Hippie Ned Rochlin (Paul Rudd) is just too good for this world. Out of pure human kindness he sells hash to a uniformed policeman and what does he get in return? He is put into prison. His girlfriend Janet (Kathryn Hahn) does not treat him any better either. After some comfortable years on her organic farm, she uncaringly throws Ned out and even keeps his beloved dog. The poor man is just not used to all this ingratitude. He takes refuge at his mother's (Shirley Knight) place in Long Island. At the weekly family dinner his sisters Liz (Emely Mortimer), Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel) show a lot of sympathy, however, they cannot help mocking the unlucky fellow. The fun is put to an end when Ned causes trouble in Liz's marriage and also turns Miranda and Natalie's seemingly neat lives upside down. Unfortunately there is only a certain amount of guilelessness and unconditioned honesty his sister's and their friend's relationships can take. Liz hands the brother to Miranda, then to Natalie which turns her life into chaos over and over again. And it's all her brother Ned's fault... (Jens Klawonn)
What our programmer says:
"With charming effortlessness OUR IDIOT BROTHER highlights perhaps the most difficult side of life: being an adult. Ned's hippie idealism functions as a catalyst and counterpoint to the dysfunctionality and cynicism of his family, overthrowing all constructs. "-BB
More information:
We thank our partners in Berlin for the great support!
We thank our partners in Leipzig for the great support!
Impressively directed and sharply written
Die Komische Filmnacht im Januar
{flattr}icoff;Text{/flattr}
THE TRIP (Michael Winterbottom, Great Britain, 2010, OV)
Comedy DigiBeta, 107 min.
Berlin: 4. January 2012, 8:30 pm at Filmtheater am Friedrichshain Leipzig: 12. January 2012, 9:00 pm at Passage Kinos In January, instead of THE TRIP, we will show the International Comedy Film Festival's darling of the public THE KILLAGE in Leipzig
Short synopsis:
When Steve Coogan is asked by The Observer to tour the country's finest restaurants, he envisions it as the perfect getaway with his beautiful girlfriend. But, when she backs out on him, he has no one to accompany him but his best friend and source of eternal aggravation, Rob Brydon.
What our programmer says:
"A culinary road movie with and about Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon who try to trump each other non-stop - whether whilst comparing their careers or imitating Michael Caine and Sean Connery. Michael Winterbottom's comedy seems like a character sketch of the two actors on their journey to self-discovery full of snappy references, plenty of narcism and a lot of British humour ."-NS
Further information:
We thank our partners in Berlin for their great support!
We thank our partners in Leipzig for their great support!
Impressively directed and sharply written
Die Komische Filmnacht: Kurzfilmrolle
{flattr}icoff;Text{/flattr}
A Quick Laugh: ICoFF Short Films (all funny!, 2009-2011)
A quick laugh is great. Even better is to laugh quickly and often. That's why we'll be presenting you with the best (aka the funniest) short films from 2009-2001. International and checked for humourous content by test laughers. Of course.
Life is not always easy, especially if you live in a rainy town in Wales, always wearing the same duffle coat and a moptop hair cut one needs to get used to. 15-year-old Oliver Tate would like to rescue the marriage of his parents and seduce his first big love Jordana – namely with his intellect. Oliver trudges through the dull scenery, which disappears over and over again in the manic and fantastical phantasies of his teenage brain.
What our programmer says:
"This exquisitely comical debut of stand-up comedian Richard Ayoade (THE IT CROWD) is coming-of-age at its finest and by no means just for teenagers. With fantastic images, outstanding actors and a lot of dry humour, the spectator dives into the crazy (world of) thoughts of 15-year-old Oliver Tate with. A must-see for fans of Wes Anderson’s RUSHMORE."-DK
More information:
We thank our sponsors in Berlin for their great support!
Argentina has been hit by a fatal epidemic. Alarmed, people are stocking up on food and batteries. Inside a quarantined apartment building Coco has to protect his pregnant wife Pipi from the collapsing world outside – and his new neighbors. Panic-fuelled, they slowly turn into insidious enemies… FASE 7 has won the Prize for Best Script at SITGES Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantástic.
