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Dimitar Banenkin

Actor
Dimitar Banenkin, born in Sofia in 1982, is a Bulgarian director and filmmaker. He completed his studies in Film and TV Directing at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA) in Sofia. His feature-length debut, the documentary "The Last Seagull" (2023), had its international premiere in the competition of the renowned Visions du Réel festival. Banenkin received several awards for this work, including Best Bulgarian Documentary Film at the 2023 Sofia International Film Festival. The film also received the Grand Prix "Golden Rhyton" at the eponymous Bulgarian festival for documentary and animated film.

Films

Liuben

Liuben

By Venci Kostov

2024 | 109 min | Drama

When Victor returns to his Bulgarian home village, a summer romance blossoms between two young men from different worlds.

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Do Not Fear

Do Not Fear

2019 | 66 min | Documentary

What happens when a very popular village priest decides after 27 years of successful community work to finally face a lifelong issue and publicly announces his transgender identity? The rumors that he was wearing women's clothes forces pastor Hans-Gerd Spörkel to take a break. Shortly thereafter, his wife separates from him, and the village turns their backs on him. Half a year later, she resolutely returns as Elke Spörkel and holds her first service as a woman. After a controversial discussion, ...

Sweat

Sweat

2014 | 30 min | Queer

Sweat tells of the last days of the friendship of two girls. Marion and Elisa live in a village that offers them nothing. They roam the neighborhood, go to the disco, watch videos, swim in the pond and fight. In search of emotion and boundaries, they dive into an aggressive world, where they give free rein to anger against the ordinary and learn about the new, unexpectedly erupting forces within themselves as a result. In the beautifully photographed vacuum of a village cosmos, director Iris Blauensteiner ...

Siska Deluxe

Siska Deluxe

2015 | 111 min | Independent

Three wacky slacker guys open a pizzeria in Slovenia's capital. To grow their business, they offer to make a wish come true for every ordered pizza. Three very different friends Mile, Fedr and Zekir open a pizzeria. But since these three chaotic guys don't know anything about gastronomy, the project soon teeters on the brink of failure. But the helpful homeless person Jana has a brilliant idea... "A refreshingly absurd summer comedy." (derstandard.at) "A heartwarming and engaging ode to friendship, ...

Die Blutritter

Die Blutritter

2004 | 86 min | Documentary

The film accompanies protagonists and observers of the procession with up to 3.000 riders and 30.000 pilgrims. Catholics from all over Upper Swabia actively participate in this procession. Among others, the film shows a country butcher and his family, a pair of beekeepers, a practicing Indian friend from Waldburg, the customs researcher and museum founder Jürgen Hohl, a monastery brother and the abbot of Weingarten monastery. With ironic nuances, Wolfsperger creates a multi-faceted picture of society ...

Bonbon

Bonbon

2020 | 16 min | Shorts

In Jannis Alexander Kiefer's short film, a child discovers the colorful hustle and bustle of a carnival parade. While the residents of a quaint village prepare for the annual Alemannic Rose Monday parade, 9-year-old Alexander's full attention is focused on something else entirely: his father is coming to visit after a year of absence. Alexander feels a mixture of curiosity, uncertainty, and anticipation about the man who, on his mother's instructions, is not allowed to enter the house. In the middle ...

Who Am I Happy

Who Am I Happy

2012 | 26 min | Drama

At the centre of this film is a young transperson, his question about his own identity and his desire to belong - even if you deviate slightly from the norm. Alicia (Ekaterina Tafel) is 15 years old and lives at a group home for youth with special needs. She wants to become a singer and longs for recognition. One day, a new teen, Mika, is seated at the dinner table. Alicia notices that this boy not only pays attention to her, but is also somehow different. A flirtation begins, but when Alicia walks ...

Eho - Echo

Eho - Echo

2016 | 93 min | Drama

At the same time Ismet is waiting in Kosovo, destroyed by war and poverty, for a message from his son. In his feature film debut, director Dren Zherka builds a thematic bridge between his old homeland, Kosovo, and his adopted home Germany.

The Ground Beneath Their Feet

The Ground Beneath Their Feet

2007 | 20 min | Drama

Frido and his daughter Lisa live in one of the West German villages affected by the relocation efforts due to coal mining expansion in the region. The last family living in the deserted village, they will have to move soon. However, Frido is living in complete denial, clinging on to his home and the way life used to be for him there. Instead of planning the inevitable move, he redoes his front yard and puts a fresh coat of paint on his house that is inevitably to fall victim to the huge excavators ...

Krai

Krai

2021 | 123 min | Documentary

The Russian director Aleksey Lapin's approach is poetic and rhapsodic. The film is structured around a fake casting process for a historical film that will be shot in the village. This premise allows Lapin to interact with the villagers, who generously share their stories and desires with the camera. The film alternates between observed scenes, conversations, and poetic interludes. Lapin's gaze is loving and gentle, but also ironic and satirical, highlighting the quirky and magical aspects of village ...

MansFeld

MansFeld

2013 | 98 min | Documentary

Tom, Sebastian and Paul are children from very different families. They live in a small village in Mansfelder Land, an area marked by the decline of mining. However, an archaic custom has remained over the centuries and the three boys play a crucial role in it. For director Mario Schneider, MANSFELD, after HELBRA, and HEINZ UND FRED, represents the conclusion of his documentary trilogy about life in Mansfelder Land on the eastern edge of the Harz Mountains. "What distinguishes the film is the closeness ...