Editor

Last Thursday saw the 32nd Sao Paulo International Film Festival come to an end with a double success for THE STRANGER IN ME (DAS FREMDE IN MIR). Director Emily Atef won the prize for the „Best Film", and the prize for „Best Actress" went to Susanne Wolff. Wim Wenders, the festival's guest of honour, was presented with the „Humanity Award".

German films were not only in large numbers in the competition, but also in the festival's other sections. Altogether, the festival showed 29 German films and co-productions.

The New Directors competition featured DR. ALEMÁN by Tom Schreiber, HEROES FROM THE NEIGHBOURHOOD (DIE HELDEN AUS DER NACHBARSCHAFT) by Jovan Arsenic, MONOGAMY FOR BEGINNERS (MONOGAMIE FUER ANFAENGER) by Marc Malze, BERLIN-BUENOS AIRES (DIE TRAENEN MEINER MUTTER) by Alejandro Cardenas Amelio, THE STRANGER IN ME (DAS FREMDE IN MIR) by Emily Atef, CITY OF THE WORLD (WELTSTADT) by Christian Klandt, WHAT IF DEATH DO US APART? (WAS WENN DER TOD UNS SCHEIDET) by Ulrike Grothe as well as the German-international co-production TULPAN by Sergei Dvortsevoy (DE/KZ/RU/PL).

The Perspective section presented 13 German productions: ABSURDISTAN by Veit Helmer, CHERRY BLOSSOMS - HANAMI (KIRSCHBLUETEN – HANAMI) by Doris Doerrie, CLOUD 9 (WOLKE 9) by Andreas Dresen, MAUI BOYZ by Carsten Maaz, MELODIES OF SPRING (MAERZMELODIE) by Martin Walz, MESSY CHRISTMAS (MEINE SCHOENE BESCHERUNG) by Vanessa Jopp, NOBODY’S PERFECT by Niko von Glasow, PEACE MISSION by Dorothee Wenner, REVERSE SHOT by Dominik Wessely and Laurens Straub, SEVEN DAYS SUNDAY (SIEBEN TAGE SONNTAG) by Niels Laupert, and NATURE BEFORE US by Niels Bolbrinker (DE/IC/LT), THE WAY OF A WARRIOR (DER PFAD DES KRIEGERS) by Andreas Pichler (DE/CH/IT) and THE OTHER SIDE OF ISTANBUL by Doendue Kilic (DE/TR).

ECHOES by Saschko Frey, HAKIM by Ismail Sahin, THE BLACK ROSE OR HOW MR. FOSSENRATH TRIED NOT TO CHANGE THE WORLD by Mario A. Conte and Simone Wendel and THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE REFUGEE by Colm Quinn (DE/IE) could be seen in Short Films.

Special Screenings were given of BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, ONE WHO SET FORTH - WIM WENDERS' EARLY YEARS (VON EINEM DER AUSZOG – WIM WENDERS FRUEHE JAHRE) by Marcel Wehn, PALERMO SHOOTING by Wim Wenders and VALERIE by Birgit Moeller.