More than a hundred years ago, the history of film began in Babelsberg with the establishment of the world’s oldest film studio. A magical place where countless films were made, which tell us today about the historical evolution of this art. After the period of silent films, Fritz Lang created his epic science fiction drama “Metropolis”, which is part of the UNESCO registry for World Memory. And this is not all. Films, animation films, documentaries, television shows and digital videos have been and still are there produced in Babelsberg. Among the productions, famous feature films so dear to the German public are “Schloss Einstein” or “Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten”, but also international works such as “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay “, “Men in Black”, “Bridge of Spies” or “Grand Budapest Hotel”, winner of four Academy Awards. Not to mention the countless famous directors and actors who have worked here, including Steven Spielberg, Roman Polanski, George Clooney and Cate Blanchett.
Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf is a place where film come alive, a school representing a wealth of different stories and artistic forms, genres and formats, specialization and exchange. Their unique craft-oriented and interdisciplinary education enables creative people to develop their own filmic language. In research and teaching, they focus on both scientific and artistic approaches and, thus, actively contribute to the development of media, science, and society.
One of the University top priorities is to deliver high-quality training programmes which include analogue and digital animation studios, 2D and 3D computer animation labs, so that students benefit from interdisciplinary theoretical education and exchange. What makes the Animation program unique is the opportunity given to students to take care of all the steps in the production of their animated film – from the development of the first idea, the story and the graphics to the creation of a storyboard, to the character design, and to audio/technical recording and movie playback.
A SWEET STORY
Director: Moritz Biene
2018, 7’20”
SYNOPSIS: The lead character of this animated short has a monotonous and colorless life. However, an unexpected meeting will lead him to discover a new world full of new colors and flavors. A story as sweet as a cake made with love. A culinary journey that will allow him to discover something new, but who knows if it is going to be enough in the end…
PROFILE: Moritz Biene is a Berlin based animator. He studied animation at the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf. While he was working on his final year film project “A Sweet Story“, his own biography seemed to converge with the journey his characters were experiencing.
FLICKERN
Director: Kornelia Griebel
2018, 3’24”
SYNOPSIS: Sometimes you may feel alone also when you are standing in the middle of a crowd, not even our thoughts leave us alone. Only when we withdraw within ourselves and become introspective we start find the light, thanks to those who hold out their hands to help us. By narrating the story of a boy, this simple short reveals a topic of great depth.
PROFILE: Born in 1992 in the south of Germany, Kornelia Griebel moved to Berlin in 2011 to devote herself to animation. Her graduation film “Flickern” was produced at the Filmuniversity Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, and is centered around psychological and humanistic topics. She is presently looking for projects which allow her to use animation as a tool for encouraging empathy.
LOVE ME, FEAR ME
Director: Veronica Solomon
2018, 6’07”
SYNOPSIS: What would you be willing to do to be loved? “Love me, fear me” is a metaphor of identity and dance, about the roles we play and the shapes we take, about the stages we choose, the audience we try to impress and the price of acceptance. An enchanting story with music, a dance and comedy show, but full of surprises. Because viewers are always very demanding and want to see something they have never seen before.
PROFILE: Veronica Salomon was born in Romania in 1980, and is currently living in Berlin, Germany. After obtaining a degree in Fine Arts, she began a self-training process to become an animator, besides dedicating herself to comics and illustration. She graduated from the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf with a BA in Animation.
MASCARPONE
Director: Jonas Riemer
2018, 14’
SYNOPSIS: A story that has nothing to do with tiramisu although it still has an Italian taste. The lead character is an idealist who works in a cinema and whose dream is to meet the actress that always appears in the films he watches. An event will change his life, when he has to face Mascarpone, not an ordinary man but a ruthless gangster wanted by the police. The boy will have to deal with justice and make choices, saving his dog’s life being one of them.
PROFILE: Jonas Riemer was born in 1990 near Berlin and studied Animation at the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf. In his innovative work, Jonas Riemer plays with the limits of the impossible, combining visual effects with elements of live-action and, animation films. In 2011 he worked as a production assistant and lead animator for the internationally successful feature film “This ain’t California”. “Mascarpone” is his first short film as a director, author and VFX supervisor – a no-budget blockbuster created thanks to the support of over 100 contributors.
NOSIS
Director: Vincenz Neuhaus
2018, 8’8”
SYNOPSIS: It might seem like the story of a wooden puppet built by a carpenter named Geppetto, but do not be fooled by appearances. This is not a short for children, Nosis is not Pinocchio! Lonely and always in search for a purpose in his life, Nosis will begin to discover the world around him with his nose, which will prove to have some kind of power. But the dark side of his heart will lead him to do evil things and only at the end, after a drastic and painful decision, Nosis will start to live like a real child.
PROFILE: Vincenz Neuhaus (born in Berlin in 1983) animator, motion-designer and puppet maker, whose sculptural work was exhibited in several solo- and group exhibitions. Since graduating as a graphic designer from the University of Applied Sciences Europe (BTK), he has been working as a freelance motion-designer and animator. His works have received several awards. But the wish to tell his own stories finally made him study animation at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf. Now he ́is a certified animator (diploma) and utilizes hand drawn animation, 3D and Stop Motion to contemplate humanity.
