Reflection I

The films in “Reflection” I and II prompt contemplation and thought, revolving around topics such as war, migration, coming to terms with the past and identity. For example, in “How Did the Pandas Become Extinct?”, Turkish director Halim Yentür examines the power of the state and how a group can be explicitly excluded. In “Holy Holocaust” by Osi Wald and Noa Berman-Herzberg, two friends try to understand how the past can influence a friendship. The award-winning film “Love, Dad” by Diana Cam Van Nguyen focuses on her father, who was in prison – with the help of his letters, the director explores the question of when she lost her love for him. Joseph Pierce’s “SCALE”, which celebrated its world premiere in Cannes in 2022, tells the devastating family story of a father who takes refuge in drugs.

Do you still remember your first school party? Chloé Alliez and Violette Delvoye’s triumphant film “Inglorious Liaisons” takes us back to our teenage years: yes, with pimples and those rapturous glances at the people we fell for. Experimental filmmaker Justin Jinsoo Kim explores how long the soldiers in “The Exhausted” can move in space before they drop from exhaustion – a film inspired by Samuel Beckett’s “Quad” (1981). In Sean Buckelew’s “Drone”, a killer drone installed with an ethical AI personality questions its own meaning. The film is not only about the impact of media on (self-)perception or the implication of drones, but also about a scrutiny of human actions.