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Beniamino Barrese

ActorDirector
Beniamino Barrese is a filmmaker and cinematographer known for his work on the documentary "The Disappearance of My Mother" (2019), which profiles his mother, Benedetta Barzini, a former model and feminist icon who has grown disenchanted with the superficial world of fashion and plans to retreat from public life. Barrese's directorial debut, this film was well-received and showcased at various film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema - Documentary category. Barrese’s intimate and personal approach in documenting his mother’s life reveals deep emotional layers and conflicts, earning him recognition in the documentary filmmaking community.

Films

The Disappearance of My Mother

The Disappearance of My Mother

By Beniamino Barrese

2019 | 94 min | Documentary

Benedetta Barzini was a sought-after model in the 1960s and a radical feminist in the 1970s. At 75, she had put her former life and career behind her.

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Bintou

Bintou

2014 | 64 min | Documentary

BINTOU bicycles from door to door, selling her clothes mostly to white expats who don't haggle over prices. She films her latest creations with a small camera, chats at the Internet café, and reenacts TV casting shows with her friends. The 24-year-old has high ambitions, but her 7-year-old daughter wants to live with her again. Will BINTOU succeed in balancing a fashion label, private life and raising children?

When I went to visit the boys

When I went to visit the boys

2024 | 90 min | Documentary

In southern Burgenland, a region where time seems to stand still, a filmmaker encounters men of different ages and backgrounds. With her cell phone camera, she documents conversations about work, family, dreams, and the challenges of modern life. The men open up, share their stories, and reflect on their roles in a changing society. What begins as personal field research unfolds into a quiet but profound portrait of a region and its men. Initial strangeness gives way to trust. The men talk about ...

Be There

Be There

2017 | 81 min | Queer

The architect Alain lives secluded in his luxurious finca on the Mallorcan hinterland. He avoids contact with other humans until he has to go out into the world. Alain, an architect, lives secluded in his luxurious villa on the island outback of Mallorca. He wears only women's clothes and avoids contact with other people - even his house keepers. Eventually he is forced to break out of his isolation, but neither he nor the outside world seem ready for it. Lotta Doll's debut film BE THERE, filmed ...

Bacha Posh

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2015 | 29 min | Icons & Media Art

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Uncanny Me

Uncanny Me

2022 | 44 min | Documentary

In an era where virtual reality intertwines intricately with our everyday lives, a young model named Lale contemplates an unorthodox solution to her growing disillusionment with the demanding world of modeling. Struck by the idea of creating a digital clone to take her place in the exhausting shoots, Lale embarks on a thought-provoking journey into the realms of identity, freedom, and technological morality. Katharina Pethke's UNCANNY ME unfolds this narrative through a blend of documentary realism ...

She Is a Good Boy

She Is a Good Boy

2022 | 26 min | Drama

In the Ruhr Valley, the couple Ava and Sascha run the FLINT* pub STÖRENFRIDA. A heartfelt project that serves as a shelter for the community but also as a home for the couple. Into this closed world suddenly enters Ava's father Gunter, a former miner who needs a place to stay for a few weeks. Based on this charged triangular constellation, the film depicts the inclusivity and exclusivity of shelters and critically examines supposedly feminine and masculine spaces.

The Lady Anatomist

The Lady Anatomist

2019 | 55 min | Documentary

The female wax portraits had long puzzled researchers: Nobly dressed, she holds a scalped brain in her lap. The portrait stands amid a anatomical models that were considered innovative for 18th century medicine. A lost document now reveals her extraordinary story: her relationship to the pope and the 80 casts of male sexual organs that turn conventional ideas upside down.

Not Yet Over

Not Yet Over

2016 | 63 min | Independent

The film follows various women who strive for medical and social reproductive freedoms and premiered at the International Queer Film Festival Hamburg. While Germany wrestles with abortion laws from the Nazi era, migrant women in this country often struggle with the law and the health care system for their own sexual self-determination. The filmmakers create a condensed setting with four women. One wants a child through artificial insemination, the other wants an abortion, the third wants to become ...

Kinshasa Collection

Kinshasa Collection

2017 | Documentary

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The same, but different — The role of women in the Catholic Church

The same, but different — The role of women in the Catholic Church

2025 | 34 min | Documentary

Two Catholic women with opposing views explain why they are for or against changing the image of women in the Catholic Church. In the Catholic Church, the ordained ministries of deacon, priest, and bishop are traditionally reserved for men. This rule is based on church teachings and traditions that have existed for centuries. The Bible often describes women in roles as mothers and wives, which further shapes the traditional image of women in the Church. The documentary film THE SAME, BUT DIFFERENT ...