Fri 24.05.2019 | 17:20Afterlife (2018)
Section: Competition of European First Feature Films
Directed by: Willem Bosch
Netherlands, 2018, 93 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 2
Score:
InfoSam is a very bright, very mature 14-year old girl. She´s a good student, disciplined and always on time. This is all the more impressive once you realize she juggles those responsibilities while caring for her little brothers. When her mother Vera passed away, Sam took up responsibility for the family, helping her dad out around the house. But when Sam has an accident on the way to school, she wakes up in a strange office across from someone claiming she´s dead. It was a truck, he says. He also tells her that her mother, Vera, is waiting for her here, on the other side. It´s a strange mixture of joy and sadness for Sam, being dead on the one hand, but getting to see her mom in return. Something she thought she would never do again. But Vera reluctantly decides that they must find a way to bring Sam back to life. But Sam has her own agenda. She´s taking her mother with her.
Fri 24.05.2019 | 17:40Giant Little Ones (2018)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Youth
Directed by: Keith Behrman
Canada, 2018, 94 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3
Score:
A heartfelt and intimate coming-of-age story about friendship, self-discovery and the power of love without labels. Adolescents face enormous pressure to make life-defining decisions every day and they want to lock in their identities sooner than later. All of this pressure is exacerbated by physical and social changes. Franky is under more pressure than most. His life was altered when his father left his mother for a man. Franky is left confused and angry toward his father for breaking up the family. Things are further confused for Franky when his wild birthday party ends in a sexual encounter no one could have imagined, including his best friend and girlfriend. As Franky's world crumbles, he and his friends are forced to decide what kind of people they want to be.
Fri 24.05.2019 | 19:30Float Like a Butterfly (2018)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Carmel Winters
Ireland, 2018, 101 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
Fifteen-year-old Frances lost her mother in a fight - the same fight which landed her father in jail for the last ten years. Like her idol Muhammad Ali, she wants to be The Greatest too. When her father gets out of jail, she feels that this is her chance, but he doesn't turn out to be the hero she remembers. Due to the conditions of his parole, he's forced to endure humiliation from the police sergeant. And to make up for lost time, he is resolute to make a man of his son and an obedient wife of his daughter. Now Frances must fight even for the right to fight.
Fri 24.05.2019 | 20:15Indian Horse (2017)
Section: Discover & Explore: People
Directed by: Stephen Campanelli
Canada, 2017, 101 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3
Score:
In the late 1950s Ontario, 8-year-old Saul Indian Horse is torn from his Ojibway family and committed to one of the notorious Catholic Residential Schools. In this oppressive environment, Saul is denied the freedom to speak his language or embrace his Indigenous heritage while he witnesses horrendous abuse at the hands of the very people entrusted with his care. Despite this, Saul finds salvation in the unlikeliest of places and favourite winter pastime - hockey. Fascinated by the game, he secretly teaches himself to play, developing a unique and rare skill.
Sat 25.05.2019 | 11:20Tomka and his friends (1977)
Section: Discover & Explore: Balkan
Directed by: Xhanfise Keko
Albania, 1977, 74 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5
Score:
During WWII in a small Albanian village, little Tomka, the oldest among his young friends, plays daily on the riverbank until the Nazis invade the playground. The outraged children decide to retaliate. First, they poison the black German shepherd that does not permit them to approach their beloved playing field. Later, the children help blow up the enemy military camp Who knew war could be this much fun?
Sat 25.05.2019 | 14:30You'll Never Walk Alone (2018)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Children, Festival Gala
Directed by: Geng Xu
China, 2018, 106 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
Soccer, a teacher with lots of hobbies, an old principal who can't stand soccer, a group of energetic grass-roots children, and a world-shaking earthquake. Catastrophe falls upon them before they can enjoy their happy childhood. How will they move forward?
