It was that time of the year again—Europe on Screen is back! If you saw my post from last year, you might know just how much Agung and I love this festival. It held such a story in your relationship. After a couple years of being online and last year being only partially offline, the festival is finally being held fully offline again. To be honest, it’s a little bittersweet as I enjoyed catching a lot of the films online last year. Alas, it is out of my hands. Now it was time for strategical thinking. And so, Agung and I wasted no time at all—we started planning.
First we took a look at the catalogue and scanned all the film titles and synopsis. Agung took his picks of the films he wanted to see, I took my picks of the films that attracted me. Out of 28 films, we decided on 10 titles to watch, the schedules of which I input to Google Calendar. Apparently, a lot of them had clashing schedules—although it still seemed pretty doable one way or another. What we didn’t take into account are two possible obstacles that ended up getting in our way: my exhaustion from the hectic work month (not week, month!) and our collective exhaustion from, well, being 30 (lol!). Due to my work-induced exhaustion, I input one of the schedules wrong which led to our missing one film. Our collective exhaustion led to us catching only 2 films in the end. Oh well, this is the story of those films.
It was that time of the year again—Europe on Screen is back! If you saw my post from last year, you might know just how much Agung and I love this festival. It held such a story in your relationship. After a couple years of being online and last year being only partially offline, the festival is finally being held fully offline again. To be honest, it’s a little bittersweet as I enjoyed catching a lot of the films online last year. Alas, it is out of my hands. Now it was time for strategical thinking. And so, Agung and I wasted no time at all—we started planning.
First we took a look at the catalogue and scanned all the film titles and synopsis. Agung took his picks of the films he wanted to see, I took my picks of the films that attracted me. Out of 28 films, we decided on 10 titles to watch, the schedules of which I input to Google Calendar. Apparently, a lot of them had clashing schedules—although it still seemed pretty doable one way or another. What we didn’t take into account are two possible obstacles that ended up getting in our way: my exhaustion from the hectic work month (not week, month!) and our collective exhaustion from, well, being 30 (lol!). Due to my work-induced exhaustion, I input one of the schedules wrong which led to our missing one film. Our collective exhaustion led to us catching only 2 films in the end. Oh well, this is the story of those films.
Film 1: Watering Conspiracies
The first film we saw was Somewhere Over the Chemtrails, as picked by Agung. It is directed by an up-and-coming Czech director, Adam Koloman Rybanský. Before we saw the film, there were a few words from the Czech Republic Embassy Rep. who introduced us to little trivias of the film. Apparently, the director cast mostly non-actors for his debut film—and it was good!
The story is set in this small village in the Czech Republic, after a vehicle crashes into the Easter market and was perceived as a terrorist attack by the villagers. Taking advantage of this turmoil, a veteran firefighter called Broňa fuels the anxiety and fear among the villagers to ignite mistrust towards people of a different ethnic background. Standa, a cowardly firefighter and Broňa’s godchild, must choose to do the right thing or follow his godfather’s lead—his moral compass thus far. The film really gives off a beautiful Wes Anderson-meet-Edgar-Wright vibe. Very funny!
Film 1: Watering Conspiracies
The first film we saw was Somewhere Over the Chemtrails, as picked by Agung. It is directed by an up-and-coming Czech director, Adam Koloman Rybanský. Before we saw the film, there were a few words from the Czech Republic Embassy Rep. who introduced us to little trivias of the film. Apparently, the director cast mostly non-actors for his debut film—and it was good!
The story is set in this small village in the Czech Republic, after a vehicle crashes into the Easter market and was perceived as a terrorist attack by the villagers. Taking advantage of this turmoil, a veteran firefighter called Broňa fuels the anxiety and fear among the villagers to ignite mistrust towards people of a different ethnic background. Standa, a cowardly firefighter and Broňa’s godchild, must choose to do the right thing or follow his godfather’s lead—his moral compass thus far. The film really gives off a beautiful Wes Anderson-meet-Edgar-Wright vibe. Very funny!
Film 2: A Tension Broken
Yet another film picked by Agung, this one is a German film called Holy Shit! (It’s really funny how they censor the title in the catalogue and tickets). We caught this screening on the second-to-last day of the festival. The turnout wasn’t as good as the previous film we watched. In the middle of showing, the screen turned blue for a good minute. We should’ve taken these as warnings for the kind of film we were going to watch. It really wasn’t what we expected.
The film follows a young architect who wakes up one day to find that he is locked in a port-a-potty—and, to make matters worse, it is located at a demolition site that will detonate in 30 minutes. As he tries to find ways to get out of this predicament, pieces of his memories start to return and he figures out he put him here in the first place. Be warned, there is body horror in this film! But, trust me, it ain’t as serious as you may think!
