The gym locker room is an unavoidable chapter in the life of teenagers and the epitome of awkward moments. Happy the person who has a relaxed relationship with their body. Teresia Fant’s documentary gives the floor to those who are forced to enter this place every week and ask themselves: Shower today, or can I do without?

Katharina’s father used to work for the GDR secret service. In the mid-1990s he was arrested for a murder ordered in connection with his former job … and released. Ever since then, Katharina has feared that the doubts about her father’s innocence might throw a shadow on her life, too. A film about family secrets and the question whether some things hadn’t better remain hidden.

Every year on 15 August, Paul, his family and friends have a picnic on the island of Callot, which can be reached via a causeway at low tide. Summer holidays, carefree beach games – awesome! This time, however, they are surprised by the flood, because Paul’s father accidentally packed last year’s tide calendar. Now they are forced to spend the night on the island.

Suzie and her parents cycle out to their garden on the outskirts of town on the weekend. This is where Suzie feels at home! Digging, picking flowers, nibbling berries – gorgeous! One day a black dog crosses her path and she discovers a mysterious site. Who could be the owner? Suzie is a little scared, but dares to slip through the fence anyway.

It’s a beautiful summer day and Sven is finally going to take the plunge. He’s at the public pool, at the foot of the ladder leading up to the ten-metre board. Today he is going to jump. Now! Or perhaps some chips as a start? And it would be good to take a shower first. But then he’ll be ready, though …? Oh no, the queue behind him is waiting, there’s no turning back. Sven climbs up the tower.

Leaving home to live in a new country isn’t easy at all. Lyri moves to the Netherlands with her family and talks about her experiences. Given the choice, she would have preferred to stay in Israel. So many things are foreign and different now. What strikes her most, though, is that the children here learn to swim in their street clothes.

Up north, the leaves on the trees are turning colour, winter is just around the corner. The bear and her friend, the bird, are still romping about the hills near the forest, but it is getting time for her to retire for hibernation. When the moment has come, she longingly thinks of the bird which has by now flown far south. She decides to travel the world to follow it. A film adventure for all ages.

The teacher introduces the new classmate. Nobody pays attention. But yikes, the boy has an elephant’s head! The whispering starts immediately, pictures are scribbled, nobody wants to sit next to the new kid. Only one of the pupils seems fascinated by the elephant boy. They play together in the schoolyard and discover things they have in common. Will the others’ mockery separate them again?

Fast drawn lines fidget, in the middle a girl on a bustling street crossing, just now holding her mother’s hand … and suddenly alone! But what did Mama say: If we lose each other, stay exactly where you are. It’s just that the car drivers are not amused at all. Now everyone has to help, even the Prime Minister himself.

Two siblings are sitting peacefully at a table and drawing. There is a swimming hedgehog in the sister’s picture. The brother wonders whether this would work in real life. He goes into the garden, grabs a hedgehog and throws him into the pool to test this. Not funny at all, thinks the hedgehog. But before he scurries back to his pile of leaves, he comes up with a wet surprise …

The foxes of the pack roam through the city every night to cheer up their sad queen. They search the people’s rubbish for unsent love letters. But those ignoramuses write nothing rapturous about furry ears and bushy red coats! The queen stays sad and the foxes must think of something else.

The figures in this experimental short film for cinema greenhorns seem to be spinning on a turntable. Houses, plants, birds, and a face pass before our eyes. To a lively tune, blossoms unfold, eggs and chicks fly, the sun goes up and down, until everything starts all over again. A small, tongue-in-cheek story that also tells of the early days of animation.

The Smortlybacks are peaceful, fantastic-looking creatures, riding through the desert with the leader of their pack: no water, no shrub, no tree in sight! They are all desperate because their water supplies are running out. After a while they reach the shore of a vast sea. A mysterious creature and their magic fish help them cross the ocean.

On a hot June day, the two friends Ádel and Berci are lying on a meadow, looking at the clouds. It’s the summer holidays and they are talking about everything that crosses their minds. Berci has a lot of imagination and is looking forward to the next school year. Ádel, on the other hand, is more anxious and worries. The clouds drift past, as fleeting as the summer.

Boys who from earliest childhood have sung in a choir have now entered puberty. They have to wait in the “Voice Break Choir” until their voices can be relied on again – in order to continue singing with the men. In interviews and impromptu songs, they describe personal changes and searches for identity. A film about the threshold between being a boy and becoming a man.

Two siblings, a boy and a girl, play together. They say goodbye to their father who has to go to war. To comfort his sister, the big brother gives her “tò he” every day, a traditional toy made of sticky rice powder. Until one day their father returns. A colourful and imaginative animated story from Vietnam.