Sat 25.05.2019 | 15:30Afterlife (2018)
Section: Competition of European First Feature Films
Directed by: Willem Bosch
Netherlands, 2018, 93 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3
Score:
Sam is a very bright, very mature 14-year old girl. She´s a good student, disciplined and always on time. This is all the more impressive once you realize she juggles those responsibilities while caring for her little brothers. When her mother Vera passed away, Sam took up responsibility for the family, helping her dad out around the house. But when Sam has an accident on the way to school, she wakes up in a strange office across from someone claiming she´s dead. It was a truck, he says. He also tells her that her mother, Vera, is waiting for her here, on the other side. It´s a strange mixture of joy and sadness for Sam, being dead on the one hand, but getting to see her mom in return. Something she thought she would never do again. But Vera reluctantly decides that they must find a way to bring Sam back to life. But Sam has her own agenda. She´s taking her mother with her.
Sat 25.05.2019 | 19:30Friday´s Child (2018)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: A.J. Edwards
United States of America, 2018, 91 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
Fresh out of foster care at age 18, a young drifter turns to petty crime to survive and discovers an impossible love in an unlikely friend.
Sat 25.05.2019 | 20:45Mario (2018)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Marcel Gisler
Switzerland, 2018, 119 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4
Score:
There´s a ripple of disquiet in the locker-room when Leon, a new striker, joins the football team. Sharing a flat with keen rival Mario sets the scene for an unexpected love affair, but the path of gay love in this macho world is not an easy one. Mario is unwilling or unable to acknowledge the implications of what is happening. But pretend girlfriends don´t fool everyone. And gossip, along with the threat of blackmail, unbalances the team´s morale. With the prospect of a professional career a strong possibility, will Mario forsake the hope of emotional satisfaction for professional gain?
Sat 25.05.2019 | 21:30Girl (2018)
Section: Competition of European First Feature Films
Directed by: Lukas Dhont
Belgium, 2018, 103 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5
Score:
Determined 15-year-old Lara is committed to becoming a professional ballerina. With the support of her father, she throws herself into this quest for the absolute at a new school. Lara´s adolescent frustrations and impatience are heightened as she realizes her body does not bend so easily to the strict discipline because she was born a boy.
Sun 26.05.2019 | 13:30Captain Korda (1970)
Section: Anniversary - Pinkava
Directed by: Josef Pinkava
Czechoslovakia, 1970, 88 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4
Score:
A little orphan named Pepík and a train dispatcher called "Captain" Korda become friends while in hospital. Korda then wants to adopt Pepík. The joy found by this childless married couple and Pepík, however, is disrupted by the boy's real mother..
Sun 26.05.2019 | 15:10Giant Little Ones (2018)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Youth
Directed by: Keith Behrman
Canada, 2018, 94 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 2
Score:
A heartfelt and intimate coming-of-age story about friendship, self-discovery and the power of love without labels. Adolescents face enormous pressure to make life-defining decisions every day and they want to lock in their identities sooner than later. All of this pressure is exacerbated by physical and social changes. Franky is under more pressure than most. His life was altered when his father left his mother for a man. Franky is left confused and angry toward his father for breaking up the family. Things are further confused for Franky when his wild birthday party ends in a sexual encounter no one could have imagined, including his best friend and girlfriend. As Franky's world crumbles, he and his friends are forced to decide what kind of people they want to be.
Sun 26.05.2019 | 17:20Broken Mirrors (2018)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Youth
Directed by: Imri Matalon, Aviad Givon
Israel, 2018, 104 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 2
Score:
From the outside, the Adler family lives an enviable life, but underneath Giora´s great love for his family lays an obsession with his eldest daughter Ariella. This strict military disciplinarian follows his teenage daughter´s every move, and he inflicts severe methods of punishment. Ariella commits a grave error, yet her father won´t punish her for it. Seeking a punishment of her own, Ariella embarks on a dark quest where she will discover a secret to her father´s past that will lead them to confront one another.
