New Talents 2026
Sa. 06. June
4:30 pm
Screening at the Lichthaus Cinema
Am Kirschberg 4, 99423 Weimar
The programme showcases works created as part of university courses. Experiments exploring the relationship between images and poetic text have become a regular feature of the pro- gramme. Emerging talents are explor- ing the poetry film genre and realising its full potential.
Curators:
Anya Ryzhkova and Lucien Sieber
Swanlake
Direction: Stella Traub
DE, 2025. 5:30 min
When we are ill, all we want is one thing – not to be ill anymore. The filmmaker sees a swan in a duck pond and dreams with Long Covid of the realm of the healthy. An essay about enchanted sick people and dreaming birds.
Ferryman
Direction & Text: Daniel Duque
Australia, 2025. 4:40 min
After descending through a flash of disastrous flames, a lost soul wakes in a purgatorial forest. Drawn by the pulse of a mysterious light, he follows it, hoping it will lead him out of this limbo. The forest is ominous and full of secrets, yet he stays fixed on the light, muttering about sorrow and ruin. As he finally reaches it, the screams in his mind erupt—the light shatters and dies, leaving him in darkness to begin again.
Qamajai
Animation: Yerkezhan (Kei) Sabitbekova
Germany/Kasachstan 2025, 2:43 min
A woman lies on the floor — beaten, scared, almost lifeless. Her abuser, standing over her, fastens his belt and walks away. For a moment, she is alone. Then, all at once, her female friends appear. They lift her up, console her, cry with her. United in their pain and their anger, they begin to dance. Will she be able to process this collective trauma?
Present Tense
Direction: Till Gombert
Germany, 2026. 6:00 min
Silent images of bodies of water, plants and skin reveal their liveliness and inner rhythms in closer observation. These pictures were created shortly after the death of a childhood friend. The text combines the collection of found objects with the presence of loss.
As the silent analogue short film PRESENT TENSE echoes themes of loss and erosion, it is intended to be shown exclusively on its original 16mm material – for as long as the material itself endures.
Komt ien oan
Direction: Guido van Driel
Text: Nelly Sachs
A poem by poet Nelly Sachs is sung in Frysian by the artist ZEA. It deals with refugees and hospitality and is illustrated by means of old postcards , clay figures and toy knights.
Made by filmmaker and cartoonist Guido van Driel, this song is taken from the new album In lichem fol beloften. Released on Makkum Records and Subroutine Records.
The words are from German-Swedish poet Nelly Sachs, who was born to a Jewish family and managed to escape the nazi regime in 1940. Her work on exile and the Holocaust got her the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1966.
Arnold de Boer translated her poem Kommt einer von ferne (published in 1946) into Frisian and made music to it. Later translated it into English, you will find that translation in the subtitles.
Sphere Supreme-Flying Ability
Direction: Hasan PASTACI
Text: Paul Demets
Follow Arama, guided by a mystical pomegranate tree, meeting a mysterious man. Along the way, Arama faces parts of himself, slowly putting together the puzzle of his identity. But before he is able to put everything together, will he manage to keep himself in one piece?
Not All Pigeons Go to Heaven
Animation & Text: Anna Woltańska
Poland, 2025. 1:51 min
Belgien, 2024. 5:00 min
An eccentric, philosophical tale in which the boundary between absurdity and existential reflections blurs in an unexpected way. The protagonist, contemplating her sister’s unusually small hands, considers alternative versions of her existence — for example, as a pigeon.
Bookmark
Direction & Text: Jorge Felipe Cubillos Osorio
Canada, 2025. 10:00 min
Two writers, Al and Heller, meet by chance at a park, both battling unfinished poems; His has no beginning, while hers has no end. Through shy glances and silent conversation, their bond grows. The writer’s block remains until they realise that their true inspiration sits just across the bench. Love blossoms and verses finally flow. They complete their poems, but only just begin their lives together. Years later, an elderly Al recounts their tender journey, and his lost love.
Curators: Anya Ryzhkova & Lucien Sieber
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she has been part of the collective “Animators Against War.” In her films, she explores themes of humanity and individual destinies in times of war. Since 2022, she has no longer been able to visit her homeland.
