How he lived and died is nobody’s business, the singer Ebrahim Monsefi sings in a song documented in a video flickering with decay. It comes at the end of a film whose very existence asserts the opposite, because it narrates precisely that life, which was shaped by his love of music and a crash caused by the loss of loved ones. It started in the traditionally cosmopolitan southern Iranian seaport of Bandar Abbas at the Strait of Hormuz. There is even a (deserted) Hindu temple there, where the orphan grew up with his grandfather, surrounded by music from all over the world that was absorbed and interpreted by the locals. Thus Ebram learned to play the guitar at an early age and became a local star as a singer-songwriter, before he became addicted to heroin and died in 1997.

Today his songs are popular standards in the region. And catchy melancholy tunes which, in archive footage of Ebram himself and street sets of contemporary performers, become the vibrant framework of Kamran Heidari’s film. Added to this are restagings of individual stations of his life. And the artist as a spirit whose emerging, almost pathological obsession with femininity can also be read as a comment on the worldview of the never explicitly mentioned Islamic Revolution. Thus the film is more a parable than a biography, but also the portrait of a fascinating, vibrant city.

Silvia Hallensleben

While working on his wooden house, the little boy is visited by an alien creature. The little monster is looking for kindred spirits and an adventurous journey begins. But all the animals they meet turn out to be the wrong companions for the little monster. After many adventures together the two realise that the search was unnecessary because they are a perfect match.

Marie-Thérèse Antony

“The best thing in the world is to break the law.” A hobby fervently pursued by twelve-year-old Michal and his younger brother, Karel. They steal chocolate, spray, trespass on properties, drink alcohol, smoke, play with fire. Director Karolína Peroutková is admitted, becomes a witness and occasionally (well-behaved) accomplice of experiences that play out somewhere between absolute freedom and neglect. Where Peroutková can’t go, the boys themselves take over the direction of the film.

Carolin Weidner

How nice to be able to drop by at grandfather’s on your way home and discover the world with him. A homemade kite makes the grandkid’s heart beat faster and remains an important tie to grandfather – even after he dies. A puppet animation about how to deal with grief which shows that two people can be close even beyond death.

Marie-Thérèse Antony

There’s a long queue of feathered villagers and two-legged vegetables waiting in front of the little witch’s cabin. They all hope to be turned back into their human shape by a magic potion. The witch is brewing potions non-stop – no transformation is impossible! But watch out: One shouldn’t be too choosy with such a powerful sorceress.

Marie-Thérèse Antony

Having to stay sick at home – it’s enough to quickly make even monster films on television become boring. Could there be any adventures waiting on your doorstep? Dressed up warm, the little boy sets out into the forest and meets an unexpected companion. Suddenly the long days in bed aren’t so bad any more. Or was it all just a dream?

Marie-Thérèse Antony