Brundibár – Bridges across Time and Space (2016)
Section: Documentary Films
Directed by: Arno Aschauer
Austria, 2016, 88 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
In September 2015, 22 students from Neue Musikmittelschule Wiener Neustadt take a trip to the former Theresienstadt ghetto. It’s here where the children’s opera ‘Brundibár’ was originally performed that they wish to prepare for their own interpretation of this work of music. They are the same age as the original children were who performed it: 12-14 years old. The city’s past is still palpable, When the children meet Evelina Merová, an 85-year-old witness to what happened here in 1943, when she was just a girl of 13, she passes on a legacy to them: “Don’t allow yourself to be manipulated. Follow your conscience. Think twice. Human values lie inside a person, not in his or her outer appearance...“
Sami Blood (2016)
Section: International Competition of European First Films
Directed by: Amanda Kernell
Sweden, Denmark, Norway, 2016, 110 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3
Score:
The Scandinavian variant of a shameful practice employed by self-proclaimed “civilized" nations around the world in the 19th and 20th centuries: the systematic removal of Indigenous children from their parents, homes, and traditional lifestyles and forced integration into an educational system that taught them that their customs and lifestyles were inferior at best. Elle Marja is a teenage Sámi girl in the 1930s who is sent to a boarding school intended on raising its Indigenous charges to a level "acceptable" to the rest of Swedish society. Curious and excited, Elle Marja at first excels in her new surroundings, mastering the Swedish language and her other lessons while her younger sister, Njenna, struggles. But this very success, coupled with Elle Marja's intense desire to be accepted by her teachers, her internalization of the school's vile lessons about race and class, and her burgeoning sexuality, soon drives a wedge between her and her fellow students, forcing her to take an action she may not have the opportunity to regret.
Gasping for Air (2016)
Section: Night Horizons
Directed by: Carlo Obispo
Philippines, 2016, 104 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
Luis is a teenage boy on the idyllic fishing island of Silag. He goes through the regular trials of adolescence with his childhood sweetheart, Maricar, while his younger sister, Lulu busies herself by joining amateur singing contests in hopes of becoming a star. One day, a talent manager discovers her singing and offers her to undergo vocal coaching in Manila, and later to join a popular TV singing contest. Lulu eagerly takes the opportunity and leaves for the city, thinking her dreams are finally coming true. However, after a few months, Lulu’s family loses communication with her. This drives Luis to go to Manila in search for his sister.
Storm - Letter of Fire (2016)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Dennis Bots
Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, 2016, 105 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 1
Score:
What if you are suddenly on your own and anyone could be your enemy? 12-year-old Storm ends up on an adventure when his father Klaas accepts a new job. He secretly prints forbidden texts in his print shop. Storm's mother does not like this one bit; it’s dangerous to have different opinions. The safe life Storm knew is turned upside down when Klaas gets caught in the act. Storm flees just in time with the original letter and becomes the focus of a manhunt. He gets help from someone unexpected when he meets Marieke, a girl that lives in the city's underground tunnels. In a race against time, Storm tries to save his father. But who can he trust?
Bad Influence (2016)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Youth
Directed by: Claudia Huaiquimilla
Chile, 2016, 89 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4
Score:
Arrested after a violent gas station robbery, troubled Santiago youth Tano is remanded to the custody of his father Javier, an auto mechanic living in the small mountain community of Wallmapu. Soon the wayward teen befriends shy, awkward Cheo, whose indigenous Mapuche community fights against the displacement and destruction wrought by a massive local pulp mill. The bond between the two boys quickly deepens against the pressures of schoolyard cruelty and the troubled home lives of each, forcing a reckoning in both boys with themselves and the world around them.
