ALMATY INDIE FILM FESTIVAL
Southside Heroes
Overview
The southern part of Nuremberg - a world characterized by cultural diversity and social insecurity. Passionate and inappropriate. At a lower secondary school, the author and slam poet Lucas Fassnacht tries in an afternoon course to get five teenagers excited about his great passion - creative writing. Show the world who you are and what moves you! The goal is clear: Omar, Kathi, Alida, Giselle and Nadine should perform. With your own texts, in front of a large audience.
But easier said than done. Because immersion in the foreign world does not work immediately. Which words are the right ones? And who should care? Excessive demands and listlessness, self-doubt and impatience create intimidating obstacles.
With growing trust in Lucas and themselves, the youngsters discover their own voice and dare to delve deeper and deeper into their soul. Towards wounds, disappointments, origins, big plans, fragile dreams - and the realization: everyone has something to tell!
Director Biography — Martin Kießling
Martin Kießling was born in Germany in 1985. After graduating from high school and completing his civil service, he completed several internships in TV- and film productions, as well as an apprenticeship as an audiovisual media designer. In own and student film projects, he gained initial experience in various departments such as camera, lighting and directing. This was followed by studies at the Faculty of Design at the Georg-Simon-Ohm University of Nuremberg with a focus on film & animation, photography and verbal communication, which he successfully completed in 2014 with a screenplay. Short films that he realized as a writer and director during his studies were presented at numerous international film festivals and awarded prizes. In 2011 Martin was selected for the HollywoodChampion of the MedienCampus Bayern and took part in international workshops and a career training in Los Angeles. During his studies, he also assisted well-known production companies such as XFilme, Sparkling Pictures and Amalia Film. Martin works internationally as a cameraman, film editor, director and author and designs documentaries, feature films, commercials and music videos.
Director Statement
„Let's see what will happen...“
In Germany – a country in which public discourse is shaped by the question of who or what is "German" – five teenagers whose parents are from seven different nations meet to talk about themselves in the one language that connects them: German. They talk about their lives and dreams, their origin and identity.
As German middle school students they are put on the back burner of a school system that forces children more into a performance-oriented lockstep than to encourage the desire to discover, to explore artistry or develop an independent personality. A white sheet of paper becomes an almost insurmountable hurdle.
The documentary "Southside Heroes" aims at giving a voice to people who actually don't have one. It investigates the question of what is possible if the learned norms and rules are carefully and confidently broken down. When a child can dare to try something new and unfamiliar again. Playful, instinctive and above all: with joy.
Credits
- Director
- Martin Kießling
- Writer
- Martin Kießling
- Writer
- David Müller
- Writer
- Lucas Fassnacht
- Producer
- David Müller
- Producer
- Martin Rehbock
- Key Cast
- Lucas Fassnacht
- Key Cast
- Omar Ezbida
- Key Cast
- Katharina Schweikowsky
- Key Cast
- Giselle Senol
- Key Cast
- Nadine Aronov
- Key Cast
- Alida Richter
- Camera
- Martin Kießling
- Camera
- Jürgen Berger
- Editors
- Martin Kießling
- Editors
- Stine Sonne Munch
- Editors
- Melanie Landa
- Music
- Claus Friedrich
- Music
- Markus Klammer
- Sound
- Laurens van de Loo
- Animation
- Stephan Baum
- Animation
- Roxanne Brusso
Specifications
- Original title
- Südstadthelden
- Project type
- Documentary
- Genres
- Drama, School, Education, Literature, poetry, poetry slam
- Runtime
- 1 hour 26 minutes
- Completion date
- March 1, 2019
- Production budget
- 48,000 EUR
- Country of origin
- Germany
- Countries of filming
- Germany
- Language
- German
- Shooting format
- digital
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9
- Film color
- Color
- First-time filmmaker
- No
- Student project
- No
- Digital Cinema Package
- Unavailable
Awards & Festivals
Nuremberg International Human Rights Film Festival
Nuremberg
Germany
October 9, 2019
Official Selection to the "Open Eyes" Program
Seoul Guro International Kids Film Festival
Seoul
Korea, Republic of
May 14, 2020
WON: Director Award
Rising Sun International Film Festival
Kitakyushu
Japan
November 8, 2020
Japan Premiere
Official Selection
Almaty Indie Film Festival
Almaty
Kazakhstan
November 7, 2020
Kazakhstan Premiere
Official Selection
International Documentary Film Festival RushDoc
Los Angeles, CA
United States
November 27, 2020
North American Premiere
AWARD: Best Director