Short, but not always sweet, the Comedy Film Night will say its goodbyes this April. Consider it an off-kilter retirement party, in which we gift you a goodie bag of short films from all over the place-- an array of live action and animation ranging from silly to dark, morally virtuous to mean-spirited, clean to dirty! Whether it be a gory end to the world or the rampant sexual fantasies of a tram driver, we offer you the absurd, the surprising, and occasionally, yes, the sweet. As a special highlight, we present a collection of teensy-weensy German shorts. Though we bid you adieu, stick with us, as more ICoFF events are sure to follow!
We thank our partners in Berlin for their great support!
Impressively directed and sharply written
Comedy Filmnight: EXTRATERRESTRE
EXTRATERRESTRE (Deutschlandpremiere) (Nacho Vigalondo, Spain, 2011, OV with English subtitles)
The 'Morning After' usually is not a good morning. After Julio (Julián Villagrán) wakes up in Julia's (Michelle Jenner) bed with a huge hangover, he thinks that things could not be stranger. But way off the mark. A look outside the window over the roofs of Madrid shows that the two of them missed out on a couple of things. A huge UFO is floating in front of the house. They soon realize that they not only missed an alien invasion but also the government's evacuation operations. All means of communication are incapacitated, the streets emptied and the two of them alone. Or almost. Of course, Julia's strange stalker neighbour Angel (Carlos Areces) stayed, in oder to 'check if everything is alright' at Julia's. Things could not be worse sitting in a room with your one-night stand and a jealous neighbour while a UFO is parking in front of your door, when Julia's friend Carlos (Raúl Cimas) knocks on the door in order to save his loved one. (kino-zeit.de)
What our programmer says:
"Romantic Comedy and Sci-Fi do not work together? They do in Nacho Vigalondo's film. He presents a story with classic structures of a romantic comedy against the backdrop of an alien invasion: the jealous neighbour, the unexpectedly appearing friend and characters, which reveal their secrets bit by bit. And all of that embedded in a potential apocalypse. The alien invasion functions as a catalyst, setting off the four protagonist's web of relationships in an amusing way and revealing their real nature. " FJ
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We thank our partners in Berlin for their great support!
“Wanted: Someone who is willing to travel to the past with me. This is not a joke. Payment upon return. You need to bring your own weapons. Safety cannot be guarenteed. I just did it once so far.“ What does the editorial department of a magazine do when they find an advertisement like this in a local newspaper? Obviously, they send someone on location in order to investigate. However, reporter Jeff can’t be bothered to travel to the small province by himself, hence without hesitation, he takes two interns with him – odd Darius and uptight Arnau. After their arrival, Jess starts to neglect his work because of to romantic motives. Thus, he leaves Darius in charge who, like an up and coming professional, bit by bit uncovers the story behind the advertisement.
What our programmer says:
"Director Colin Trevorrow had a budget of less than one million dollar to create SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, a film which unites scifi, romance and comedy. An exceptional combination which completely succeeds thanks to a straightforward script and wonderful actors. An extraordinary story with odd, but likeable characters – authenticly narrated and highly entertaining from the first minute to the very last." AW
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Tina is over 30 years old, however, she still lives with her mother who likes being taken care of. But when Tina meets Chris and - God forbid! - wants to go on vacation with him, her mother tries everything to sabotage their holiday plans. But mother can go to hell, Tina is full of lust and love and nothing, absolutely nothing can stop her. Not even the circumstance that Chris is easily irritable and slaughters people who annoy him every now and then. Which happens quite often during their vacation. But what should a girl do when she finally meets the perfect guy? She has to adapt.
What our programmer says:
"Nothing can beat black humour from Great Britain. Especially, if the film realizes what we sometimes picture in our heads seeing a crowd of tourists walking in front of us, babbling and blocking the way: kill them, kill them all! Humour in cinema is cathartic. And in this case really necessary." BB
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Dolph Springer wakes up one morning to realize he has lost the love of his life, his dog, Paul. During his quest to get Paul (and his life) back, Dolph radically changes the lives of others: a pizza-delivering nymphomaniac, a jogging-addict neighbor in search of completeness, an opportunistic French Mexican gardener, and an off-kilter pet detective. In his journey to find Paul, Dolph may lose something even more vital—his mind.
