Retrospective: Beyond Expectation I
A kaleidoscope of animation styles reflects on consumerism, human intervention in nature, and surreal journeys into spiritual and existential depths. Beyond Expectation I highlights the thematic diversity of the animation department. Join us for an afternoon of digital and analog projections, expert talks and Q&As.
Dantes Inferno
Created in an experimental workshop, this project combines archival footage from “L’Inferno” (1911) with modern animation techniques. By layering film clips with abstract imagery, it takes the viewer through the nine circles of hell.
| Animation | Juliette Schminke |
| Director | Juliette Schminke |
| Editing | Juliette Schminke |
| Music | Manuel Seum |
Cherchez la femme
In Daniel Höpfner’s gloomy adaptation, a woman digs through the depths of her inner self in search of light. Intricate puppet animation and spine-chilling sound design merge into an atmospheric cinematic experience. (35mm projection)
| Animation | Daniel Höpfner |
| Cinematographer | Daniel Höpfner |
| Director | Daniel Höpfner |
| Editing | Rudi Ziegelmeier |
| Music | Luigi Gaggero |
| Producer | Renate Rümmler |
| Screenplay | Daniel Höpfner |
| Sound Designer | Daniel Höpfner |
| Günter Auerhammer | |
| Arne Neumann | |
| Dietrich Körner |
Eat my Dream
In a fish factory the brutality of human intervention is interspersed with stunning images of Northern European landscapes. Set to a visionary score, the dance of the dead has rarely been staged so poetically.
| Animation | Jessica Dürwald |
| Cinematographer | Jessica Dürwald |
| Director | Jessica Dürwald |
| Editing | Atilio Menéndez |
| Music | Carlos St. Ana |
| Producer | Anya Grünewald |
| Screenplay | Jessica Dürwald |
| Sound Designer | Gregor Bonse |
| Malte Eiben |
Disbelief will save your soul
A bleak 3D animation shows sensory overload and excessive media consumption. An old man loses himself in the endless stream of images behind the flickering screen – a sharp commentary on modern media chaos, more relevant than ever. (35mm projection)
| Animation | Samuel Weikopf |
| Milen Vitanov | |
| Editing | Samuel Weikopf |
| Eva Höppner | |
| Music | Samuel Weikopf |
| Producer | Christian Marx |
| Kathyna Willert | |
| Screenplay | Samuel Weikopf |
| Sound Designer | Ulli Scuda |
Fish Soup
What happens when the Mediterranean turns into fish soup? Documentary fiction and animation blend into a surreal film. The video collage serves as a visual recipe, mixing mass tourism, consumption, and the climate crisis.
| Animation | Alexej Tchernyi |
| Ulu Braun | |
| Jan Koester | |
| Cinematographer | Alexej Tchernyi |
| Ulu Braun | |
| Director | Alexej Tchernyi |
| Ulu Braun | |
| Editing | Alexej Tchernyi |
| Ulu Braun | |
| Music | Stefan Maria Schneider |
| Ivan Malmutic | |
| Producer | Alexej Tchernyi |
| Ulu Braun | |
| Felix Manthay | |
| Production Designer | Alexej Tchernyi |
| Screenplay | Alexej Tchernyi |
| Ulu Braun | |
| Sound Designer | Alexej Tchernyi |
| Hanna Weißgerber | |
| Wolfgang Blütchen | |
| Stephan Engelke |
Das Hemd
A dress shirt springs to life, greedily devouring food until it’s ready to burst. Through their blend of stop-motion and pixilation, Alberto Couceiro and Alejandra Tomei reflect on the absurd cycle of capitalist consumption. (35mm projection)
| Animation | Alejandra Tomei |
| Alberto Couceiro | |
| Sophie Bibet | |
| Cinematographer | Alejandra Tomei |
| Jorge Riveros | |
| Director | Alejandra Tomei |
| Alberto Couceiro | |
| Editing | Alejandro Villena |
| Thomas Schick | |
| Diego Guza | |
| Music | Alejandra Tomei |
| Alberto Couceiro | |
| Dietrich Körner | |
| Producer | Renate Rümmler |
| Production Designer | Alberto Couceiro |
| Heiko Ebert | |
| Sylvia John | |
| Sound Designer | Dietrich Körner |
Die Meuterei der dreiundzwanzig Nacktschnecken auf dem Grabstein von Theodor W. Adorno
In this abstract play of shape, color, light and music interpreted by the Babelsberg film orchestra, sound and image spectacularly merge into a synchronized unit that captivates the audience in a hypnotic spell.
| Animation | Benjamin Dickmann |
| Composer | Prof. Bernd Wefelmeyer |
| Director | Benjamin Dickmann |
| Editing | Maja Stieghorst |
| Music | Filmorchester Babelsberg |
| Producer | Holger Lochau |