And-Ek Ghes …

DIRECTORS: Philip Scheffner, Colorado Velcu   COUNTRY: Germany   YEAR: 2016   LANGUAGE(S): Romani, English   SUBTITLES: German   RUNNING TIME: 94 min

SECTION: Weekender 2016

SYNOPSIS

When the Velcu family left Romania to resettle in Germany, their filmmaker friends from Berlin were there to film their move. The family council welcomed their suggestion that a film be made about their new life. Colorado Velcu, the father of the family who has kept wonderful journals since his youth, was made co-director alongside Philip Scheffner, above all due to his knack for staging and his feel for the artistic talents of his children, nephews, sisters and brothers-in-law. Bollywood fans one and all, their story becomes a real life family saga – with its own theme song! There is the first Velcu to be born in Berlin, the painful farewell to relatives leaving for Spain in pursuit of better financial prospects, the wife locked away in a distant Romanian prison – and the parks of Berlin become the bucolic setting for smoky picnics. How this Velcu saga came into being is a frequent topic of discussion among the participants, making this sometimes melancholy, sometimes hugely funny and charming film into an intelligent meta-movie about ethnographic filmmaking, about media images and stereotypes about Roma families today. (Berlinale)

With kind support of Stiftungsfonds Winterreise

PHILIP SCHEFFNER
Born in 1966 in Homburg/Saar. He lives and works as an artist and filmmaker in Berlin. Together with Merle Kröger, Alex Gerbaulet and Caroline Kirberg, he runs the production platform pong.

FILMOGRAPHY
A/C (2003), The Halfmoon Files (2007, NIHRFF-Wettbewerb 2007), Der Tag des Spatzen (2010), Revision (2012), And-Ek Ghes… (2016), Havarie (2016)

COLORADO VELCU

Born in 1979 in Craiova, Romania. He has lived and worked in Berlin since 2014. He was the protagonist in Philip Scheffner’s film REVISION (2012). AND-EK GHES… is his debut film.

FILMPGRAFIE
And-Ek Ghes… (2016)

SCRIPT: Colorado Velcu, Merle Kröger, Philip Scheffner   PRODUCERS: Merle Kröger, Alex Gerbaulet   CAMERA: Casino Nistor, Mario Ilie, Emporio Ilie, Noami Nistor, Fecioara Velcu, Zefir Chiciu, Jeckichan Velcu, Rața Miclescu, Calil Velcu, Donadoni Miclescu, Bernd Meiners, Colorado Velcu, Philip Scheffner, Parizan Nistor   EDITOR: Philip Scheffner 

PRODUCTION: pong Film GmbH   WORLD SALES: First Hand Films   GERMAN DISTRIBUTOR: Grandfilm

WEBSITE
http://andekghes.pong-berlin.de/de