FF Muenster

20-year-old Marisa is a member of a group of right-wing extremists in a small East German town. Her life is aimless and governed by small-minded prejudices. Marisa begins to question her convictions after violence and attacks against innocent people increasingly escalate.
“Kriegerin” (Combat Girls), the feature-film debut of writer-director David Wnendt, is part of the European Feature Film Competition at the 14th Filmfestival Münster (12-16 October 2011). The film, precisely observed and featuring a series of impressive performances, represents a no-holds-barred depiction of right-wing radicals and the hollow rituals they cling to.
The Swiss film, “Stationspiraten” (Bold Heroes), a life-affirming look at the challenges faced by teenagers with cancer, is also in the running. Director Michael Schaerer approaches their lives’ highs and lows in a children’s hospital with impressive sensitivity and shows how they bravely join together to face their uncertain futures. In this way, “Stationspiraten” provides a convincing illustration of this year’s competition theme, “What keeps life together”. A total of eight feature films are fighting it out for the title of best director, which is associated with prize money of EUR 7,500.

40 short films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland were selected from 550 entries for the German-language Short Film Competition. The films, which will be presented in seven competition blocks, are all in the running for prize money of EUR 9,000. The selected films include the latest gems from former festival winners: Hanna Nordholt and Fritz Steingrobe open their elaborate “Wunderkammern”, Till Nowak dazzles with his impressive fake documentary “The Centrifuge Brain Project”, and Stephan “Flint” Müller, who attended his first ever film festival in Münster in 2003 and was promptly awarded a prize for his film “Nasse Zigarren für Berlin”, is returning to the festival with laconic understatement and his short comedy epic “Nun sehen Sie Folgendes” (co-directed by Erik Schmitt).

Focusing on the subject of “Freundschaft” (friendship), Filmfestival Münster is showing school students in years 7 to 10 four short film blocks dealing with the various aspects of friendship – what it is, how to find it and keep it alive. The school programme’s films approach the topic in a range of ways in terms of form and content, providing the young people with plenty of food for thought on the issue. For the first time, the prize for the best film in the view of the school student judging panel will be joined by an Audience Award for the best interpretation of the topic.

The programme for the competitions and other sections featured in the Filmfestival Münster, which is being hosted by Filmwerkstatt Münster, will be published in mid-September. More at: www.filmfestival-muenster.de