Berlin/Potsdam/Los Angeles, 9. Dezember 2021 – Filmmakers Paulina Lorenz and Faraz Shariat will receive a Villa Aurora Fellowship, funded by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, for a three-month stay at the artist residency in Los Angeles.

Jury statement:

In 2020, Paulina Lorenz and Faraz Shariat and their collective “Jünglinge” surprised with the playful queer, post-migrant coming-of-age drama “Futur Drei” and set fresh impulses in the German film landscape. The directorial debut about the search for home and identity impressed not only with a precise, diverse constellation of characters, but also with a dynamic, stirring visual language. For this, “Futur Drei” was rightly honored with the Teddy Award at the Berlinale as well as the First Steps Award for Best Newcomer Film. Since then, Paulina and Faraz have worked in various Writers' Rooms, including for the widely acclaimed youth series “Druck”. At Villa Aurora they will have the time to develop their second feature film project “Imperial Palace”. The jury is already very excited, because in the horror film they send their protagonist on a trip to Namibia, where they are haunted by German colonial history.

Kirsten Niehuus, Medienboard's Managing Director:

“We wish the filmmakers Paulina Lorenz and Faraz Shariat a creative and inspiring time at the legendary Villa Aurora. We are happy that with ‘Jünglinge’ an up-and-coming film collective has been selected that tells diverse and queer stories and will be heard from a lot.”

This is the 11th time that the Medienboard has selected filmmakers from the Berlin region for the fellowship. Previous fellows who went to the Villa Aurora for 3 months stay with Medienboard support include Henk Handloegten ("Babylon Berlin"), Annekatrin Hendel ("Schönheit & Vergänglichkeit") and Jan-Ole Gerster ("Lara").