Liv Thastum | Author at Generation Reports

15Feb

There are no heroes left in the world

A poem written as reaction to the film „Not a hero“ by Rima Das houses transform into treesbig streets to forest roads a boy is sent to the village suddenly the only highway around, is the ant trail on top of the trunk “he can’t even read assamese“ say the children at school your parents left the language behind forgot the words in the village as they moved to the city when you look closely at the words their shapes transform into their meaning . গছ is a tree ঘোঁৰা is a horse বন্ধু is a friend . it all makes sense: "sometimes I talk to the trees" says the girl "sometimes I talk to myself" says the boy don’t be afraid to cry boy nature does it all the time the trees need the water there are no heroes left in the world just us Read also: Rain exhaus...

13Feb

By Leo, Liv Heyden, Liv Thastum, Hannah Everitt and Anouk SegebartNo Comments

Background, General, Review

It’s Time

A rustling sound. At first very quiet, barely distinguishable from the wind, then growing louder and louder, hissing and roaring. A flickering, bright light flashes on and off, clacking and clicking — until finally, slowly, a heavy hatch opens and thick steam hisses into the evening sky. ‘Do you think time travel is real?‘ The time machine is the mystery that gives this year's Kplus opening film, A Fabulosa Máquina do Tempo, its title. From the perspective of 10-year-old Manuellinha and her friends, the film explores questions about the past and future, among other things, and what it actually means to grow up. After watching the film, we also took a closer look at these questions and collected various impressions as brief texts, which we would like to share with you here. At the...

The language of music – interview with composer Peyman Yazdanian

28Mar

By Liv ThastumNo Comments

Interview

The language of music – interview with composer Peyman Yazdanian

One of the most touching films of this year's Berlinale screened in the Generation K+ Section was the Chinese film Zhi Wu Xue Jia - The Botanist by Jing Yi. A film that takes us to a small village at the Chinese border close to Kasachstan. For its touching portrayal of the region, its enrichment to the discourse on the human-nature relation and its stunning pictures The Botanist receives this year's Grad Prix for Best Feature Film in the Generation K+ section. I was deeply touched by this film and especially by the wonderful music, that transported the beauty and melancholy of the pictures. Therefore I asked composer Peyman Yazdanian for an interview. Peyman is an Iranian pianist and music composer. He is internationally known for his compositions for both national and foreign feature film...

Oppressed, empowered, overlooked: Young Perspectives in the Berlinale Competition

28Feb

By Liv ThastumNo Comments

Review

Oppressed, empowered, overlooked: Young Perspectives in the Berlinale Competition

The first competition lineup under festival director Tricia Tuttle was presented at this year’s 75th Berlinale and featured several films with young protagonists in focus. The world of children and teenagers is portrayed in vastly different ways. How do these films differ? How is the young perspective brought to the screen? And which of these films are fitting for a young audience? Liv Thastum reflects on three of this year’s competition films: the Argentinian El mensaje by Iván Fund (Silver Bear winner), the Norwegian winner of the Golden Bear Drømmer by Dag Johan Haugerud, and the Ukrainian documentary Strichka chasu by Kateryna Gornostai. Oppressed: El mensaje © Iván Fund, Laura Mara Tablón, Gustavo Schiaffino / Rita Cine, Insomnia Films ...

21Feb

By Liv ThastumNo Comments

Review

Rain exhausts over Assam

A poem in reaction to the film "Village Rockstars 2" by Rima Das (for Rima Das and the women of Kalardiya) when flood comesthe river lives in our house for a whilethe bed gets wetthe grain drowns I only cry when I'm alone,says the motherI want to be small again,says the daughter men want to buy the landheavy machines will carve cracks into the landscapeasphalt will pour over the fieldsmoney will change hands mother and daughter know:there was once a forest herethere once was a river tree bleeds, resin drips trees will be felledbikes will rustsongs will be sungthe field will remain ours

Waiting until it gets dark – about one of America’s most dangerous migration routes

20Feb

By Liv ThastumNo Comments

Background, Film and Poetry

Waiting until it gets dark – about one of America’s most dangerous migration routes

Critique, background article, and poem on the short film Atardecer en América And suddenly, an uncontrollable sadness rises from my stomach, and I feel the tears running. I sit there in front of my computer, in the midst of my research, and find myself crying. I see the images from the short film reappear, I watch the landscape – the Altiplano high plateau – vanish; people, animals, and nature disappear. I see people dying. I hear the buzzwords from the articles I’ve read: Venezuela – the world’s second largest exodus, 7.7 million people, plus climate refugees, drought, rising temperatures, 7,000 kilometers from Venezuela to Chile, and countless unreported cases. “Atardecer en América” – Sunset over America – is the title of the short film that moved me so deeply and led me to the re...