Documentaries and feature films for cinema and television, shorts and feature-length works, Polish productions and international cooperations - the great range of different styles, genres and working contexts as well as the variety of visual spaces and compositions they create join the two camerawomen Karina Kleszczewska and Jolanta Dylewska who are always very much in demand. We are very pleased to welcome the two DOPS, who both graduated from the renowned film school in Łódź (PWSTFiTV) to Arsenal within the context of filmPOLSKA, the biggest Polish film festival in Germany, and to examine their impressive filmographies on the basis of two films each.

Spaces in films tell stories, illustrate, sound, create atmospheres, place limits, open perspectives. They are always defined, often construed, but always of great significance for the narrative, atmosphere and impact of the film on viewers. From seemingly empty spaces to complex soundscapes, sometimes giving a direction, sometimes confusing: The Magical History Tour shows 12 examples - filmic spatial constructions from across film history, styles and genres.

As in previous years, we are presenting a selection of films at the International Short Film Festival in Oberhausen that originally premiered as part of the 2016 Forum Expanded program and now form part of our distribution range: NOW: END OF SEASON (Lebanon 2015) by Ayman Nahle: While US President Ronald Reagan is out horsebackriding, Syrian President Hafiz al-Assad tries in vain to reach him by phone. Ayman Nahle’s short film lets us witness the phone call with White House staff as we watch Syrian refugees waiting in Turkey; THE RIGHT (Germany 2015) by Assaf Gruber: A 73-year-old security guard from the Old Masters Picture Gallery in Dresden writes a letter to the director of the Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź, asking to volunteer as a security guard there; LA CUPOLA (Germany 2016) by Volker Sattel: The portrait of a house without supporting walls, located in the middle of bizarre rock formations. The house once belonged to Monica Vitti and Michelangelo Antonioni. The emptiness of the "cupola", a deserted site, is the starting point for speculations.

TOZ BEZI (DUST CLOTH) by Ahu Öztürk from this year's Forum programme has received three awards at the International Film Festival in Istanbul: Apart from the Golden Tulip for the best film in the national competition and the award for best screenplay, Asiye Dinçsoy was awarded best actress.

The film tells of the precarious situation and friendship of two Kurdish women, who live in a rundown district on the edge of Istanbul, travelling into the centre to work. But beyond the personal story of their relationship and its conflicts, Ahu Öztürk also paints a picture of an entire society in which social and ethnic origins can be insurmountable obstacles.