Seahorse
Hanan accompanies her brother to classes in the public pool. The first swimming badge is called »Seahorse«, their instructor explains, because it doesn’t drown. When Hanan came to Europe in a rubber dinghy, she couldn’t swim. To overcome this trauma she learned to swim, now it is her little brother’s turn.
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Nele DehnenkampDirector
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Christine DuttlingerProducer
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Nele DehnenkampProducer
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Tobias WinkelCinematographers
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Sina DiehlCinematographers
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Jana BriesnerEditor
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Simon DroesslerOriginal Sound
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Johann MeisSound Designer
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Jana IrmertRe-Recording Mixer:
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Paul ChriskeComposer
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Marc TrompetterArt Work
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David HolfelderColor Grading
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Liv SchwenkSubtitles
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Project Type:Documentary
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Runtime:16 minutes
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Completion Date:September 1, 2020
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Country of Origin:Germany
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Country of Filming:Germany
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Language:German
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:2:1
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:Yes - Film Academy Baden Wuerttemberg
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International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film (DOK Leipzig)Leipzig
Germany
October 30, 2020
German Premiere -
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)Amsterdam
Netherlands
November 24, 2020
International Premiere -
Filmfestival Max Ophuels PrizeSaarbruecken
Germany
January 19, 2021 -
Big Sky Documentary FestivalMissoula
United States
February 19, 2021
North American -
Thessaloniki Documentary FestivalAthens
Greece
March 4, 2021
Greece Premiere -
Cleveland International Film FestivalCleveland
United States
March 7, 2021 -
Atlanta Film FestivalAtlanta
United States
May 22, 2021
Best Short Documentary -
Ethnocineca – International Documentary Film Festival ViennaWien
Austria
May 6, 2021
Austrian Premiere -
Documentary Edge Film FestivalAuckland
New Zealand
May 4, 2021 -
Riga International Short Film Festival 2ANNASRiga
Latvia
April 9, 2021
Baltic Premiere -
Golden Sparrow – German Children's Film and Media FestivalErfurt I Gera
Germany
June 5, 2021
Nele Dehnenkamp is a documentary filmmaker based in Berlin. She studied social sciences in Berlin and New York City and directing at the renowned film school Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. Her short films have been screened at various festivals, including IDFA, DOK Leipzig and Palm Springs International ShortsFest.
Filmography
2020 »Seahorse«, 16 minutes, documentary short, Germany
2018 »We Will Survive«, 29 minutes, documentary short, Germany
Mass media's headlines no longer spotlight the vast number of deaths at the borders of Europe. The images of drowning children have dominated the media for so long that we’ve grown weary of them – they have lost their impact. While the Mediterranean Sea as the mass grave of refugees is slowly vanishing from the collective memory of European societies, those directly affected have a harder time forgetting the perilous passage to Europe. Their trauma remains but so does the appreciation of having survived. With about 2 million refugees living in Germany, these emotions enter everyday life of our society, and any situation might trigger an unexpected memory – when, for instance, the contact with water might evoke the feeling of almost drowning in the Mediterranean waters. Thus, an ordinary swimming pool becomes the site of working through the aftershocks of the refugee movement, where the overpowering memories of a life threatening voyage emerge amidst the »safe haven« of Europe. »Seahorse« directs our attention to that hidden everydayness of memory and fear.