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by Marina Brafa  The Berlinale TimeOut organizers, comprised of the Female Filmmakers Festival Berlin crew and their London-based partner Shorts on Tap, had a difficult time before the actual event took place last Tuesday, February 12, because they were (fortunately) inundated with submissions. In the end, they decided on eight short films which they screened in a speakeasy-style movie theater in the very center of Berlin, the Z-Bar. An international crowd of filmmakers escaping the Berlinale craze and interested visitors who were just dropping by gathered in the cozy backroom for two hours of short films. The selection proved that the oft-neglected genre deserves more attention. One might think that 20, or even 2 minutes is not enough time to “show” something. You can probably already guess my reply to this assumption: No, it’s not. The time limit is a challenge that can spark truly innovative and inspiring films: You want to get your - often complex - points across while delivering a compelling plot and original cinematography. You work with allusions, metaphors, symbols, ellipses and meaningfully composed images to do so.
Two films stood out because of their alluring pictures: Swiss film Seelenwelten by Flurina Marugg and Stigma by Helen Warner from Ireland. In these two short films, the landscapes, mise-en-scène, lighting and colors play a significant part in the story. Seelenwelten explores the soul - inner landscape - of an adolescent woman. Viewers enter her subconscious which is very colorful and populated by pink things in the shape of drops that hang from the ceiling (if there actually is a ceiling). It is often not clear what the different “things” mean but it becomes obvious that the film is drawing on Freudian ideas of the id, ego and super-ego. In Stigma too, the landscape plays an important role - in this case the external one surrounding the characters. The film’s plot evolves into a grey, Catholic village on the harsh Irish coast. The waves break strongly and unforgivingly on the reef and the strong current drags a dress onto the beach. It belongs to a disappeared woman no one speaks of - until they are forced to do so. In contrast to Seelenwelten, this film is dark and leaves the viewer with an uncomfortable feeling in their stomach. Interestingly, in both films the actors speak their regional dialects which contributes to the realistic style.
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by Marina Brafa
For the Berlinale TimeOut, the Female Filmmakers Festival Berlin women teamed up with Shorts on Tap, a platform dedicated to independent short films and their creators. The London-based team organizes short film screenings, meetings and a screenwriting competition, and is active in Berlin and Tokyo.
 If you are interested in knowing more about the who and how behind the Female Filmmakers Festival Berlin and Shorts on Tap we have two recommendations: First, you can read our interview with FFFB co-founder Natalie MacMahon. Second, during Berlinale TimeOut you will have the chance to talk to Natalie and the other founders of the Female Filmmakers Festival Berlin as well as the heads of the Shorts on Tap community! Berlinale TimeOut Essentials Where: Z-Bar, Bergstraße 2, 10115 Berlin Day: February 12, 2019 Time: 8pm Fees: none but seats are limited! Registration. Program 1st Slot 1. SEELENWELTEN 9 MIN- Director: Flurina Marugg 2. STIGMA 10 MIN- Director: Helen Warner 3. THE LIFE INSIDE ME 19 MIN- Director: Konstantin Egerndorfer 4. NEW FEELINGS 19 MIN- Director: Anastasia Nechaeva //Break// 2nd Slot 1. LOVE 2 MIN- Director: Neda Shadanlou 2. GIRL FACT 17 MIN- Director: Maël G. Lagadec 3. EAGLEHAWK 21 MIN- Director: Shannon Murphy 4. EDGE OF ALCHEMY 17 MIN- Director: Stacey Steers Voting for your favorite short film & networking time! All images courtesy of Female Filmmakers Festival Berlin Check out the scheduled short films: by Marina Brafa The Berlinale Film Festival kicks off on Thursday (Feb. 7th through 17th, 2019). It is Germany’s most prestigious and glamorous film festival and mentioned in the same breath as other renowned European film festivals like the ones in Cannes and Venice. As is the case with most of those festivals, its film(makers) selection (and whole set-up, for that matter) has been criticized for not including enough female, LGBTQ and minority filmmakers. Although the festival organizers are trying to change this - one sign being the festival director Dieter Kosslick leaving after 18 years as head of the Berlinale - the festival is not representing the film industry’s diversity yet (which, admittedly, is no easy task). Especially in an open-minded city like Berlin that embraces and prides itself on accepting all kinds of lifestyles, there are many people who despise the Berlinale for being too much a part of the glittery glamour circus that is the film establishment and who are looking for alternative film festivals. Take these five as a start!
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