Shortfilms 1 Generation Kplus

The Big Brother

D: Jesús Pérez, Elisabeth Hüttermann

Schwitzerland, Germany, 2011, 6 min, no language

suitable for age: 4 & above

A film for children about fun and cruelty, made using a mixture of stop-motion photography and animated drawings. Two animated figures develop a life of their own. They humiliate and demean a third, as yet incomplete animated figure – until the tables are turned and the third figure emerges as being their stronger older brother.

I am round

D: Mario Adamson

Sweden, 2011, 14 min, no language

suitable for age: 4 & above

Like everyone else Mathilda was born round. But unlike everyone else she can’t turn into a square. She grows up as an outsider in a square world with only the moon to comfort her when times are hard. Once she grows up, she tries to adapt to square standards in order to fit in – but without success. One day at work she meets Alex. He is just like she is – round.

Kuchao (Kaugummijunge)

D: Masaki Okuda

Japan, 2010, 4 min, Japanese

suitable for age: 4 & above

Kuchao is a bit of an outsider as far as school is concerned. The others are preoccupied with releasing balloons into the air, but he’d rather chew gum. But chewing bubble gum can also help you take off, high up to where the aeroplanes and rockets are. His high altitude flight is brought to an abrupt end however when he meets a bird with a sharp beak that literally bursts his dream.
A handmade animation film swept along by the rhythms of traditional Japanese music on the soundtrack.

Tides To And Fro

Regie: Ivan Maximov

Russian Federation, 2010, 10 min, no language

suitable for age: 4 & above

An animated film about the rich and varied life on the coast; its continual ebb and flow, and the area where the water level is constantly changing. The place that was dry just a moment ago is wet the next. Fantastic creatures react to this constant flux: mumbling fish wander towards the water, trunked creatures dig for krill, and amphibians struggle against the tide.

Acorn Boy

D: Dace Riduze

Latvia, 2010, 10 min, no language

suitable for age: 4 & above

The adventures of a little acorn boy in the village of stalks where he meets Mrs Bee, Mr Spider, the ants and many other insects. Loosely based on a picture book by the Latvian author Margarita Stāraste, whose work the director loved to read as a child – and still enjoys reading with her own children.

Simple Things

D: Behzad Farahat

Iran, 2010, 4 min, no language

suitable for age: 4 & above

The sixth in a series of six animated films created from hand-drawn sketches telling the story of a small, cheeky and inquisitive squirrel. When the squirrel discovers a strange creature amidst the trees this leads to a turbulent encounter – on land, on water and in the air.

Online-Tickets: www.berlinale.de