succeed in finding the stolen object? And what is the story of the mysterious man in white who follows the investigator everywhere?

In NO MORE POOLTIME (Director: Jonas Baumann), a new pool owner faces a moral dilemma between keeping his promise to his young daughter and attending his new partner's charity event for a drinking water project in Africa. This graduation film is a satirical drama about double standards, guilty conscience and the vicious circle of a culture of blame, where everything is at stake except water.

In PRINCE DE LA VILLE (Director: Kevin Koch*, Amina Krami), 14-year-old Hamid grows up with his single mother in a suburb of Paris. The teenager has expanded his family to include his football team, where he takes on responsibility as captain. One day, his Algerian father turns up after years of absence and questions Hamid's chosen family.

In the diploma film REISS DICH ZUSAMMEN (Director: Malin Koch*), Anne had hoped to spend the day with Bine, the pool attendant, with whom she has a secret crush. But she is stuck in Helena's clique, where she is invisible. Between French fries and the ten-meter diving platform, she tries to find the courage to become visible.

In SÉANCE (Director: Simon Morzé), Ben visits his sister Felice at their childhood home for her birthday. The reserved reunion takes on a dramatic turn when Felice reveals to her brother that she has invited “Dad”. However, he was never their father. While waiting for his arrival, old wounds come to the surface.

In SECHSHUNDERT WARM (director: Oskar Stolovits), the couple Carina and Lasse want to sublet their BDSM room as a shared room. However, the couple is looking for an additional sexual partner in their new roommate Theo. But the plan gets out of hand and the two have to rethink their relationship.

In the guise of a sci-fi dramedy, SHUT UP AND SUFFER (director: Emma Bading) takes a critical look at the current situation regarding abortions in Germany: the two non-terrestrial beings Ryk and Nono are transported to Earth by a job change. When they want to perform an abortion, they are confronted with the hurdles of German bureaucracy in the guise of the overworked gynecologist Dr. Kratzmann.

In the diploma film TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT (director: Lea Thurner*), seven women over 30 anonymously reflect on their realities and their femininity. Emma discovers her freedom through submission, Lejla through courage, and Ruth talks about how she used to feel overwhelmed by having a uterus and being able to carry something to term...

In the documentary WHAT HAPPENED TO MY OLIVE TREE? (Director: Sama Zuhair), a young girl in Baghdad climbs an olive tree for three years that her father planted when she was born. She watches as her neighbors return from work and soldiers with weapons patrol the streets. Finally, her family flees to Egypt in search of safety. The girl, traumatized and suffering from memory loss, tries to recover her memories and resolve her most pressing question: “What happened to my olive tree?”

The International Hof Film Festival, founded in 1967, is one of the most important film festivals in Germany, especially for young talent. It is considered a festival of new discoveries. In six days, a total of around 130 feature films, documentaries and short films will be shown. The combination of short and long films in one screening is unique. In addition to the on-site screenings, many films can also be viewed online on the HoF On-Demand platform until November 3.

Further Information and film credits:
https://hofer-filmtage.com

*Kevin Koch, Malin Koch, Amina Krami and Lea Thurner are scholarship holders of the foundation Baden-Wuerttemberg Stiftung and participated in an international exchange programme as part of their studies.