Once upon a time there were a brother and sister who had illicit sexual relations. That was the beginning of the age of Kalyug, the age of downfall in Hindu cosmology. Has it started again? The Bhil, an ancient tribe, must think so. Modern society has condemned them to live in poverty and loneliness as migrant workers. Worse, a terrible disease is raging among them: HIV. It’s hard to develop a rational attitude towards the causes and effects of the virus on the background of traditional beliefs and the hierarchy in Indian hospitals. At least now the medicine is reaching the patients. A young medical student brings it on his motorcycle, travelling endless miles through a barren, dusty landscape. But his fight for enlightenment seems a fight against windmills.
“Kalyug”’s sophisticated dialectic narrative, which interweaves ancient legends and the stories of the present age, is compelling. The film moves without breaks from a background story, a storyteller at a campfire, to three different internal stories which in turn are linked in a kind of circular structure, with one motive prompting the next. Embedded in the serene flow of the narrative, the archaic images have a mythical effect – while remaining firmly rooted in the reality of the here and now.

Lars Meyer

Growth seems to be the answer to all the challenges our society faces – if you believe the politicians that govern us. As if a book bearing the warning title “The Limits of Growth” hadn’t been awarded the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade and become a bestseller as far back as 40 years ago. A group of international scientists, united in the “Club of Rome”, had plainly pointed out the dangers of climate change, outlining what had to be done. The authors of the book were young and optimistic, even amazingly naive from today’s point of view. We meet them again 40 years later.
Various crises and shocks could not make mankind switch from short-term to long-term thinking. What are the lessons of history? Are we resistant to learning? Is there still a chance, a “last call”? The former founders of the Club seem to have developed different theories. But one thing seems certain: the options that still existed 40 years ago are no longer available. This film follows the creation, reception and defence of a legendary book that should have changed the world. The extensive archive material is always referred back to the present day. And following the traces of the “Club of Rome” yields a number of stimulating brainteasers along the way.

Lars Meyer

Fireworks burst into the sky above Texas – perceived light years away from the idyllic town where 14-year-old Sara is growing up as the oldest daughter of a large family of goat farmers. She takes tender care of the animals and the manufacture of various dairy products; helps raise her siblings who are home-schooled like her – according to a strict interpretation of the bible. Nearby, cowboys from the neighbourhood organise rodeos, showing us an America we have long believed forgotten. Sara’s inner conflict between her subtle attraction to the young bull-rider Colby and her future as a devout wife emerges almost imperceptibly.
The great lucidity of the narrative culminates as a child slips out of the mother’s womb in front of Sara’ eyes, confronting her directly with her destiny. The camera “breathes” incredibly close to the protagonists, capturing that inner turmoil in tender pastels. It makes the heart pound so hard that Sara’s mother can only pray for it to finally stop going crazy.

Claudia Lehmann

---

Golden Dove International Competition Documentary Film 2013

Enea is 27, a young man with ordinary needs. What’s unusual is his direct way of expressing them. He carries his desire for a woman like a banner. Enea is autistic and often unable to interpret the reactions of the girls he approaches in the street. And he has yet to learn that it won’t exactly be the dream girl from the magazine who will say yes. Since he never had sex in his life, his friends Alex and Carlo, the director of the film, want to help him. Together they embark in an old VW bus on a journey from Italy through Austria to Germany. Because there is a place there where people like Enea with a “special need” can literally feel their way towards sexuality.
Sex in our society is usually charged with high expectations. Many people have trouble separating fantasy from reality, sexuality from love. Consequently, the film does not treat Enea as a special case. It follows its protagonist with great empathy on this all-male summer trip which is to become a journey of discovery into the world of feelings for all three. The camerawork makes this road movie seem very natural, while an instinct for tragicomic scenes adds a light touch.

Lars Meyer

---

Golden Dove in the German Competition Documentary Film 2013