Short on Answers: Calling Film into Question
Short on Answers: Calling Film into Question
- Date
- Feb 22nd 2024
- With
- Ilker Çatak, Jennifer Reeder, Xabier Erkizia moderated by Anna Henckel-Donnersmarck
Long before their internationally lauded features, directors Jennifer Reeder (“Knives and Skin”) and Ilker Çatak (currently Academy Award nominated with “The Teacher’s Lounge”) cut their teeth on several shorts; and together with Xabier Erkizia, the sound designer behind such festival gems as Lois Patiño’s “Samsara,” they sit on the jury of Berlinale Shorts. In this lively encounter with the audience, which is not at all a classical talk, the three will engage in a question-and-answer game that will have them draw from their experiences working on films of all lengths, and explore common ways to communicate with images, gestures, soundscapes, and even telepathy and just silence. For those looking for unexpected answers on the art of filmmaking, its magic as well as its frustrations, this hands-on closing panel of the Berlinale Talents week on 'Language' is definitely an event out of question.
Ilker Çatak
Ilker Çatak is a director and screenwriter from Berlin. He grew up in Berlin and Istanbul and spent four years working for German and international cinema productions before studying film formally. He has realised over a dozen short films. His fourth feature film “Das Lehrerzimmer” (“The Teacher's Lounge”), which premiered last year in Panorama, is nominated for the Oscar® as Best International Feature Film of the Year 2024. Çatak has also received numerous prizes for his other short and feature-length works, such as “Es gilt das gesprochene Wort” (“I Was, I Am, I Will Be”).
© Florian Mag
Jennifer Reeder
Jennifer Reeder is a director, screenwriter, video artist and lecturer from Chicago. In her short films, she has devoted herself to the world of young girls, making her own mark in the teen-film genre in the process. Her films have been shown around the world, both in fine art contexts and at prestigious film festivals. Reeder's past Berlinale highlights include premieres of “Blood Below the Skin” (2015), “Crystal Lake” (2016), her first feature-length film “Knives and Skin” (2019) and the horror-thriller “Perpetrator” (2023).
© Joe Mazza
Xabier Erkizia
Xabier Erkizia is a sound artist and researcher from the Basque region. In his works, he examines the acts of listening to, producing and shaping sound. He also creates sound installations for exhibitions and stage productions as well as radio productions and film soundtracks. “El sembrador de estrellas” (Berlinale Shorts 2022) and “Samsara” (Encounters 2023) by Lois Patiño are two of over 100 films he has worked on. In addition, Erkizia is active as a filmmaker, researches and publishes on sound in all its forms, curates music festivals and teaches.
© Asier Gogortza
Anna Henckel-Donnersmarck
Anna Henckel-Donnersmarck works with the moving image in various ways. She creates video projections for theatre, opera, dance and music concerts, as well as video installations for exhibitions and museums. She teaches at art schools and works for film festivals as a programmer, moderator or member of the jury. Her focus is on short film. She was a member of the selection team for twelve years before becoming the head of Berlinale Shorts in 2019.
© Anjula Schaub