Unlike Today

Nicht im Traum
The story of an old couple who refuse to acknowledge their physical and mental deterioration

Dementia Sisyphus, and depressive everyday lethargy turn Paul and Elisabeth into helpless puppets of themselves. Night becomes day, and everyday life becomes a nightmare.
In the symbiotic relationship between Paul's still-awake mind and Elisabeth's physical sprightliness, they try to maintain their lives without much outside help. But despair and other signs of fatigue have been gnawing at them for some time now, and so it's no wonder that Paul now takes three sleeping pills in a row, and Elisabeth berates him mightily when she has to change the bedsheets for the umpteenth time..
Paul and Elisabeth are at the end of their rope. They both know that they can no longer lead a life without outside help. But they still don't want to acknowledge this fact.. 


The film was awarded "especially valuable" by the German Film and Media Rating.

Awards
2020: Best Film - 5. Euregion Film Festival, Limburg
2019: 2. Publikumspreis - Zeise Shortfilm Slam, Hamburg
2019: Filmförderpreis der Kunstministerin - 31. Internationale Filmfest Dresden,
2019: Best Director - Los Angeles International Short Film Festival
2019: Best Foreign Short Film - Los Angeles International Short Film Festival
2019: Best Actor - Los Angeles International Short Film Festival
2019: Lobende Erwähnung - 7. Schrobenhausener Kurzfilmfestival BFF Fiction
2019: Publikumspreis - Blende Eins Kurzfilmfestival Wilhelmshaven
2019: Bester International Short Film - 4. Slemani International Filmfestival
2019: Publikumspreis - „UND BITTE! Takes 2019, Hannover
2019: Publikumspreis - 34. Unabhängige Filmfestival Osnabrück
2019: Bestes Drehbuch - 2. Internationale Film Festival Linz
2019: Best Director - 4. Internationale Kurzfilmfestival Court en Scène, Troyes
2019: Publikumspreis - 27. Blicke Filmfestival, Bochum
2019: 3. Jurypreis - 7. Eat my Shorts, Hagen
2018: Jury- und Publikumspreis - 59. Shortfilm Collection, Bremen
Festivals
71. Cannes (Short Film Market)
52nd International Hof Film Festival - Premiere
59th Short Film Collection
9th Media Forum Lower Saxony
41. Clermont-Ferrand (Short Film Market)
Zeise Shortfilm Slam Hamburg
Short-O-Rama, Westend, Bremen
10th Church Film Festival Recklinghausen
AND PLEASE! - Short film competition, Hanover
31st Filmfest Dresden 2019
7th Schrobenhausen Short Film Festival BFF Fiction
26. OpenEyes Filmfest, Marburg
1st Cinema Talks, Graz, Austria
4. Internationales Filmfestival Slemani, Iraq
Bali International Short Film Festival, Indonesia
Micro μ Festival, Greece
34th Independent Film Festival Osnabrück
3. Cardiff International Film Festival, England
2nd Linz International Film Festival, Austria
4th Court en Scène, Troyes, France
19th Flensburg Short Film Festival, Germany
27th Blicke Film Festival, Bochum, Germany
7th Eat My Shorts, Hagen Short Film Festival, Germany
Indie Short Fest Los Angeles, USA
Blende Eins Kurzfilmfestival Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Minikino International Short Film Festival Bali, Indonesia
Feature Film
Completed
20 minutes
Director
Astrid Menzel
Script
Astrid Menzel
Director of Photography
Lukas Eylandt
Sound
Urs Krüger
Video Postproduction
Cine Complete GmbH
Color Grading
Andreas Hellmanzik
DCP/DCDM-Mastering
Cine Complete GmbH
Cast
Ulrich Voß
Monika Lennartz
Kirsten Sprick
Production
Mike Beilfuß
Matthias Greving
Astrid Menzel
Funding
nordmedia - Film- und Mediengesellschaft Niedersachsen/Bremen mbH