Jointly
Organized
by:
mah shasan /second logo Mahasanskruti Pune film foundation

Central Airport THF

Central Airport THF

Original name: Zentralflughafen THF
English name: Central Airport THF
Year: 2017
Run time: 97'
Language: Arabic, English, German, Russian
Type (Colour/ Black & white): Colour
Country: Germany, France, Brazil
Director: Karim Aïnouz
Producer: Felix von Boehm, Charlotte Uzu, Diane Maia
Cast: Ibrahim Al Hussein, Qutaiba Nafea
Cinematographer: Juan Sarmiento G.
Editor: Felix von Boehm
Sound Designer: Moritz Unger
Music Composer: Benedikt Schiefer
Production Company: Lupa film, Les Films d’Ici, Mar Films
World Sales: Luxbox
World Sales Phone: + 33 171.37.99.34
World Sales Email: info@luxboxfilms.com

Festivals

  • Berlin FF 2018
  • CPH:DOX 2018
  • Cinéma du Réel 2018
  • Art of the Real 2018
  • Sheffield Doc/Fest 2018
  • IDFA 2018
  • Bogota IFF 2018

Selected Filmography:

  • Madame Satã 2002
  • O Céu de Suely 2006
  • Viajo Porque Preciso, Volto Porque te Amo 2009
  • The Silver Cliff 2011
  • Cathedrals of Culture (Docc.) 2014
  • Praia do Futuro 2014

Director's Biography:

Karim Aïnouz studied architecture in Brasília, and cinema at New York University. He was AD to Todd Haynes, worked on over 20 films as an editor. His first feature Madame Satã (2002) was selected for Un Certain Regard. O Céu de Suely (2006), and Viajo Porque Preciso, Volto Porque te Amo, co-directed with Marcelo Gomes (2009), were both invited at the Venice Festival and won a number of international awards. The Silver Cliff (2011) was presented at the Directors’ Fortnight. In 2014 his films Praia do Futuro (2014), and Cathedrals of Culture (2014), were screened in the Berlinale.

Synopsis

Tempelhof Airport in Berlin is Europe’s largest heritage building. It became a symbol of both National Socialist self-aggrandisement as well as of freedom during the airlift of 1948/49. Since autumn 2015 several hangars have been providing temporary shelter for refugees. Like the other 2,000 people here who have fled their homeland, Ibrahim from Syria and Qutaiba from Iraq dream of being able to make a new start. Full of hope, they work with translators, doctors, language teachers and job agents to prepare for life in their new German home. The lack of private space and communication and administrative barriers are some of the challenges they face while, on the nearby recreation area of Tempelhofer Feld, Berliners and tourists escape their daily routine. Chaos and harmony: two very different worlds in one place. The film is a portrait of a city within a city that is also a snapshot of Europe caught between utopia and crisis.