What our programmer says:
"Sequel to RUBBER. A film by Quentin Dupieux (aka Mr. Oizo!). The film is pure surrealism - entirely in the spirit of Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dalí and with an exquisite soundtrack (certainly, by Dupieux)." BB
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Horst and Toni are idiots, but once they had a brilliant idea. In order to fund their lives, they kept silent about the death of Horst's grandmother. Unfortunately, they are expecting visitors and a substitute-grandmother is needed. Toni hatches a plan to steal a comatose patient from hospital. But unfortunately, he, of all things, takes the unruly, not-so-comatose Elfriede Ott with him. Everybody in Austria knows her, except for Toni that is, - after all, she is the country's most popular actress.
What our programmer says:
"Austrians are nuts. At first glance, a wonderful slapstick film, but at a second glance, a very angry payback to the the dear family and friends, which you need as much as a furuncle on the butt. Here you can laugh whole heartedly - about things we all know and that work our last nerves." NS
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Move out, move in, move house. The topic is clear a priori. And just like one moves out and in and house, one also changes partner. 3 ZIMMER / KÜCHE / BAD is a film about mid- and late twenty-somethings, about the way of life in a flat share, about the stage of life between childhood and starting a family. And even more: The film is a great comedy, one of those hard to find in German film. (Kino-Zeit)
What our programmer says:
"To put it bluntly: German romantic comedies are a no-go, less than ever as an ensemble film. 3 ZIMMER / KÜCHE / BAD is one of the few exceptions which gives us hope that Teutonic humour might be finer, more unerring and subtle than we thought. Hopefully, this is not an illusion." JK
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We thank our partners in Berlin for their great support!
David is a good-for-nothing, dodging any responsibility - which he has to take on after finding out that he will become a father. And as if this were not enough, at the same time, he has to account for the consequences of his frequent sperm donation from college times: 533 more children. Unknowing who their father is yet, these children are eager to find out with the help of a lawsuit, knowing only his alias Starbuck. They do not succeed, but the court gives David a file with all information on his children. First, he refuses to even open the file, but then curiosity prevails.
What our programmer says:
"Just now STARBUCK is remade in America starring Vince Vaughn. This clearly shows that the Canadian original is awesome! And we only show the original."-BB
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We thank our partners in Berlin for the great support!
32-year-old journalist Paul Kemp (similar to Raoul Duke in "Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas" another of Thompson's alter egos) lives by his wits with jobs which never last more than a couple of months. 1959 Paul arrives in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he accepts a job at the well-paid English daily paper The Daily News. It soon becomes clear that work is only a part of his life from "noon to eight". Kemp spends the rest of the time either at his regular haunt or with friends or haunting lobsters in the sea. But regardless of what he does: There is always a big flow of rum. (filmstarts.de)
What our programmer says:
"Johnny Depp drunk again. This time in Puerto Rico and on a wild trip based on a story by Hunter S. Thompson, probably the most famous crazy drunkard after Hemingway. Polically correct is what's being served. Namely in rum. Cheers."-BB
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Juan is a rascal and a connoisseur of the art of living. He loves Cuba because here, he does not have to work. But on the 50th anniversary of the revolution, of all things, strange dissidents start showing up in Havana. A virus seems to have turned them into bloodthirsty beasts. National television has no doubt: evil forces are coming from the US once again. Armed with paddles and machetes, Juan and his friends head out to fight against the new 'revolution' and at the same time, make a little bit of extra cash...
What our programmer says:
"Zombie films and comedy go perfectly well together according to Alejandro Brugués, director of JUAN DE LOS MUERTOS, who fulfills a much longed for dream with this film. Whether it is dissidents or zombies stays almost secondary in this gory comedy."-FJ
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We thank our partners in Berlin for the great support!
