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21 German productions and co-productions in Karlovy Vary's mix of genres and themes

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The line-up for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) has been announced - and it promises to be an exciting programme. The 58th edition will take place this year from 28 June to 6 July in the Czech spa town. A total of 21 German productions and co-productions can be seen in various sections of the programme.

"The official selection of the 58th KVIFF offers a unique epicentre of genres and themes that move contemporary cinema," says Karel Och, Artistic Director of the KVIFF, when describing this year's programme. 15 of the 32 films in the official selection are debuts, plus several other world premieres.

In the main Crystal Globe Competition, 12 films will be competing for the Crystal Globe this year, including the German production XOFTEX (Arden Film) by Noaz Deshe - a drama shot with real-life asylum seekers and  inspired by real stories. The film follows the Palestinian-Syrian teenager Nasser who is waiting with his brother in a Greek refugee camp for a decision on their asylum application.

A German production is also screening in the Proxima Competition section. The drama THE ALIENATED (FORTIS FEM FILM) by Anja Kreis revolves around mysterious events in a city where a woman claims to be carrying the Antichrist in her belly. Also screening in this section are the two German co-productions HICBIR SEY YERINDE DEGIL(NOTHING IN ITS PLACE) (Flaneur Films) by Burak Çevik and LAPILLI (Berlin University of the Arts) by Paula Ďurinová.

The films ARCHITECTON (ma.ja.de.) by Victor Kossakovsky, DIRECT ACTION (CASKFILMS) by Guillaume Cailleau, Ben Russell and DYING  (Port au Prince, Schwarzweiss Filmproduktion, Senator Film Produktion) by Matthias Glasner, some of  them award-winners from this year’s Berlinale, will be shown in the Horizon section.

THE GARDEN CADENCES (Flaneur Films) by Dane Komljen will be screened in the Imagina section. The documentary film is about Jone. She is one of the Mollies, the queer-feminist collective that lived in a caravan park at Berlin's Ostkreuz for a decade. THE GARDEN CADENCES traces her last summer before she was evicted. The second majority German production in this section is BEAUTIFUL DEAD WOMAN by Jan Soldat. The experimental short film reorganises female death scenes from 300 episodes of the "Ein Fall für zwei" TV series.

Another short film is programmed in the Pragueshorts at KVIFF section. The four-minute animated film DORMOUSE by Julia Ocker is about the eponymous animal and its sleepy vice. A STUDY OF EMPATHY (North Ship Film) by Hilke Rönnfeldt - already known for being selected to many  festivals - will be screened in Karlovy Vary in the EFP programme Future Frames: Generation Next Of European Cinema.

An overview of all of the German productions and co-productions in Karlovy Vary:

CRYSTAL GLOBE COMPETITION
XOFTEX by Noaz Deshe (DE/FR, Arden Film)

PROXIMA COMPETITION
THE ALIENATED (VERTRIEBENE) by Anja Kreis (DE/MD/FR, FORTIS FEM FILM)
HICBIR SEY YERINDE DEGIL (NOTHING IN ITS PLACE) by Burak Çevik (TR/DE/KR, Flaneur Films)
LAPILLI by Paula Ďurinová (SK/DE, Universität der Künste Berlin)

HORIZONS
ARCHITECTON by Victor Kossakovsky (DE/FR, Ma.ja.de.)
DIRECT ACTION by Guillaume Cailleau, Ben Russell (DE/FR, CASKFILMS)
SLEEP WITH YOUR EYES OPEN (DORMIR DE OLHOS ABERTOS) by Nele Wohlatz (BRA/ARG/TWN/DE, Blinkerfilm)
MY FAVOURITE CAKE (KEYKE MAHBOOBE MAN) by Maryam Moghaddam, Behtash Sanaeeha (IR/FR/SWE/DE, Watchmen Productions)
PEPE by Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias (DOM/NAM/DE/FR, Pandora Film Produktion)
DYING (STERBEN) by Matthias Glasner (Port au Prince, Schwarzweiss Filmproduktion, Senator Film Produktion)

IMAGINA
THE GARDEN CADENCES by Dane Komljen (Flaneur Films)
OF OTHER TOMORROWS NEVER KNOWN by Natasha Tontey (ID/DE)
BEAUTIFUL DEAD WOMAN (DIE SCHÖNE TOTE) by Jan Soldat (DE/AT)
UNDR by Kamal Aljafari (PS/DE)

OUT OF THE PAST
PARIS, TEXAS by Wim Wenders (DE/FR/UK, Road Movies)

PRAGUESHORTS AT KVIFF
DORMOUSE (SIEBENSCHLÄFER) by Julia Ocker

THE WISH TO BE A RED INDIAN: KAFKA AND CINEMA
CLASS RELATIONS (KLASSENVERHÄLTNISSE) by Jean-Marie Straub, Danièle Huillet (DE/FR, Janus Film und Fernsehen)
THE CASTLE (DAS SCHLOSS) by Rudolf Noelte (Rudolf Noelte Filmproduktion, Alfa Film)
THE TRIAL by Orson Welles (FR/IT/DE, Hisa-Film)
METAMORPHOSIS (DIE VERWANDLUNG) by Jan Nemec

FUTURE FRAMES: GENERATION NEXT OF EUROPEAN CINEMA
A STUDY OF EMPATHY (EINE STUDIE IN EMPATHIE) by Hilke Rönnfeldt (DE/DK, North Ship Film)