Best Of IQMF 2024: Short Film Program incl. Q&A
Du bist So Wunderbar (Paradise Europe)
Duration: 17’
Director: Leandro Goddinho, Paulo Menezes
Language: German, English, Portuguese
Subtitles: English
Country: Germany
Year: 2023
Synopsis:
Edu is a 20-something-year-old Brazilian gay man living and working for Amazon in the German capital, while also struggling to fit in with the local culture. He has a serious medical condition, a consequence of his presumably promiscuous lifestyle. The gay scene in Berlin is highly sex-orientated, and Edu works occasionally works at the local sauna. There are ample opportunities for him to meet as many partners as he like. But the consequences of these encounters can be destructive. To make things worse, Amazon has not paid his health insurance, leaving him in a vulnerable and indeed embarrassing situation. What a pain in the arse. Quite literally.
Directors Leandro Goddinho, Paulo Menezes both attended the IQMF Academy program in 2017.
The Performance
Duration: 20’
Director: Claire Zhou
Language: Dutch, Mandarin Chinese
Subtitles: English
Country: Netherlands
Year: 2023
Synopsis:
Lin is preparing her solo performance for the Chinese New Year celebration at her church. When rumors start circulating about her son, she is faced with a difficult choice: will she hide or show her true self?
Director Claire Ahou attended the IQMF Academy program in 2018 and she won the Prize for Best Pitch.
Flores del Otro Patio (Flowers from Another Garden)
Duration: 15’
Director: Jorge Cadena
Language: Spanish
Subtitles: English
Country: Switzerland, Colombia
Year: 2022
Synopsis:
In northern Colombia, a group of queer activists use their extravagance to denounce the disastrous exploitation of the largest coal mine in Colombia through performative actions.
Director Jorge Cadena attended the IQMF Academy program in 2017.
Maghreb’s Hope
Duration: 23’
Director: Bassem Ben Brahim
Language: Arabic
Subtitles: English
Country: Tunisia
Year: 2023
Synopsis:
Through a fusion of animation and real images, queer individuals from the Maghreb share their stories, from their homeland to various parts of the rest of the world. These individuals have fiercely broken societal taboos around gender and sexuality, defying social, legal and familial pressures, even among those who have chosen to break away from their families.
Director Bassem Ben Brahim attended the IQMF Academy program in 2019.
I Don’t Want to Be Just a Memory
Duration: 20’
Director: Sarnt Utamachote
Language: English, Spanish
Subtitles: English
Country: Germany
Year: 2024
Synopsis:
Berlin queer community members mourn the substance abuse-related loss of their friends by sharing memories and rituals. Resembling glow-in-the-dark fungi, they radiate light together as a network of support and care.
I Don’t Want to Be Just a Memory premiered in the Forum section of Berlinale 2024. In attendance of filmmaker Sarnt Utamachote.