Experiencing Interruptions?

Simba in New York.

Walt Disney died more than 50 years ago. But to this day, millions of children grow up with the films he produced. To this day, he, who always stressed that he owes his success to a lot of hard work, is seen as the embodiment of the "American Dream".

A student writing his bachelor thesis remembers his childhood fascination for the USA. He lost his mother at an early age and always identified with Disney's orphan characters. But by now, a different kind of films has caught his attention: amateur films, "home movies". He seeks the "real" America in these images.

In an essayistic "stream of consciousness", which also features important thinkers such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Henry David Thoreau and Susan Sontag, the history of the United States and the protagonist’s and his mother’s personal stories become intertwined.

  • Tobias Sauer
    Director
  • Tobias Sauer
    Writer
  • Tobias Sauer
    Producer
  • Alma Weber
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    32 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    October 9, 2016
  • Country of Origin:
    Germany
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English, German
  • Shooting Format:
    8 mm, Super 8, 16 mm
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Kunsthochschule Kassel
  • Kassel Documentary Film & Video Festival
    Kassel
    Germany
    November 17, 2016
    World Premiere
  • Lichter Filmfest Frankfurt
    Frankfurt am Main
    Germany
    March 28, 2017
    Lichter Art Award
  • Festival du Cinéma de Brive
    Brive-la-Gaillard
    France
    April 5, 2017
    International Premiere
  • IndieLisboa International Independent Film Festival
    Lisbon
    Portugal
    May 12, 2017
    Portuguese Premiere
  • Festival Internacional de Cine de Huesca
    Huesca
    Spain
    June 11, 2017
    Spanish Premiere
  • Festival International de Contis
    Contis
    France
    June 15, 2017
  • FEST - New Directors / New Films Festival
    Espinho
    Portugal
    Honourable Mention
  • Festifreak Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente de La Plata
    La Plata
    Argentina
    South American Premiere
  • Szczecin European Film Festival
    Szczecin
    Poland
  • Montecatini Short Film Festival
    Montecantini
    Italy
    Italian Premiere
  • La Cabina – Festival internacional de mediometrajes de Valencia
    Valencia
    Spain
    Award for Best Film in the "Amalgama" section
  • ULTRACinema Cine Experimental y de Found Footage
    Pueblo-Cholula
    Mexico
    Mexican Premiere
  • Thess International Short Film Festival
    Thessaloniki
    Greece
    Greek Premiere
  • Traverse Vidéo
    Toulouse
    France
    March 8, 2018
  • FIFEQ (Festival international du film ethnographique du Québec)
    Québec City & Montréal
    Canada
    April 1, 2018
  • Shorts Offenburg
    Offenburg
    Germany
    April 11, 2018
Director Biography - Tobias Sauer

Tobi Sauer, born 1991 in Fulda, Germany, studied in the Film and Moving Image class at Kunsthochschule Kassel (Art University Kassel). His films cover a broad spectrum of essayistic, documentary and experimental forms. Among the recurring elements is an engagement with literature, film and media history as well as history in general. His short films have been shown at festivals such as Filmfest Weiterstadt, Stuttgarter Filmwinter, Festival de Cine de Huesca and IndieLisboa. They have won awards, e.g. at Lichter Filmfest Frankfurt and Festival La Cabina in Valencia. „Die Kafka-Konferenz“ ("The Kafka Conference") is his first feature-length documentary.

Filmography:

2021 "Die Kafka-Konferenz" ("The Kafka Conference"), 145 min.
2018 "Unglücklichsein" ("Unhappiness"), 20 min.
2017 "Portrait Jonas Mekas", 3 min.
2017 "Portrait Wang Bing", 5 min.
2017 "Portrait Ben Russell", 2 min.
2014 "Handbook", 4 min.

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