Sami Blood (2016)
Section: International Competition of European First Films
Directed by: Amanda Kernell
Sweden, Denmark, Norway, 2016, 110 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 1
Score:
The Scandinavian variant of a shameful practice employed by self-proclaimed “civilized" nations around the world in the 19th and 20th centuries: the systematic removal of Indigenous children from their parents, homes, and traditional lifestyles and forced integration into an educational system that taught them that their customs and lifestyles were inferior at best. Elle Marja is a teenage Sámi girl in the 1930s who is sent to a boarding school intended on raising its Indigenous charges to a level "acceptable" to the rest of Swedish society. Curious and excited, Elle Marja at first excels in her new surroundings, mastering the Swedish language and her other lessons while her younger sister, Njenna, struggles. But this very success, coupled with Elle Marja's intense desire to be accepted by her teachers, her internalization of the school's vile lessons about race and class, and her burgeoning sexuality, soon drives a wedge between her and her fellow students, forcing her to take an action she may not have the opportunity to regret.
Railway Children (2016)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Youth
Directed by: Prithvi Konanur
India, 2016, 115 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3
Score:
Raju, a 12-year-old runaway, steps into an unknown, never-seen-before world on the railway platform. Timid, insecure and unsure, he falls into the hands of a gang involved in illegal businesses. Jollu, a gang-member of Raju’s age and a substance addict, teaches Raju the tricks and trades of surviving on the platform. They realize that while platforms are divided among gangs for selling spurious drinking water, the trains themselves are free for anyone. Both Raju and Jollu reconcile with another platform-boy and start selling water on their own, undercutting their boss and inviting danger to their lives.
Big Big World (2016)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Reha Erdem
Turkey, 2016, 101 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4
Score:
Ali and Zuhal are two teenagers who grew up in an orphanage with a bond as strong as between a brother and sister. When Ali moves out on account of his age, Zuhal is put into the dubious care of a foster family and is no longer allowed to see him. In a desperate attempt to save Zuhal from a scheduled arranged marriage, Ali commits a terrible crime and they find themselves on the run, away from civilization and into the woods. There, in a secluded space deep in the forest, they try to start a new life in a mystical natural environment full of wonders, strange residents and concrete threats. One day, however, Ali finds Zuhal drenched in blood and doesn’t have any choice but to take her back to the city again.
Land of Light (2016)
Section: Documentary Films
Directed by: David Ruf
Syria, Turkey, Germany, 2016, 70 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
Based on theater workshops with Syrian refugee children living in the Turkish-Syrian border town Reyhanli, the film tells the story of five children that flee when their village is destroyed. Acted completely by Syrian children who themselves fled to Turkey, this film is a parable for what war does to children.
Storm - Letter of Fire (2016)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Dennis Bots
Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, 2016, 105 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 1
Score:
What if you are suddenly on your own and anyone could be your enemy? 12-year-old Storm ends up on an adventure when his father Klaas accepts a new job. He secretly prints forbidden texts in his print shop. Storm's mother does not like this one bit; it’s dangerous to have different opinions. The safe life Storm knew is turned upside down when Klaas gets caught in the act. Storm flees just in time with the original letter and becomes the focus of a manhunt. He gets help from someone unexpected when he meets Marieke, a girl that lives in the city's underground tunnels. In a race against time, Storm tries to save his father. But who can he trust?
Bad Influence (2016)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Youth
Directed by: Claudia Huaiquimilla
Chile, 2016, 89 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 2
Score:
Arrested after a violent gas station robbery, troubled Santiago youth Tano is remanded to the custody of his father Javier, an auto mechanic living in the small mountain community of Wallmapu. Soon the wayward teen befriends shy, awkward Cheo, whose indigenous Mapuche community fights against the displacement and destruction wrought by a massive local pulp mill. The bond between the two boys quickly deepens against the pressures of schoolyard cruelty and the troubled home lives of each, forcing a reckoning in both boys with themselves and the world around them.
X500 (2016)
Section: Night Horizons
Directed by: Juan Andres Arango
Canada, Colombia, Mexico, 2016, 104 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
Three intertwined stories about teens, migration and transformation in different parts of the American continent. Maria moves to Montreal from Manila. Her grandmother has Maria’s future all planned out, but she quickly tires of her straight-laced school. Colombian Alex, deported from the United States, is back in the port of Buenaventura, telling tall stories of his gangsta lifestyle in Los Angeles. Local criminals show interest and in no time he has to live up to his reputation. In Mexico City, David moves in with his cousin in a run-down neighbourhood. He finds work and makes new friends in the local punk scene, but his aggressive cousin won’t be happy until David has joined the local gang.