Home & Away

2012 Festival

Wed, May 2 @ 9:30 am

Chosen by teachers as suitable for Grade 10-12 Social Studies and German students, these thought-provoking films offer insights on war, immigration and international adoption. Writer/Director Udo Prinsen (Audition) from the Netherlands will participate in a 15-minute Q&A following the films.

Films in this package

When a German couple’s newly adopted Indian son goes missing in Kolkata, their search uncovers much more about their son’s past than the adoption agency had led them to believe.  Nominated for an Oscar in 2012 for Best Live Action Short.

Traumatized by a bloody African civil war, a young immigrant becomes a street-sweeper in London as he seeks to disappear within the city, but violence resurfaces and his goal of anonymity comes with a high price.  Won the People’s Shortee Award at the 2012 Taos Shortz Film Festival.

A 10-year-old Iraqi girl collects daisies in a Baghdad park for a friend she misses, but the flowers will soon reunite them.

Set in 1943 Czechoslovakia, this film about a Jew fleeing from the Nazis is based on a true story of resistance fighter David Bako.  Won Audience Choice Award at the 2011 Cleveland International Film Festival.

A young Auschwitz prisoner auditions for the camp’s orchestra.  He stands in front of a firing squad which will shoot if he’s not good enough.  Won the Best International Film Award at the 2011 Black Rock Animation Film Festival. There’ll be a Q&A with Udo Prinsen following the screening.

Dirkjan, a nerdy nobody, becomes Leader of the World.  Where does his sudden hunger for power come from?  And what is the Big Plan?

Two planes cut through the air, each pilot intent on destroying the other.  Driven by blind aggression, the contrails from their planes sketch paths of hate in the sky.  Won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Animated Short Film at the 2011 Dallas International Film Festival among many other awards.

Toy soldiers dance to the rhythm of war, but are they just toys?  Won the Political Animation Award at the 2010 KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival.