LUSOFEST SHORT FILM SOFT OPENING (Documentary, Fiction)

LUSOFEST KURZFILM SOFT OPENING

Tue, 20 January 2025, 19h00 (doors 18h30), Digital Retro Park, Offenbach
Short films from Germany, Brazil, Portugal, ov with subtitles, ~100 min

FREE ADMISSION

English

Two days before the feature film programme begins, we will be getting into the festival spirit at Digital Retro Park and showing a number of documentaries and short films from our competition programme. As is customary for us, films from the Rhine-Main region will be screened alongside entries from the Portuguese-speaking world. The competition entries will be judged by a jury as well as by the audience, who will determine the audience winners with their votes.

The short films submitted did not have to follow a specific theme, but simply had to be less than 20 minutes long and have a connection to either a Portuguese-speaking country or the Rhine-Main region and Hesse. (Nevertheless, a striking number of submissions this year revolved around the element of water – in keeping with this year’s feature film focus under the motto ‘Be Water, my Friend’). This year, for the first time, we also allowed the submission of medium-length films over 20 minutes. Some of these are shown in a separate category. We have included two of them in Tuesday’s programme.

19:00 – Lights, Camera, Activism (Documentary II)

»Maybe the Wind Knows Your Name« (Talvez o Vento Saiba Seu Nome), Alexis Müller, Duda Machado, Brazil 2025, 12’, OV with English subtitles
»Water in the Gills« (Água nas Guelras), Marco Schiavon, Portugal 2022, 25’, OV with English subtitles🌊
»The Colours of Grief« (As Cores do Luto), Mariana Lima Mateus, Portugal 2024, 20’, OV with English subtitles

Click here for further details!

The focus of ‘Maybe the Wind Knows Your Name’ (Talvez o Vento Saiba Seu Nome) is the search for clues by expectant mother Manuela, who learns during her pregnancy that her biological mother is a missing victim of the Chilean dictatorship. ‘Water in the Gills’ (Água nas Guelras) tells the story of Franz, a man of German descent who emigrated to the Azores with his parents in his youth and has since lived there in harmony with the tides and the local rhythm. ‘The Colours of Grief’ (As Cores do Luto) takes us to the Portuguese countryside, where we delve into the past together with the elderly residents.

20:00 – In Fact You’re Just Fiction! (Fiction II)

»Am See« Tillmann Ahmed Cyrill Zizka, Germany 2025, 9’, OV with English subtitles🌊
»The Dishreader« (Pratomancia), Fernando Haro, Brazil 2024, 24’, OV with English subtitles
»Once Upon a Time in the Apocalypse« (Era Uma Vez no Apocalipse) Tiago Pimentel, Portugal 2024, 20’, OV with English subtitles

Click here for further details!

‘Am See‘ portraits two friends by the lake. Not just any lake, but the Offenbach Schuldheißweiher. Accompanied by music and sunshine. But one glance too long at a naked torso becomes a problem. In ‘The Dishreader’ (Pratomancia), Sergio’s partner dies under mysterious circumstances. During the investigation, Sergio meets his colleague, who can read the future from the dishes of a French restaurant. ‘Once Upon a Time in the Apocalypse’ (Era Uma Vez no Apocalipse) is an atmospherically dense chamber play set in a snow-covered hut in a dystopian future.

This screening is made possible thanks to the generous support of Xerox Exotique, Soziale Plastik e. V. (Waggon im Exil) and Digital Retro Park e. V. We will be showing the programme in two blocks with short breaks and, where appropriate, short Q&As. You are welcome to come and go (out of consideration for the other audience members) between blocks or films. You can find the complete programme of short and medium-length films on our overview page. Admission to the screening is free, but we welcome donations on site and registrations in advance via Eventbrite or the Facebook event.