Film Archive

Jahr

Young Eyes 2025

Blue – A Black European Tale

Mwita Mataro, Helmut Karner
All creatures in Greenland are green, except Bluekid. In this partly animated handicraft world, Mwita Mataro reflects on experiences of racism in Austria with children and experts.
Filmstill Blue – A Black European Tale
Filmstill Blue – A Black European Tale

Blue – A Black European Tale

Austroschwarz
Mwita Mataro, Helmut Karner
Young Eyes 2025
Documentary Film
Austria
2025
98 minutes
German
Subtitles: 
English

In his early twenties, Mwita Mataro set himself three big goals: become a rock star, make a film, and then found an art school in Tanzania. He has already accomplished the rock star part – he is the frontman of a band. And this film is his directorial debut. There was a choice of many subjects, something beautiful like friendship, for example. But there is one thing that bothers him more than his white film colleagues, and that is the colour of his skin. So what does it mean to grow up as a Salzburg native with Tanzanian roots, as a Black Person of Colour in predominantly white Austria? To investigate this, he has teamed up with young BPoCs to create the animated fantasy world Greenland: a place where all the potato creatures are green except Bluekid and his blue family. They paint themselves green to be less conspicuous, but since this does not always work out, Bluekid experiences rejection and marginalisation.

In his documentary essay, Mataro reflects on a daily reality based on colours: racism, alien attributions, otherness, blues experiences in Greenland. He listens to children and adults, lets the audience participate in talks with pedagogues, psychologists and politicians and opens up in front of the camera at home. With “Austroschwarz”, Mataro also comes one step closer to his third goal.

Tina Jany

Credits DOK Leipzig Logo

Director
Mwita Mataro, Helmut Karner
Script
Mwita Mataro, Helmut Karner
Cinematographer
Jasmin Schwendinger
Editor
Christin Veith
Producer
Stephan Herzog, Andrea Elaiza Arnold
Sound
Cristi Iorga
Sound Design
Eli Frauscher
Score
Nicola Mpunga
Animation
Vladimir Savić
Nominated for: Gedanken Aufschluss Prize, Young Eyes Film Award, Leipziger Ring
Young Eyes 2024

An Octopus Destroyed the Moon

Heidrun Holzfeind
A school in Berlin that offers subjects like horticulture and animal care. The film portrays a group of young people between lessons, childhood and adulthood.
Filmstill An Octopus Destroyed the Moon
Filmstill An Octopus Destroyed the Moon

An Octopus Destroyed the Moon

Ein Oktopus hat den Mond zerstört
Heidrun Holzfeind
Young Eyes 2024
Documentary Film
Austria,
Germany
2024
90 minutes
German
Subtitles: 
English
Can school be exciting and even fun? The integrative pre-vocational August Sander school in Berlin-Friedrichshain at least seems the perfect place for this. The noise of the cars of the big city can be heard from the distance, birds are singing on the lush green grounds. Lessons here include horticulture, agriculture and animal care. And when you watch the students weed garden plots and feed rabbits, things look extremely enviable at first glance. But of course, even in this paradisiacal place there are conflicts, annoying teachers and the anxious question: What comes after graduation?
This documentary follows the school life of a group of pupils with different learning disorders and other impairments over one school year. At its focus are young people who are on the way from training to work, from childhood to adulthood, and struggle to find their place in the narrow regulatory system of school and in society.
Lina Dinkla

Credits DOK Leipzig Logo

Director
Heidrun Holzfeind
Cinematographer
Heidrun Holzfeind
Editor
Heidrun Holzfeind
Producer
Heidrun Holzfeind
World Sales
Gerald Weber
Nominated for: Young Eyes Film Award