In cooperation with the 2nd Landshuter Krimitage, we present a selection of “cinematic crimes”. Much like a game of Cluedo come to life, we scour the “usual suspect” locations for clues to shady dealings.

Deep beneath the city, in a deserted underground tunnel at night, the AG SCHMIERSCHRIFTEN investigates acts of vandalism – but could one of the lead officers be developing a secret sympathy for this alternative art form? Back above ground, a community gathers following a fatal traffic accident to sit in judgment over the driver’s fate (NOT A HERO BY ACCIDENT).

The trail leads us from public spaces into private chambers. In a vacant property, the arduous struggle for affordable housing becomes an unexpected opportunity. Here, opportunity doesn’t just make a thief, it makes an UNREAL ESTATE AGENT. While a back room filled with a distorted, Lynchian atmosphere provides the setting for a bizarre EXHIBIT, a pair of siblings in a seedy, run-down hotel room plot the robbery intended to fund the sister’s NOSEJOB. Meanwhile, in a grand drawing room, the host of an elegant HOUSE PARTY suddenly collapses.

Even though the Iron Curtain finally fell, the former GDR seems far from being RISEN FROM RUINS. We follow two friends engaged in organised car smuggling, heading from the new federal states towards the post-socialist Eastern Bloc.

These seven short films are shown exclusively as part of this Crime Special and do not feature in the regular programmes of their respective competitions.