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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.

  • Nele Dehnenkamp
    Director
  • Christine Duttlinger
    Producer
  • Nele Dehnenkamp
    Producer
  • Tobias Winkel
    Cinematographers
  • Sina Diehl
    Cinematographers
  • Jana Briesner
    Editor
  • Simon Droessler
    Original Sound
  • Johann Meis
    Sound Designer
  • Jana Irmert
    Re-Recording Mixer:
  • Paul Chriske
    Composer
  • Marc Trompetter
    Art Work
  • David Holfelder
    Color Grading
  • Liv Schwenk
    Subtitles
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 1, 2020
  • Country of Origin:
    Germany
  • Country of Filming:
    Germany
  • Language:
    German
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Film Academy Baden Wuerttemberg
  • 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 Prize
    Saarbruecken
    Germany
    January 19, 2021
  • Big Sky Documentary Festival
    Missoula
    United States
    February 19, 2021
    North American
  • Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
    Athens
    Greece
    March 4, 2021
    Greece Premiere
  • Cleveland International Film Festival
    Cleveland
    United States
    March 7, 2021
  • Atlanta Film Festival
    Atlanta
    United States
    May 22, 2021
    Best Short Documentary
  • Ethnocineca – International Documentary Film Festival Vienna
    Wien
    Austria
    May 6, 2021
    Austrian Premiere
  • Documentary Edge Film Festival
    Auckland
    New Zealand
    May 4, 2021
  • Riga International Short Film Festival 2ANNAS
    Riga
    Latvia
    April 9, 2021
    Baltic Premiere
  • Golden Sparrow – German Children's Film and Media Festival
    Erfurt I Gera
    Germany
    June 5, 2021
Director Biography - Nele Dehnenkamp

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

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Director Statement

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.