Film 2: A Tension Broken
Yet another film picked by Agung, this one is a German film called Holy Shit! (It’s really funny how they censor the title in the catalogue and tickets). We caught this screening on the second-to-last day of the festival. The turnout wasn’t as good as the previous film we watched. In the middle of showing, the screen turned blue for a good minute. We should’ve taken these as warnings for the kind of film we were going to watch. It really wasn’t what we expected.
The film follows a young architect who wakes up one day to find that he is locked in a port-a-potty—and, to make matters worse, it is located at a demolition site that will detonate in 30 minutes. As he tries to find ways to get out of this predicament, pieces of his memories start to return and he figures out he put him here in the first place. Be warned, there is body horror in this film! But, trust me, it ain’t as serious as you may think!
Hand-me-down top + jacket // thrifted pants // Noesa headband // unbranded sandals // photos of me by Agung
Playing Catch Up
As I’ve said before: in reality, Agung and I only managed to catch two films during the Europe on Screen festival—since all the screenings are offline. However, we actually wanted to watch a whole lot more films from the catalogue—and I’m not one to give up on these things—so let’s just say I turned to other means to watch some of the films available. Here are some of the titles I managed to find—although there are still a few others I wished I could catch but alas.
Hand-me-down top + jacket // thrifted pants // Noesa headband // unbranded sandals // photos of me by Agung
Playing Catch Up
As I’ve said before: in reality, Agung and I only managed to catch two films during the Europe on Screen festival—since all the screenings are offline. However, we actually wanted to watch a whole lot more films from the catalogue—and I’m not one to give up on these things—so let’s just say I turned to other means to watch some of the films available. Here are some of the titles I managed to find—although there are still a few others I wished I could catch but alas.
1. Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush – Germany
In the wake of the 9/11 tragedy, a Turkish mother will stop at nothing to have her son back in her life after being falsely accused and detained in Guantanamo prison. A funny, beautiful and heartwarming re-telling of a true story spanning several years.
2. Der Passfälscher (The Forger) – Germany
From the actor who gave us Jonas from DARK, comes a character whose one crucial skill is forging passports in 1942 Berlin, saving many lives and creating new identities for himself. A nuanced look at the Jewish experience of WWII.
3. Pahanhautoja (Hatching) – Finland
A teenage gymnast, who is constantly pressured by her mother to live up to her failed dreams of winning medals, one day finds a strange egg that brings chaos to her life. It’s a surprisingly deep story on childhood trauma.
1. Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush – Germany
In the wake of the 9/11 tragedy, a Turkish mother will stop at nothing to have her son back in her life after being falsely accused and detained in Guantanamo prison. A funny, beautiful and heartwarming re-telling of a true story spanning several years.
2. Der Passfälscher (The Forger) – Germany
From the actor who gave us Jonas from DARK, comes a character whose one crucial skill is forging passports in 1942 Berlin, saving many lives and creating new identities for himself. A nuanced look at the Jewish experience of WWII.
3. Pahanhautoja (Hatching) – Finland
A teenage gymnast, who is constantly pressured by her mother to live up to her failed dreams of winning medals, one day finds a strange egg that brings chaos to her life. It’s a surprisingly deep story on childhood trauma.
A Little Detour
As usual, whenever I’m at Goethe, I would have to pay a visit to their library and borrow a few books—although these photos are actually from the Erasmus Huis library, which is just as cool. It just so happens that around this time I was behind on my reading challenge, so I thought I’d catch up with some graphic novels—and German graphic novels are always so interesting to me. This time I borrowed three books at once: Die Wurzeln der Lena Siebert by Raphaela Buder, In China by Sascha Hommer and Traumnovelle by Jakob Hinrichs. By the time you’re reading this, I’ve probably finished all these books, so stay tuned for reviews in the future—or, if you can’t wait, feel free to visit my Goodreads page. I’m sure the reviews would have been in by now.
Did you watch Europe on Screen? Which one is your favourite film?
A Little Detour
As usual, whenever I’m at Goethe, I would have to pay a visit to their library and borrow a few books—although these photos are actually from the Erasmus Huis library, which is just as cool. It just so happens that around this time I was behind on my reading challenge, so I thought I’d catch up with some graphic novels—and German graphic novels are always so interesting to me. This time I borrowed three books at once: Die Wurzeln der Lena Siebert by Raphaela Buder, In China by Sascha Hommer and Traumnovelle by Jakob Hinrichs. By the time you’re reading this, I’ve probably finished all these books, so stay tuned for reviews in the future—or, if you can’t wait, feel free to visit my Goodreads page. I’m sure the reviews would have been in by now.
Did you watch Europe on Screen? Which one is your favourite film?