2024 SCREENINGS

LIVE PREMIERES & SPECIAL EVENTS

IDLE FILMS ANTHOLOGY

Three Premieres in Hamburg / Berlin / Marseille

Since November 2023, Idle Films has brought its Anthology to Hamburg, Berlin, and Marseille—presenting six curated shorts in intimate screenings designed to showcase our strongest work and connect audiences with the collective.

A filmmaker's Journal

What is Idle Films Anthology?

Idle Films Anthology is an ongoing fiction film project shaped like a journal, spanning 52 episodes—one per week of the year. We've completed 28 films so far. The six featured here offer a glimpse into that broader mosaic.

  • 480 People
    3 Cities. 1 Anthology
    From Hamburg to Marseille, over 480 guests joined us to experience six handpicked films—intimate evenings that sparked dialogue, shared emotion, and set the tone for the stories still to come.
  • Hamburg
    Nov 2023 – Zeise Kino / Altona
    At Hamburg’s Zeise Kino, the iconic arthouse cinema in Altona, we premiered six curated shorts to an audience of 300. The evening included a Q&A with director Iliès Terki, hosted by Mala Ghedia, followed by a surprise live concert.
  • Berlin
    Jan 2024 – Moviemento Kino / Kreuzberg
    At Germany’s oldest running cinema, we screened six shorts and a surprise film, The Overnight Train. A lively Q&A with Iliès Terki followed, moderated by Emanuel Tessema—before the night turned into a DJ set by Mehtoze.
  • Marseille
    October 2024 – Artplexe Canebière
    In a 280-seat cinema at the heart of Marseille’s Canebière, we screened six shorts from the anthology—including Sunny Side Up, filmed just meters from the venue. Director Iliès Terki and the team joined for a Q&A led by Sarah Limorté.
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6 poignant stories

Handpicked Screening

Our lineup explores the fragile nature of connection. Some celebrate serendipity. Others reflect on resilience. Together, these six films explore autism, love, music, loss, and survival with nuance and emotional depth.


What’s Special About These Screenings?

Inspired by Proust’s madeleine, our selection invites emotional memory over narrative logic. Some films are quiet. Others cut deep. All carry rhythm and trace. We’ve worked in the shadows for years. These six fragments offer just a glimpse of the whole. Watch closely. You might find your own madeleine.

Why These Cities?

Hamburg, Berlin, Marseille—these cities aren’t random stops. They’re where we live, work, and build together. The Idle Films collective grew out of these places, and so it made sense to bring the films home. Marseille hosted the filming of Les Œufs au Plat and several other stories. In Berlin and Hamburg, much of the writing, editing, and thinking behind the anthology took shape. Each city holds part of the process—and part of us. That’s why these premieres happened here. They’re more than screenings. They’re gatherings in places that shaped the work.

About the Director

Born in Algeria and raised during the civil war of the 1990s, Iliès Terki explores how myth meets memory. His films reveal the quiet power of everyday moments—how the imagined and the real shape one another.


Hitchhiking

15 min | French (Original)
Subtitles: English

Hitchhiking tells the story of Sarah drifting through Provence. Our film explores the unpredictability of an era where spontaneous travel and chance encounters are increasingly rare in the digital age.

Nº 12

Getting Lost

12 min | German (Original)
Subtitles: English

A couple's search for a lighthouse during a weekend trip strains their relationship to the breaking point. But perhaps getting lost is the best way for them to find their way back to each other.

Nº 49

To See a Woman

12 min | German (Original)
Subtitles: English

Stage actress Marie prepares for a role in a play about Swiss author Annemarie Schwarzenbach. She travels to Sils Maria for inspiration but finds that fate has other plans. Amidst the breathtaking Engadine landscape in the Swiss Alps, Marie embarks on a journey of self-discovery filled with longing an unexpected encounter.

Nº 41

Ivan's Gift

12 min | Film Without Dialogue

Ivan is not your average hero. A gifted artisan of a lawless craft with a dangerous clientele and a high-functioning form of autism. This short thriller drama follows Ivan as his life turns upside down when he gets a visit from an assassin.

