Day 4
Doc.Berlin 2023 (Documentary Film Festival): What If Women Ruled The World?, IT 2022, R: Giulia Magno, 7min, OmeU; Longing In Me, DE 2023, R: Julian Wonn, 10min, OmeU; Fragments, UK 2023, R: Mélodie Roulaud, 4min, OmeU; It will hurt, DE 2023, R: Dasha Altukhova, 11min, OmeU; Dicks That I Like, DE 2022, R:Johanna Gustin, 14min, OmeU; Ayahuasca an der Krummen Lanke, DE 2022, R: Antonia Walther, 6min, OmeU; A Body Like Mine, DE 2023, R: Maja Classen, 34min, OmeU.
 
Total length: 86 min

What If Women Ruled The World? (Italy) by Giulia Magno
Judy Chicago (b. 1939) is one of the most influential artists of our time. Her work has been essential in creating a space for feminism within a male-dominated art world, and continues to empower women of all walks of life. Punk musician Nadya Tolokonnikova (b. 1989) founded Russian dissident feminist group Pussy Riot. She served two years in prison over an anti-Putin performance in 2012. Judy and Nadya decided to join forces to inspire people to imagine a different, more humane world. “What If Women Ruled The World?” chronicles their first historic collaboration.
Running time: 00:07:00

Longing In Me (Germany) by Julian Wonn
Dita Rita Scholl has been an actor and pioneer of queer performance art since the 1970s. Having experienced frequent rejection throughout life, Rita developed a strong longing for physical and emotional touch. Longing In Me provides intimate insight into the search for human connection and how this endless hunger can be satisfied through tantric rituals.
Running time: 00:10:00

Fragments (United Kingdom) by Mélodie Roulaud    
A portrait of trans non-binary artist Fleur Bloemsma, short film Fragments takes an introspective journey into their understanding and experience of their own body, and the meanders of their mind. Directed by French filmmaker and photographer Mélodie Roulaud, the film interrogates the language used to communicate the body, the self and their representation, through the interconnectedness of physical attributes and bodily experiences with matters of identity.
Running time: 00:03:38

It will hurt (Germany) by Dasha Altukhova
This poetic documentary follows a Japanese art  of rope, Shibari. I reflect on the physical and emotional forms of pain. The film provides an intimate glimpse into the journey from the confrontation with pain to deal with it and finding its new meanings. Ultimately, it offers a window into the transformative power of physical practices and their potential for self-discovery and personal growth.
Running time: 00:10:16

Dicks That I Like (Germany) by Johanna Gustin
Visual artist Daniela Torres creates colorful ceramic dick sculptures inspired by the men who have been dicks to her. In this intimate artist portrait, Daniela shares her struggles, anger and catharsis as she creates a sculpture modelled after a series of unsolicited dick pics. She also shares her process with a diverse group of women who come together in one of her popular Berlin-based dick sculpting workshops. It's a hands-on approach to healing that yields beautiful results.
Running time: 00:13:19

Ayahuasca an der Krummen Lanke (Germany) by Antonia Walther
Two loners who have taken ayahuasca and are wearing a rabbit mask and a gas mask so that we cannot see their faces meet at the Krumme Lanke and begin to approach each other through a dance. A voice-over reflects on what a picture is and looks back nostalgically on its past. The film plays with elements of horror films.
Running time: 00:05:30

A Body Like Mine (Germany) by Maja Classen
A BODY LIKE MINE is the poetic portrait of a young artist and activist named Puck (they/them). Puck is not their legal name, it is a character the artist has created and transforms into during their performances.

As co-writer and protagonist of the film, the artist talks about how Puck’s existence helps them to feel more grounded in a world they experience as overwhelming. While Puck dares to do wild things, such as queer post porn and wrestling, Puck’s creator themself shares their vulnerability. In the film they contemplate the discrepancy between themself and their character:

They talk about how they are often misunderstood, judged, and fetishized. How they are assigned gender stereotypes they don’t want to conform to. Puck’s activism consists of their visibility as a proud Black person and of staging themself as part of phantasies and images that bodies like theirs traditionally have been banished from.

A BODY LIKE MINE is a fairy-tale like documentary. Conceived through the artistic collaboration between Puck and director Maja Classen, the film allows for an intimate and moving glimpse into Puck’s lifestyle, their inspirations, fears and experiences.
Running time: 00:34:51