For 30 years the Westdeutsche Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen have offered a forum for short-film makers from around the world, stressing in particular the links with socialist countries and the Third World. Wolfgang Ruf, film critic and director of the festival, will present and discuss a special selection of festival films. Please note that these films are presented in their original languages, without English subtitles. More complete descriptions and credits will be available at the program.
Program highlights include the Academy Award-winning film Tango, by Polish animator Zbigniew Rybczynski, a metaphorical dance of the human condition. Hungarian director Istvan Szabo has created a completely personal film in Varosterkep, which takes a unique approach to officialdom. Two experimental documentaries include, from El Salvador and Mexico, La Zona Intertidal by Grupo “Los Vagos,” about the assassinations of teachers in El Salvador; and from India, Meera Dewan's disturbing account of the oppression of young brides for their dowries, Gift of Love.
The complete program includes, in 16mm: Johnny oder das rohe Fleish (German Democratic Republic, by Eva Heldmann, 1983/84, 4 mins, Color); Die Urszene (W. Germany, by Christine Noll Brinckmann, 1981, 6 mins); Aqua Maria (W. Germany, by Sibylle Tiedemann, 1983, 10 mins, Color); La Zona Intertidal (El Salvador/Mexico, by Grupo “Los Vagos,” 1980, 15 mins, Color). In 35mm: Presa (Yugoslavia, by Bogdan Zizic, 1982, 19 mins, Color); Gift of Love (India, by Meera Dewan, 1982, 17 mins); Prozor (Yugoslavia, by Zivko Nikolic, 1976, 15 mins, Color); Kobiety Pracujace (Poland, by Piotr Szulkin, 1978, 7 mins, Color); Der Anschlag (W. Germany, by Pia Frankenberg, 1984, 8 mins); A Piacere--Tetszes Szerint (Hungary, by Zoltan Huszarik, 1977, 22 mins, Color); Tango (Poland, by Zbigniew Rybczynski, 1981, 8 mins, Color); Varosterkep (Hungary, by Istvan Szabo, 1977, 16 mins, Color).