Today our films deal with change, losses, the past, the fugacity of life and love and… a VW-bus.

Many films in this year’s program deal with the loss of loved ones and how we deal with that. May it be “Stopped on Track” or “Restless” or Gustavo Ron’s Ways to live forever in the children’s program Michel.

In Paraguay people deal with their losses in a Novena, a nine day prayer which the painter Enrique Collar turned into an extraordinary film. Filmfest friend Xiaolu Guo („She, a Chinese“) brings us a story from the deepest Chinese about traditions and change. And an UFO. Video Artist Nicola Provost presents his debut film The Invader. A story of uprooting and of finding ones place in society, of loving and being declined. Worth watching!

Norway shows us that brilliant films can also be box-office hits and win the Norwegian filmprice: King of Devil’s Island holds all the records in Norway and uses fantastic imagery to tell a story of courage and education in a reformatory on the island Bastøy.

The TV section invites you to a thrilling personal story of a fondsmanager trying to prevent her personal constructed lie she is living from being discovered.

Kay and Bernd had a dream: the two FC St. Pauli fans wanted to take their old T3 VW bus on a rough ride from Hamburg to Southafrica for the worldcup. Well: they did – and they take us along for a fun trip while trying not to miss St. Pauli’s decisive game. A travel-documentary about two big boys whose footballhearts are in the right spot.

Don’t miss out on our first press day! At five pm the political weekly magazine “der Freitag” will discuss the role of press in the digital age. Which is also the focus on the documentary “Page One: Inside the New York Times“ which gives a rare insight into the exciting heart of news-business.

See you in the theater!