“Say Goodbye to the Story” is this year’s tagline of the Berlinale Shorts. If storytelling, as we know it, has come to a halt, what do we have to welcome? What are we looking for now? What is the next step in the short film-making? We spoke to the curator of the Berlinale Shorts, Maike Mia Höhne to find out more.

Your tagline for this year is: “Say Goodbye to the Story” – if storytelling is over, what do we have to welcome? What’s new? What is the next step in short film-making?

SAY GOODBYE TO THE STORY is the LEITMOTIF of this year’s selection – to say good-bye to what is known as the 3-act-structure of a story is only one fact. The other fact is that the variations of HOW TO TELL STORIES is a wonderful, unlimited field of exploration.

Many filmmakers, especially from Asia, understand the tools of making films, to shape their view onto the world – and this view is never the same. The tools of making films, like working with video, already help to keep a certain distance to a thoroughly declining story outline.

The wish to talk about the circumstances and the situation of low budget productions support a different way of storytelling and support the wish to be free in articulation. In South America, storytelling in its known way is much more appreciated, but still – the filmmakers determine the topics and later the way they pay attention to detail, perhaps tiny little events – as they take them much longer into the focus – changes everything. It is their way of interpreting and personalising films – and making a film more than just telling a story. That’s what the Leitmotif of this year’s selection is about.

About going beyond. It is interesting that half of the filmmakers are women – and women do tell stories again in another way- so the possibility of getting inspiration and courage to really follow your own path in filmmaking is very high this year.

What is the process of selecting short films? What do you have in mind when selecting films for the competition? Or is it the other way round: after seeing all these short films, do you know what you want to see at the Berlinale?

The process of selection is a long process of watching films and getting very deep into the vast variety of films that have been sent to Berlin or have been collected throughout the whole year by me and the delegates of the festival – I am looking for the pearls – of the spearheads. Spearheads that show, encourage, try out – where film can also go to, belong to. These are the films I want to see at the Berlinale and want to present them to a big, wonderful audience. An audience that follows the artists to their different fields of exploration.

How many films have you seen this year? How many applicants were there, from how many countries? How can you watch all these films without falling asleep in front of a DVD player?

It is not so much about the quantity of films – at least not for me. It is more about the quality of films and about the discussion we have about all the films that find their way onto the waiting list – discussions about films, trends, movements, feelings – discussions that we can imagine to happen in the cinema later, during the festival as well. These are the moments when film becomes real.

You have seen a huge number of shorts: can you recognise trends in filmmaking? Is there a hype around a country, a theme, a motif, a form, a genre? Besides leaving the story out of the context, of course.

One topic is for sure that reality got very close – to everyone of us. So many of the selected films throw back the questions raised to the viewers and make them to think about one’s own attitude in such situations – without a raised index finger, but a right to involve everyone in certain ethical questions.

If you want to say goodbye to the story you have to tell a story. So: storytelling in whatever way is important for many filmmakers. Animation is very powerful this year and Asia is very powerful in all its different aspects of seeing the world.

The Berlinale is the first major short film festival in the year, so your selection shapes the taste and trends in short film making. Do you agree with this statement? Do you see your, or the Berlinale’s taste in trends?

Yes, I absolutely agree with this assumption – because we select the latest films of the previous and the first films of the new year, we have – and this goes for all sections – the finger on the pulse of the time. Short films are often faster in production so we are even closer than feature length films – but still: it is the beginning of a new year and the audience wants to see what the movements for the new year, interests etc. are. The Berlinale Shorts selection allows a certain spirit of freedom in style, form and approach – to give such a sign in the beginning of the year evokes power and freedom in other artists.

What do you have in mind when creating screening sections from the selected short films? Do short films have to be related or similar somehow, or on the contrary – do they have to be totally different to create a powerful section?

To curate a programme every year, different aspects lead me to the programmes – basically, it is about me, feeling the films and trying to build bridges & gaps, possibilities to jump and to relax, to deepen a feeling or follow another aspect of a certain subject. Like every year, the films are very different to each other – so every year the way of combining, the art of curating them is different. The curated programmes are possibilities to get involved – with or without talking – that’s what I want.

This year you have an actress, a Palestinian artist, and one of the Berlinale’s favourite filmmakers, David O’Reilly in the jury panel. How do you select the jury members for the short film competition?

David and Sandra are both very much related to the Berlinale – they both have bears in their houses. Emily Jacir is one of the most interesting artists – not only of her region, but far beyond that.

The art world has known her for a long period of time – and as she is working with video and film a lot I thought that it could be very interesting to combine her point of view with that of the two others – everyone coming from a very special corner in filmmaking! I like it when jury members of the International Short Film Jury in Berlin have a certain link, connection, feeling, movement, interest in the short form – that makes it much easier, but it is not necessary. An artist is an artist and will always be able to receive films in the way they want to be understood.

You have a special screening focus on Hungary’s omnibus film. Why did you decide to make an exception with this movie? You even have a discussion about that with the Hungarian mastermind Béla Tarr.

It is necessary to put into focus what is happening in Hungary at the very moment. The very right-wing situation and the actual laws show tendencies that are dangerous. Dangerous for everyone, except for the rich. It is far beyond feeling pity for a country. Hungary is a country known for its cinematographic art – now, with the right-wing government, restrictions are getting more and more intense – in money and, I suppose in not such a far future, censorship. And Hungary is not the only country in the area… Is it a tendency, a trend? How can artists resist and follow their path? What about changes? We want to focus on the political and social situation in Hungary with Béla Tarr. The film itself is an outcry for the injustice happening – so please come along and join the discussion!

You will have a discussion after the regular screenings as well. What will it be like? Will you have Q&A sessions? Will there be any other events related to the Berlinale Shorts?

After every screening in the afternoons, we will have an intensive Q&A at the Cinemaxx5 with the filmmakers present. We have time – there is no hurry. So we can speak about more than just the idea from where the oeuvre comes. Through-out the last years this extra hour or two with the filmmakers widened the horizon for every single film, artist and audience. Lovely moments of concentration- knowing about the hustle and hustle and bustle outside the cinema!

We will have another wonderful event at the Canadian Embassy – presenting Trevor Anderson’s (selected to Berlinale Shorts 2009 with THE ISLAND) latest film: The Man That Got Away: a musical documentary that tells the true life story of Trevor’s great-uncle Jimmy in six original songs.

We will also head over to the Talent Campus, together with Forum Expanded. We’ll present a selection of Beirut’s contemporary video artists – all selected for this years Berlinale. Marcel Schwierin, an expert in the whole area, will screen their works and relate to the special and leading role that Lebanon has had in Video Art since the inauguration of Askhal Alwan in the middle of the 1990s. This artists’ talk will also be followed by drinks – all shortfilm lovers are welcome to join us!