KNOW YOUR STONES
​​​​by Katarina Jazbec

21min | Germany/Netherlands | 2023

As we face climate change, young activists, steelworkers, and a geologist come together in a time-travelling space full of nightmares and aspirations.

Year of production 2023
Length 21'
Country Germany/Netherlands
Shooting Format 4K​
Aspect Ratio 2:1
Dialogue German, English
​
Director Katarina Jazbec
Producer Urbane Künste Ruhr, Katarina Jazbec
Production Urbane Künste Ruhr, TENT Film
Assistant Director Annabella Stieren
Cinematographer Tom Otte
Second camera Matija Pekić
Camera Assistance Christopher Link
Editors Jesse Immanuel Bom, Katarina Jazbec
Sound Design and Music Driftwood Audio - Giliam Spliethoff & Jorick Bronius
Production Sound Mixer and Field recordist Andrés García Vidal
Sound Mix Thijs Muijs,  Antal van Nie
Colorist Matic Prusnik
Title Design Anja Slibar
Poster Artwork Anja Slibar
Supported by Urbane Künste Ruhr, Mondriaan Fonds, TENT Film
​Cast Antje Selter, Michael Palka, Kenan Ramadani, Murat Sanli, Ali Pişman, Patrick Schuster, Aylin Kübra Kılıç, Luca Röhrig, Ensar Ahishali, Sara Naiem Suliman Ahmed, Kim Pawlinski

Festival selections
 BOGOSHORTS - Bogotá Short Film Festival 2023, Colombia - World Premiere
International Film Festival Rotterdam 2024, Netherlands
Cleveland International Film Festival 2024, USA
​Akbank International Short Film Festival 2024, Turkey
​Shortcutz Amsterdam 2024, Netherlands
Kino Otok International Film Festival 2024, Slovenia
​Festival Internacional de Cine Ambiental FINCA 2024, Argentina
IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival 2024, Bulgaria
​Seoul International Alt Cinema & Media Festival 2024, South Korea
​FeKK - Ljubljana Short Film Festival 2024, Slovenia
​Apricot Tree International Documentary Film Festival 2024, Armenia
​Drama International Short Film Festival 2024, Greece
​​Hvar Film Festival 2024, Croatia
Lucca Film Festival 2024, Italy
​Tirana International Film Festival 2024, Albania
The Smalls Film Festival 2024, UK
EKOFILM International Environmental Film Festival 2024, Czech Republic
Plons! International Short Documentary Film Festival 2024, Netherlands
Pianeta Mare Film Festival 2024, Italy
​Give Peace a Screen 2024, Italy
​​Science New Wave Festival 2024, USA
​Interfilm - Berlin International Short Film Festival 2024, Germany
​Linea d'Ombra Film Festival 2024, Italy
​"Prvi kadar" International Film Festival 2024, Bosnia and Herzegovina
​Macau International Short Film Festival 2024 - Best Film of the Festival Award
​​Bangladesh International Short and Independent Film Festival 2024
​
Director's Statement
The film was shot in the Ruhr region in Germany which has a very strong coal mining history. While I was doing my research there I came across a dimension of lived experience and embodied knowledge that I thought could provide a fresh perspective to the current discussions around climate change that can be quite narrow, specific, or black and white. I realised I could bring more nuance, poetics, and imagination to the table by inviting onboard people of different backgrounds. All the protagonists, from steelworkers, the geologist to young climate activists, have
a deep personal engagement with the topic.
The ritual of dream-sharing is at the core of the narrative structure of the film. Having been inspired by psychiatric research into premonitions and embracing the social function of nocturnal dreaming, I decided to explore with the film how it could help us understand what is ahead
of us. At the end of the day, it might be the shivers of our nightmares that will wake us up.

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