Nº 06

All Things Burn

12 min | French (Original)
Subtitles: English

Amid a historic wildfire in southern France, Ana, a sawmill operator, risks everything to save her plants, the treehouse home, and the life she’s built. Facing difficult choices, Ana's story explores our complex and often conflicting relationship with nature, reminding us that in a battle against nature, we will always be on the losing end.

Nº 24

Sunny Side Up

10 min | French/Arabic (Original)
Subtitles: English

A defining concert, a pending eviction, and a marriage under strain. Majid, an undocumented Raï musician, and his wife face eviction from their home in Marseille Noailles just hours before an important gig for Majid. "Sunny Side Up" is a short film about love and music. It also tackles gentrification and the challenges of precarious living and life as a musician.

Nº23

Hitchhiking

15 min | French (Original)
Subtitles: English

Hitchhiking tells the story of Sarah drifting through Provence. Our film explores the unpredictability of an era where spontaneous travel and chance encounters are increasingly rare in the digital age.

Getting Lost

12 min | German (Original)
Subtitles: English

A couple's search for a lighthouse during a weekend trip strains their relationship to the breaking point. But perhaps getting lost is the best way for them to find their way back to each other.

To See a Woman

12 min | German (Original)
Subtitles: English

Marie, actrice de théâtre, se rend à Sils Maria pour préparer un rôle sur l'auteure suisse Annemarie Schwarzenbach. Dans les paysages majestueux de l'Engadine, elle fait une rencontre imprévue qui éveille en elle le rêve d'un désir insoupçonné.

Ivan's Gift

12 min | Film Without Dialogue

Ivan is not your average hero. A gifted artisan of a lawless craft with a dangerous clientele and a high-functioning form of autism.

All Things Burn

12 min | French (Original)
Subtitles: English

Amid a historic wildfire in southern France, Ana, a sawmill operator, risks everything to save her plants, treehouse home, and the life she’s built. Her story explores our complex relationship with nature, reminding us that we will always be on the losing side in this battle.

Sunny Side Up

10 min | French/Arabic
Subtitles: English

Out film follows Majid, an undocumented Raï musician in Marseille's Noailles, and his wife as they face eviction just hours before Majid's defining concert. This short film explores love, music, gentrification, and the challenges of precarious living.

ENGAGING EVENINGS

What Happened After the Films

Our premieres weren’t festival slots or something you half-watch while scrolling. They were evenings made for being there. In Hamburg, Berlin, and Marseille, people showed up—and stayed. They sat with the films, jotted down thoughts by hand, and talked with us after. No filters. Just real time, real talk.
These nights reminded us why we do this—why stories matter when they’re shared in a room. No AI, no matter how intelligent, can replace the kind of shared experience that defines who we are.The pictures below say the rest.

  • MALIKA RABAHALLAH, director of Filmfest Hamburg since 2024, joined our premiere—showing her support for independent, inclusive, and diverse storytelling.

  • BOB SWAIM, César-winning director of La Balance and longtime mentor to Iliès Terki, came from Paris—offering generous support and lasting encouragement.

  • SARAH GRETHER & CONOR MCNALLY – Actress and dancer Sarah Nevada Grether (Grand Jeté) and composer Conor Wickham McNally joined the Hamburg premiere—bringing warmth and opening the door to future collaborations with Idle Films.

  • Timmi Davis & Fernando Silvestrin Longtime collaborators and key creative partners in the Idle Films collective. From writing and acting to cinematography, their friendship and commitment are foundational to our anthology.

  • Dalila Bouzar – Algerian–French artist whose powerful work spans painting, performance, and textiles. Known for her show at Palais de Tokyo, Dalila joined us in Hamburg—one of many artists from beyond film who connect with our work.

  • Iliès Terki Director and founder of Idle Films Anthology. The creative force behind all six shorts, Iliès Terki was present at the Hamburg premiere—marking a milestone in the journey of the collective.

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