Sun 26.05.2019 | 19:00Avé (2011)
Section: Discover & Explore: Balkan
Directed by: Konstantin Bojanov
Bulgaria, 2011, 86 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5
Score:
The story of two young people, Kamen, a student of art; and Avé, an unpredictable seventeen-year-old. Their lives intersect while hitchhiking in Bulgaria. While Kamen is travelling to his friend's funeral, Avé is running away from family and responsibility in despair, and Kamen is constantly seduced by her lies and invention of new identities. Kamen is enchanted by her spontaneity and is involuntarily drawn into new adventures and ever greater problems. During their journey, they are both forced to face death, love and responsibility for the first time.
Sun 26.05.2019 | 20:15Gwen (2018)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: William McGregor
United Kingdom, 2018, 86 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3
Score:
In the stark beauty of 19th Century Snowdonia, a young girl, Gwen, tries desperately to hold her home together. Struggling with her mother´s mysterious illness, her father´s absence and a ruthless mining company encroaching on their land, a growing darkness begins to take grip of her home, and the suspicious local community turns on Gwen and her family.
Sun 26.05.2019 | 20:45Girl (2018)
Section: Competition of European First Feature Films
Directed by: Lukas Dhont
Belgium, 2018, 103 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4
Score:
Determined 15-year-old Lara is committed to becoming a professional ballerina. With the support of her father, she throws herself into this quest for the absolute at a new school. Lara´s adolescent frustrations and impatience are heightened as she realizes her body does not bend so easily to the strict discipline because she was born a boy.
Mon 27.05.2019 | 11:00You'll Never Walk Alone (2018)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Children, Festival Gala
Directed by: Geng Xu
China, 2018, 106 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3
Score:
Soccer, a teacher with lots of hobbies, an old principal who can't stand soccer, a group of energetic grass-roots children, and a world-shaking earthquake. Catastrophe falls upon them before they can enjoy their happy childhood. How will they move forward?
Mon 27.05.2019 | 15:30Zen in the Ice Rift (2018)
Section: Competition of European First Feature Films
Directed by: Margherita Ferri
Italy, 2018, 90 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3
Score:
Maia, called Zen, a rowdy yet solitary 16-year-old tomboy, lives in a small village on top of the rough and beautiful Italian Apennines. She´s the only girl in the local ice hockey-team and she is constantly bullied by her teammates for her masculine attitude. When Vanessa - the beautiful and bewildered girlfriend of the team captain - runs away from home and hides in Maia´s family lodge, Maia feels free to trust someone for the first time. Led by the need to break away from the roles that the small community has forced them to play, Maia and Vanessa embark on a journey of self-discovery: an exploration of their gender identity and sexuality, liquid and restless like the troubled time of youth.
Mon 27.05.2019 | 18:15Float Like a Butterfly (2018)
Section: Panorama
Directed by: Carmel Winters
Ireland, 2018, 101 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4
Score:
Fifteen-year-old Frances lost her mother in a fight - the same fight which landed her father in jail for the last ten years. Like her idol Muhammad Ali, she wants to be The Greatest too. When her father gets out of jail, she feels that this is her chance, but he doesn't turn out to be the hero she remembers. Due to the conditions of his parole, he's forced to endure humiliation from the police sergeant. And to make up for lost time, he is resolute to make a man of his son and an obedient wife of his daughter. Now Frances must fight even for the right to fight.
Tue 28.05.2019 | 10:30Hacker (2019)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films for Youth
Directed by: Poul Berg
Denmark, 2019, 98 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 1
Score:
Thirteen-year-old Benjamin is a highly skilled hacker, but also a teenager who is highly distrustful of others following the loss of his mother seven years earlier. Benjamin, who has never known his father, lives in a children´s home. One day he receives a visit from two men from the Danish Defence Intelligence Service who inform him that a woman they believe to be Benjamin´s mother was spotted by an airport surveillance camera several days earlier. At first, Benjamin is shocked by the news. However, he soon makes up his mind to investigate the matter and get to the bottom of what really happened to her.