Robert Bosch Stiftung Discovers Young Arab and German Filmmakers at Berlin International Film Festival

Granting Awards for the Best Three Arab-German Film Projects

Robert Bosch Stiftung Discovers Young Arab and German Filmmakers at Berlin International Film Festival

On the margins of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival and Berlinale Talents, the annual summit and networking platform, the Robert Bosch Stiftung kicks off its 3rd Film Prize which grants awards for the best three Arab-German film projects in the categories animation, feature-length documentary and short fiction.

On February 4th and 5th, 2015, the international jury will meet during the two days in the Representative Office of the Robert Bosch Stiftung in Berlin, where each nominated team of German/Arab filmmakers will pitch their project's idea within 15 minutes to the jury. The nominees have been previously prepared for this pitch during an intense training with experts at the Nominee Forum, which was held last November.

On February 6th, 2015, all the Film Prize nominees, the Film Prize jury, Berlinale Talents from the Arab world and further guests from Berlinale will meet and network during this festive dinner, hosted by the Robert Bosch Stiftung's CEO Dr. Ingrid Hamm and Frank W. Albers, project manager and initiator of the Film Prize. Besides, the evening will witness the screening of the Film Prize winner Free Range by Bassem Breish.

On Sunday, February 8th, 2015, the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the Royal Film Commission- Jordan will host a breakfast as part of Berlinale Talents. At night on the same day, three winners out of fifteen film projects, which were presented to the jury, will be announced.

The 1st Film Prize of Robert Bosch Stiftung was first initiated in 2013. The three prizes, each worth up to 70,000 Euros, are awarded within Berlinale Talents for the best three film projects in the categories of feature-length documentary, short fiction film and animation. One or two members of each winning team will have the opportunity to be guests at the Berlinale Talents in its upcoming edition in the following year.

The prize targets film co-productions between young German filmmakers and their partners from the Arab World to encourage intercultural exchange. Applying for this competition starts annually in May and ends in September and the winning film will benefit from the value of the prize in funding his/her film project.

The Film Prize Nominees

Animation Film Projects:

Clean Up The Living Room We've Got Visitors Coming (Germany-Lebanon)
In Beirut, a city stuck in a vicious cycle of destruction and reconstruction and struggling to bury its murky past, people who disappeared during the Lebanese Civil War resurface to assert their enduring presence, unleashed by a vagabond who falls on their traces and bothers to scratch the surface of representation and new ideals.

Director | Ghassan Halwani
Producer | Inka Dewitz

Operation Rudolph (Germany-Lebanon)

The US Administration accuses Santa of conducting illicit military actions in the North Pole, building training camps, and raising an army. Abu Noel, as they call him, is hunted down, found, killed and buried in a secret location in the Arctic.

Director | Fadi Syriani
Producer | Samuel Huang

Documentary Film Projects:

Amal (Germany-Egypt)
When violence became a language, anger became her destiny and destination.

Director | Mohamed Siam
Producer | Sara Bökemeyer

Broken Dreams (Germany-Palestinian Autonomous Territories-Egypt)

The film tells the story of Darin, a 14-year-old Palestinian girl, whose life changed forever after her father loses his leg when his fishing boat is attacked by the Israeli navy in Gaza. Stepping from behind her father's shadow, Darin courageously takes her father's place on the boat. She becomes the family's financial provider and the first professional fisherwoman in Gaza.

Director | Mohamed Harb
Producer | Cosima Degler
Co-Producer | Haytham Fathy

In Grey Depth (Germany-Egypt)

In Grey Depth tells the story of Al-Maghara, the first and only coal mine in Egypt. The history of the mine mirrors the political, economic and social changes that the nation has gone through over the past 50 years. An endless cycle of hope and despair, the tale of Al-Maghara and the dreams and memories connected to the mine provide a look into the subconscious of modern Egypt.

Director | Mona Lotfy
Producer | Dennis Schanz

Kids World (Germany-Lebanon)

A taxi driver in Beirut tells us a traditional story while we are following him through the city. The story represents the oblivion and the loss of identity in modern Lebanese society. Three children protagonists will interpret the parable together and so create their own vision.

Director | Johanna Bentz
Producer | Jana Raschke
Co-Producer | Jana Wehbe

My Uncle the "Terrorist" (Germany-Lebanon)

I discovered that I had an uncle who was one of the planners of the "Munich Massacre" and one of the principal actors behind the militant organization Black September.

Director | Elias Moubarak
Producer | Christine Haupt

Seven Eyes (Germany-Lebanon-Iraq)

A reflection on ethnic mixtures and minorities in the Middle East, seen through the lives of one Turkmen clan from rural Iraq.

Director | Parine Jaddo
Producer | Boris Frank
Co-Producer | Ramia Malas Albanna

Short Fiction Film Projects:

Al Hawi Khattaf Al Tabaq (Germany-Jordan-Lebanon)

When his responsibility of buying a dish of beans becomes an adventure, Rabih's life changes forever.

Director | Rakan Mayasi
Producer | Michael Bogar

Once Every Week (Germany-Egypt)

According to the divorce law in Egypt, Ali can see his father only for a couple of hours once every week. This time he has a plan how to get more of his parent's attention.

Director | Alaa Mosbah
Producer | Costanza Julia Bani

Reminiscent of a Lost Time (Germany-Egypt)

A father-son relationship goes astray as an unexpected confrontation disrupts their stagnant unsatisfactory lives.

Director | Jaylan Auf
Producer | Thomas Loos

The Parrot (Germany-Jordan)

A Mizrahi Jewish family from Morocco, who tries to settle in to their new life in 1948 Haifa, Palestine, is haunted by a disturbing house guest, a left behind big red parrot from the former Arab residents.

Directors | Amjad Al Rasheed, Darin Salam
Producer | Roman Roitman

The Pigeon Breeder (Germany-Jordan)

For more than 30 years, Saleem and his father lived peacefully in a small apartment in downtown Amman. Saleem's only passion in life is breeding pigeons. But when their landlord declares that he will tear down the pigeon coop to build an extra floor, the relationship between father and son is put to a test. Saleem's father won't move out of the old house, so Saleem has to go on a search to save his pigeons, and somehow keep his father happy.

Director | Dima Hamdan
Producer | Ümit Uludag

The Servants (Germany-Lebanon)

A story about two teenage boys and their fathers' violent past which is threatening their nascent delicate friendship.

Director | Marwan Khneisser
Producer | Jonas Witsch

The Tattooed Boy (Germany-Morocco)

A teenage boy on the verge of manhood gets caught up in the horrors of war, as he crosses the Syrian mountainside in an attempt to avoid military service. Trying to survive in the war-torn country, he struggles to keep the promise he gave to his mother to never get involved in the senseless Killing surrounding him.

Directed and scripted by | Yassine El Idrissi
Producer | Luis Singer