Flora Pauer

In the short film “Iris,” a young couple embarks on a night in a remote forest in their van. When the young man briefly departs, their conversation in sign language reveals Iris to be deaf and mute. Once alone, Iris’ evening takes a sinister turn when she receives a series of ominous messages on her phone. These messages contain secretly taken photos of her in various locations, culminating in an image of the van at its current remote spot. It becomes clear that Iris is not alone. Fearing for her safety, she locks herself inside the van, draws the curtains shut, and turns off the lights, plunging herself into darkness and complete isolation.

Filmmaker Christoph Schwarz is broke. Fortunately, he gets an offer from ORF. But does Schwarz really want to document his self-experiment as an environmental activist? Wouldn’t it be better to reorient the longterm experiment into a critique of capitalism and secretly buy the desired weekend house with the film budget? A self-mocking film about double standards, which playfully and humorously shows that the problems you clear away, are often smaller than the new ones that you thereby create.

On his first day as an enforcer, Tom craves excitement. During a surveillance job in Berlin with his veteran partner, an unexpected encounter forces him to confront the reality behind the thrill he imagined.