11 films | 68 min.

Saturday | 29 November | 19:30

 

Short Films 2: Bodies Writing (Hi-)Stories

Filmforum NRW im Museum Ludwig
Bischofsgartenstr. 1 | 50667 Cologne

 

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Diving into the wreck © Michael Maurissens 185413_10.1.1

DIVING INTO THE WRECK

Egypt 2025, 8′
Director & Cinematography: Michael Maurissens
Choreography & Performance: Salma Salem

Synopsis

In a monochrome dreamscape, the boundaries between human and nature blur as a woman drifts under the weight of memory and time – a haunting visual poem woven from fragility, resilience, and the quiet unfolding of the self.

Diving into the Wreck is a black-and-white dance film unfolding as a sensual cinematic ritual of femininity – a poetic excavation of memory, resilience, and the female body in relation to the raw forces of nature. Shot in Egypt’s barren landscapes, where the horizon stretches into nothingness, the film shifts between silence and eruption, surrender and resistance. Guided by Adrienne Rich’s language in Diving into the Wreck, this experimental video poem questions what it means to live in a female body shaped by silence and survival.

YES! © Madli Lääne Photo 3 Cruise_Terminal_3

YES!

Estonia 2024, 3′
Director: Madli Lääne
Choreography: Raido Mägi

Synopsis

The corners, slopes, dead ends, and curves of the Tallinn Cruise Terminal invite reflection on the dilemmas of a performance-driven society. Should we conform to the grid – or dare to be wrong? Based on a poem by 2023 European Poetry Slam Champion Joonas Veelmaa.

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PURGATORIO

USA 2024, 6′
Director & Choreography: Stephanie Miracle
Cinematography & Editing: Auden Lincoln-Vogel

Synopsis

You can’t win a game whose rules you don’t know – but you also can’t lose it. A dystopian universe of gymnasium-like spaces unfolds as the nesting begins. A site-specific dance film with an experimental fusion of choreography, cinematography, and sound.

Room with view © Maria Baranova

ROOM WITH A VIEW

France 2020, 5′
Director & Choreography: (LA)HORDE – Marine Brutti, Jonathan Debrouwer, Arthur Harel

 

Synopsis

In this music video from Rone’s eponymous album, (LA)HORDE explores forms of protest and resistance through dance. The camera work and the dancers’ movements allow the filmmakers to depict the unimaginable, questioning the physical relationships between individual and group with even greater harshness and estrangement – through potential breakdowns. Shot just days before the first 2020 lockdown at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, it feels like one last rave before the apocalypse.

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PODIUM

Israel 2025, 2′
Director: Dor Averbuch
Choreography: DanDan Cohen & Ori Manor

 

Synopsis

When nineteen dancers of the Batsheva Ensemble take over the running track of an athletics stadium as their podium, chaos ensues. For them, the tartan track becomes a starting point and source of inspiration for ideas and experiments – an expression of everything that drives and fascinates them.

SYNCOPE_© Linus von Stumberg Still_1

SYNCOPE

Switzerland 2023, 21′
Director: Linus von Stumberg
Choreography: Sarafina Beck

 

Synopsis

After Whim survives the unconventional audition for the dance piece Syncope, the choreographer is still not satisfied with her full commitment. Yet what she and the other dancers experience in rehearsals is only a foretaste of what his dark vision will demand of them. They must dance for their lives.

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FREEWAY

Hungary 2024, 3′
Director: Suzanna Kiss
Choreography: Bence Balogh

Synopsis

Ben leaps onto an abandoned truck in the middle of the Hungarian plains and dances his emotions away on the moving vehicle – free of fear and danger. Pure performance, with fragments of thought intensifying the feeling.

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THE END IS THE NEW START

Hungary 2022, 1’20”
Director: Dóra Sallak
Choreography: Imre Katona

Synopsis

A dancer remains a dancer, no matter what difficulties life may bring.

Ode Maritima_(c) Fu Le_1

NAVAL ODE

Portugal 2024, 6′
Director: Fu Le
Choreography: Magalie Lanriot

Synopsis

The poem Naval Ode – Ode Marítima by Fernando Pessoa captures the moment of separation between quay and ship, and thus the distance – between inside and outside, between self and other. The text takes shape in a mysterious, floating dance, infused with nostalgic longing that swells like a sail.

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DISCONNECTED

Spain 2024, 5′
Director: Roger Bayerri
Choreography: Kike Granero

Synopsis

Spain 2024: Smartphones have undoubtedly changed our lives, influencing almost every aspect of our daily routines. A group of young dancers explores the impact of technology in a dynamic interplay of dance and camera.

Better not kill the groove (c) Jonathan Leggett1

BETTER NOT KILL THE GROOVE

Switzerland 2024, 7′
Director & Concept: Jonathan Leggett

Synopsis

In search of his identity through scootering and self-discovery, a young boy explores his relationship to body and emotion. Composed from material collected online, the film documents the character’s attempt to cope with existential restlessness.