What our programmer says:
"This film is the answer to all recently produced apocalypse and zombie films, which play with the fear of the big catastrophe. With the seemingly crude approach to the catastrophe genre at the start, the film is capable of deconstructing the present situation of the Argentinian (and maybe also global) society in a precise, funny way and shows it internally functions. FASE 7 succeeds in creating a funny apocalypse. Laughing about global extermination - something you will not get to see every day." -FJ
More information:
We thank our partners in Berlin for the great support!
Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) is a policeman in a small town situated on the west coast of Ireland. He has a peculiar sense of humour, a penchant for prostitutes and a mother who is dying. The days of tranquility are over when fed Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle) shows up expecting a big drug delivery to reach the coast in the next few days, causing widespread alarm and Gerry Boyles daily routines are numbered. When the drug dealers try to bribe him, as they have done successfully with his fellow collegues in town, righteous Gerry Boyle realizes that he has to take matters into his own hands. Of all things, the only person he can trust is fed Everett; the most unlikely accomplice imaginable for a West-Irish small-town policeman.
What our programmer says:
"Humour often draws its wit from the differential – the different. And what could enhance funny discrepancies more than an Irish cop who rather regards the law as a stressful evil and a textbook fed who no one has ever disagreed with?" -NS
More information:
We thank our partners in Berlin for the great support!
As bailiff François (Hippolyte Girardot) goes to work in the morning, he thinks that his brawly wife is the worst that can happen on this 11th of September. He has to evict the apartment of Mohand (Fellag). As François enteres the apartment, he is taken hostage by Mohand's son Salem (Aymen Saïdi) by mistake. The police hastily suspect an act of terrorism and soon special police forces and journalists gather in the run-down district. Whilst the situation outside is escalating, the roles of the three men in the apartment begin to shift. This rather dramatic situation is loosened up by a very subtile and intelligent humour.
What our programmer says:
"What makes TOP FLOOR, LEFT WING (DERNIER ÉTAGE GAUCHE GAUCHE) special is the contained and intelligent way of narrating the intimite play of the father-son-story. Additionally, explosive political issues like the vexed migration dispute, terror suspicion, ghettoisierung and its media exposure are addressed in an amusing way. The film shows in a fresh and impressive way that neither clumsy nor predictable jokes are needed, nor the spectators to be taken for a fool." -DK
More information:
We thank our partners in Berlin for the great support!
A ruthless documentary filmmaker and two Danish-Korean comedians are on their way to North Korea in order to undermine the dictatorship of the totalitarian regime with satirical humour. The alleged director and his actors have to adjust their play again and again conforming to the local conditions before its first and only performance. In the course of this they are constantly supervised by local authorities. Despite the contrary filming conditions, THE RED CHAPEL shows an authentic picture of the North Korean state.
In 2010 the film was awarded Best Foreign Documentary Film at Sundance Film Festival.
What our programmer says:
"Radical documentary film and satirical theatre in the lion's den. It is going to be absurd, dichotomous and moving." -BR
Further information:
We thank our partners in Berlin for the great support!
Police officer Amadeus Warnebring was born into a musical family with a long history of famous musicians. He hates music. His life is thrown into chaos when a group of six excentric drummers decides to launch a musical attack using the city as their instrument. To capture the serial musicians, Warnebring must enter the world he has spent his entire life fleeing - the frightening world of rhythm and music.
Das sagt unsere Programmiererin:
"SOUND OF NOISE masters the rhythm game perfectly, both musically and cinematically. Every punchline is placed at the right spot, every suprising turn hits the spectator just before he thinks he has seen through the game. And highly volatile and current issues are casually handled, like: Where does terrorism begin? And: When is the term only used in order to defame dissidents?" -AW
More Info:
We thank our partners in Berlin for the wonderful support!
John Taylor just committed the perfect bank job, so he thought; however, just a few minutes after the coup the police is already looking for him. He hides at Warwick Wilson's dinner party where he pretends to be the friend of a mutual friend. Warwick, who claims to be the perfect host invites John to his party, but in the course of the evening it turns out neither of the two men are who they appear to be. There is just one question: Will John survive the evening?
What our programmer says:
"THE PERFECT HOST - THE PERFECT HOST - the very best of Hitchcock paired with very angry, intelligent humour and so many surprising turns that one's synapses will blow. Do I have to say more?" -BB
More info:
We thank our partners in Berlin for the wonderful support!
