DACH Competition 2

It’s not easy to settle down in a foreign country — especially if you don’t speak the language. Or have a residence permit. Conversely, the country one used to call home can also become a foreign place. We really shouldn’t ignore the warning signals our bodies send us.

Fever – Director: Thanh-Giang Nguyen · Germany, Vietnam · 20 min · Vietnamese (OmeU)

A young man returns to his Vietnamese hometown after several years abroad. Instead of feeling at home, however, he finds the atmosphere stifling. Some people want to emigrate; others go missing. Meanwhile, an illness with strange symptoms is spreading. A society caught in a fever dream.

Fell in Love with a Book – Director: Melina Hofer · Switzerland · 15 min · French, English, Portuguese, German (OmeU)

People without residence permits are known as “sans-papiers”. A group of them have written a book about their experiences. By reading aloud from it in public places, they seek to inspire dialogue and solidarity.

Trance – Director: Jona Schloßer · Germany · 22 min · German (OmeU)

Exhausted, Yasmin struggles through her shift as a paramedic. She juggles critical emergency calls and the pressure of being her family’s sole breadwinner. When she has no alternative but to secretly take her little sister along in the ambulance, she finds herself on the verge of losing control.

Ever After – Director: Helen Hideko · Austria · 18 min · English (OmeU)

Belly and her parents recently moved to Austria. She doesn’t fit in at school because she doesn’t speak German. She’s also the first girl in her class to menstruate. The only place she finds comfort is the underwater realm of mermaids, where the line between reality and fantasy is blurred.

Frederikke – Director: Janne Hansberg · Germany · 7 min · Danish (OmeU)

Frederikke has quit smoking and seems to have regained control of her life. That’s until she bumps into a stranger and her façade begins to crumble. What follows are a white Lada, high heels on the beach, and Schlager music.