18. Feb
20:00, Hackesche Höfe Kino18. Feb
CAFÉ FLESH
D: Stephen Sayadian, C: Andrew Nichols, Paul McGibboney, Michelle Bauer, Marie Sharp, Darcy Nychols, DOP: Francis Delia, USA 1982, 73 min., English Original
A midnight movie from the time of the AIDS epidemic, diving into the nightmares of the porn industry: After a nuclear fallout 99 percent of humankind has become unable to enjoy sex. The only thing close to sex that they can bear is watching the remaining one percent doing it live on stage – while they themselves have to suffer and squirm. Somewhere between avant-garde theatre and a graphically explicit satire of the industry, Stephen Sayadian reacted to the “Golden Age of Porn” with an infernal new wave trip to hell and went on to become one of the most visionary auteur directors of recent U.S. film history. Today, his work is rarely screened and seems to exist outside of the categories traditional film festivals generally define and discuss as “cinema”, in part due to the explicit scenes he frequently made use of. When it was released it became a popular late-night slot film for many cinemas, paving the way for its current cult status.
MISSION TO MARS (MISIÓN A MARTE)
D: Amat Vallmajor del Pozo, C: Txomin del Pozo, Gerardo „Gene“ del Pozo, Mila del Pozo, DOP: Jorge Castrillo, Alba Bresolí, ES 2022, 71 min., Basque/Spanish/Catalan original with English subtitles – International Premiere
Outside, the post-apocalypse reigns. Inside, Txomin spends his time smoking cigarettes, listening to punk rock, and fighting tank battles on the computer. Then the call comes. An archaeological mission to Mars beckons. Without further ado, he grabs his older brother Gene and, armed with gas masks, they set off into the unknown. The Basque countryside, immortalised in black and white 16mm images, is periodically haunted by a toxic fog. Gene’s health deteriorates. Eventually they’re stranded with their sister Mila in Catalonia, who is anything but thrilled about their harebrained adventures. Director Amat Vallmajor del Pozo presents an edgy feature-length debut starring his own family members. True to the motto: When life gives you lemons, take a big stone and smash them to pieces!
THE FIFTH THORACIC VERTEBRA (DASEOS BEONJJAE HYUNGCHU)
D+DOP: Syeyoung Park, C: Jihyeon Park, Hyein Moon, Seokyoung Haam, KR 2022, 65 min., Korean Original with English subtitles – German premiere
The birth of horror from the mundane. If you’ve always wanted to know – but never dreamed of asking – what exists inside your favorite mattress at home, and how could it survive all these years, you might want to take a look at South Korean director Syeyoung Park’s new work. Both intimate and playful, this eerie low budget film revolves around a completely immobile entity that can’t rest or slow down. Driven by sound design that crawls under the skin and straight into your brain, Park needs no more than an hour to seamlessly explore urban melancholy, lost love, and the end of civilization in a single effortless flow of events.
Debate MIDNIGHT METABOLISM
Cinema can’t escape the grasp of genre narratives, they are in the DNA of countless classics throughout the history of film. A debate on cinematic roots, stylistic evolution, and art which plays with expectations.
Guests: Daniel Bird, Sara Neidorf, Syeyoung Park, Amat Vallmajor del Pozo