Short Films 2 14plus

Yardbird

D: Michael Spiccia

Australia 2012, 14 min, English OV

Ruby lives with her father on a remote scrapyard where she helps him out. She is different from other teenagers, a dreamer who doesn’t speak a word. She often has nose bleeds and then her eyes narrow. Her father never wants her to leave the yard. But then a couple of thugs turn up and Ruby shows what she’s made of, demonstrating powers that unnerve even herself.

The Package

D: Rafael Aidar

Brazil 2012, 18 Min. Portuguese

At a new school Leandro meets the lively Jefferson. They form an instant attachment and soon realise that theirs is no ordinary friendship. But Jefferson has to tell Leandro something and he is clearly struggling to get it out. Leandro enquires further, hoping it’s some kind of a joke. Except Jeff doesn’t look like he’s joking. If they want to be together there's one irreversible thing Leandro must deal with: Jeff is HIV positive.

Rhino Full Throttle

D: Erik Schmitt

Germany 2013, 15 Min, German

Bruno roams the streets of Berlin with his head full of questions, gazing behind the many facades and surfaces. He is seeking the soul of the city, that certain something that others might never notice. He unexpectedly meets an ally who immediately understands his way of thinking. Bruno falls in love. Everything would be fine if only his newly found soulmate did not have to move on so soon. Bruno does not have much time to express his feelings.

Barefoot

D: Danis Goulet

Canada 2012, 11 Min, English

Very young mothers are by no means a rarity among the Cree in snowbound Saskatchewan. But, unlike her girlfriends, sixteen-year-old Alyssa has other reasons for the swelling beneath her hoodie. Unfolding in just a few spare scenes, the film tells the story of young love that goes awry. Filmmaker Danis Goulet - who is herself Cree - describes the challenges of living in such an isolated community. Her film is also an exploration of the hopes, desires and prospects for young Cree women today.

Animals I Killed Last Summer

D: Gustav Danielsson

Sweden 2012, 15 Min, Swedish

This summer, Leo’s got it in for quite a lot of animals. Ants, wasps – no small creature at their holiday home is safe from him. His father tries unsuccessfully to stop him from killing them but only manages to entangle himself in contradictions – because he too soon has blood on his hands. Deep rifts begin to open up in the garden of an average modern middle-class family. In its meticulously observed scenes the film examines the hypocrisy of a society that might be shocked by the way that animals are killed, but has no qualms about living off them just the same.

Flight of the Pompadour

D: Karan Kandhari

UK 2012, 8 Min, no language

He has prepared everything so well: his loafers are polished, his hair has been thoroughly back-combed, his quiff meticulously arranged. And yet, something is not quite right. As he enters the Rockabilly Club in slow motion, everyone gives him a deadpan stare. He has to drink his cola alone at the table; the girl leaves the dancefloor the moment he steps onto it; the barman looks straight through him. Thank goodness some lads can rebrand him with the right style.

The First Time

D: Anders Hazelius

Sweden 2013, 9 Min, Swedish

The first time can be really hard, especially when you feel you've got something to prove to your mates. Alex and the others hang out at the beach, chatting and bragging. He tries to get closer to Sofia with a joke she finds totally unfunny. Nevertheless they go off together. A first awkward kiss, they lie in the grass, zips get undone. They both want something to happen but it simply doesn't work out. Never mind, they think, but what will they tell the others?

Rabbitland

D: Ana Nedeljkovic, Nikola Majdak

Serbia 2012, 7 Min. English

The rabbits are blissfully happy. Nothing awful can happen to them because they are at the top of the evolutionary tree: they have no brain. The rabbits live in the ruins of Rabbitland – the perfect democracy. Every day, its inhabitants go out to vote. And every day they vote for the same representatives. After the polling they all go home, watch the results on TV, and are happy. So happy in fact, that it is creepy. A scathing portrait of utopia, brilliantly animated in plasticine.

Admission: 4 €

Group concessions: groups from 5 persons and up for 2,50 per person with prior registration by phone under 030 252 927 66 (daily 11 - 17h).

Reserved tickets can be collected at the Berlinale Center, Eichhornstraße 3, Postdamer Platz (from February 6 daily 11 - 18h).