Dec 16, 2019
Should I Stay or Should I Go – Young People on the Move

As diverse and challenging as the realities of life of young people in different parts of the world, so too are the topics and forms of the Generation films, which have been invited by section head Maryanne Redpath up to now.

The following co-production countries are represented so far: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, France, Mexico, Mongolia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the USA.

Nine of the films celebrate their world premiere at Generation.

As part of the Berlinale School Project, which has been organised in cooperation with VISION KINO since 2006, primary and secondary school teachers from Berlin and Brandenburg are integrating selected films from the section into their lessons.

The full programme will be released in January.

Generation 14plus

Black Sheep Boy
France
by James Molle
World premiere / Short film / Animation

In a world which resembles a computer game from bygone times, an unloved boy embarks upon a search for answers to the essential questions: How does one become happy in life? Is there a “real me”, or do we just play some character?

Clebs
Canada / Morocco
by Halima Ouardiri
International premiere / Short film / Documentary form

For the 750 dogs that live in a Moroccan shelter, the daily routine consists of eating, resting, a bit of fighting and eating again. Could they possibly expect more from life? A pointed, cinematic commentary on mass confinement.

The Flame
Australia
by Nick Waterman
World premiere / Short film / Documentary form

Fire, wind and smoke have been the fundamental elements for Aboriginal people for thousands of years. Their knowledge of the original power of fire is passed on from one generation to the next. A creative development of oral storytelling in audio-visual form.

Goodbye Golovin
Canada
by Mathieu Grimard
International premiere / Short film

For Ian, his father's death is an emancipation. He is determined to leave behind the echo of those emotionally charged words, the desolate high-rise estate and his old home and start over again.

Kokon
Germany
by Leonie Krippendorff
World premiere

In the shimmering midsummer days, there are many first times for young Nora from Kreuzberg: menstruating, smoking marijuana, discovering sexual desires. And then there's Romy as well. The two young women, impressively played by Lena Urzendowsky and Jella Haase, gently approach each other.

Meu nome é Bagdá (My Name is Baghdad)
Brazil
by Caru Alves de Souza
World premiere

A film from the skater world of São Paulo, where it is women who call the shots. Bagdá is surrounded by self-confident role models in her family. However, outside on the streets, in the venues and clubs, the old machismo continues to dominate. Bagdá and her fellow comrades-in-arms confront it defiantly.

Något att minnas (Something to Remember)
Sweden
by Niki Lindroth von Bahr
Short film / Animation

An animated puppet film as a melancholy ballad: In deserted conference rooms, bed stores, experimental laboratories, medical offices, petrol stations and scientific centres, animals strike up the swan song to a world that may never be what it once was.

Notre-Dame du Nil (Our Lady of the Nile)
France
by Atiq Rahimi

In the microcosm of an elite Catholic school in Rwanda, the contrasts and hostilities between Hutu and Tutsi that are already deeply rooted in society are mirrored by a group of teenage girls. A literary film adaptation, inspired by the real events that forewarn the genocide of the Rwandan Civil War in 1994.

Paradise Drifters
Netherlands
by Mees Peijnenburg
International premiere / Debut film

On the edge of Europe's affluent society, in the middle of the concrete jungle, the paths of Yousef, Chloe and Lorenzo intersect. Three homeless young people who combine their silent longing for security with their loud cry for independence.

Pompei
Belgium / France / Canada
by Anna Falguères, John Shank

Swaggering with the coolness of James Dean, the members of a youthful gang exist in a world virtually without adults. Following their own rules, they search in the middle of nowhere for the artefacts of a lost civilization, until the appearance of a young woman changes everything. A powerful story of liberation reminiscent of “Lord of the Flies”.

White Riot
United Kingdom
by Rubika Shah
International premiere / Debut film / Documentary form

What kind of democratic resistance can young people offer in times of burgeoning racism? The filmmaker, who herself was faced with racism as a young woman, pursues the forces of the "Rock against Racism" movement in London in the mid-1970s. A movement embodied by the music of The Clash, Steel Pulse and X-Ray Spex.

Generation Kplus

Death of Nintendo
Philippines / USA
by Raya Martin
World premiere

Only something truly earthshaking can keep four 13-year-olds away from their computer games: the eruption of a volcano, the first feelings of falling in love, the dreaded initiation into manhood. Filipino director Raya Martin (Independencia, 2009 WCF and La Última Película, 2014 Forum Expanded) plunges into a dazzling world of the pop culture of the 1990s.

Un diable dans la poche
France
by Antoine Bonnet, Mathilde Loubes
World premiere / Short film / Animation

As children play hide and seek, they witness a crime. Only Auguste, the youngest amongst them, no longer wants to carry the burden of keeping the grave secret. A poetically crafted miniature about guilt, betrayal and loyalty.

A Fool God
France
by Hiwot Admasu Getaneh
Short film

Can God ever be wrong? Are older people always right? And is it fair to forever condemn a person who has once done wrong and subsequently repented? Smart and self-confident, the young Mesi questions the rituals and stories of her Ethiopian family.

H is for Happiness
Australia
by John Sheedy
International premiere / Debut film

With a smile on her freckled face, and accompanied by her seemingly unshakable optimism, Candice Phee faces the big problems of life: from A to Z. A fast-paced coming-of-age comedy based on Barry Jonsberg's hit novel “My Life as an Alphabet”.

Los lobos
Mexico
by Samuel Kishi Leopo

Their land of dreams is "Disneyland". Together with their mother, the brothers Max and Leo have just crossed the border from Mexico into the United States, and it’s not easy for them to gain a foothold in their new home country. The director draws upon his own childhood experiences and tells an emigration story of current explosiveness.

Mignonnes (Cuties)
France
by Maïmouna Doucouré
Debut film

Looking good is the most important thing for the girls at Amy's new school. But only those who have the really cool moves can belong to the "Cuties". Torn between the traditional image of women within her Senegalese community and the new look of her dance crew, Amy is seeking to develop her own self-concept.

Perro
Germany
by Lin Sternal
World premiere / Debut film / Documentary form

Perro and his grandmother fear for their homeland in southern Nicaragua, an area which is threatened by the planned construction of the 300-km-long "El Gran Canal". The documentary accompanies the silent and nature-loving boy amidst the inevitable farewell to his old life in the jungle and his new beginnings in the city.

Sweet Thing
USA
by Alexandre Rockwell
World premiere

A dysfunctional family is portrayed in all shades of black-and-white: For the siblings Billie and Nico, living together with their father means enduring an emotional roller coaster ride instead of enjoying a peaceful coexistence. The adults are constantly getting out of control and overstepping their bounds. In an act of liberation, the children set off on their own adventure.

Veins of the World (Die Adern der Welt)
Germany / Mongolia
by Byambasuren Davaa
World premiere

Amra is growing up in the Mongolian steppe between herds of goats and YouTube videos. His hopes and dreams revolve around someday performing onstage in "Mongolia's Got Talent". However, the fight against the exploitation by gold mining companies and the campaign for a viable environment soon challenge the boy's eclectic talents.

Press Office
December 17, 2019