Kollegen (Good German Work)
2020 · 14m · Germany
Directed by Jannis Alexander Kiefer
Genres: dark comedy, satire
Tones: absurdist, contemplative, dark, darkly comic
Two craftspeople in a rural Brandenburg workshop accept a mundane commission to build concentration camp set pieces — including a swastika — for an international war film shooting nearby. The film observes their workmanlike nonchalance as Nazi-uniformed extras wander past and they discuss prop incineration ovens, turning the unglamorous labor of film production into deadpan satire about German historical memory.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Disguises itself as a doc, then reveals craftspeople deadpanning over Nazi prop construction for a war film next door — that's a precision instrument, not a sketch. Moscow Grand Prix earned.
Kiefer's deadpan satire of Brandenburg craftspeople building Nazi props for a film shoot is precisely the kind of structural reveal — three minutes in — that justifies the form. Moscow Grand Prix is the appropriate recognition.
Moscow IFF Grand Prix plus Clermont-Ferrand and Palm Springs ShortFest — a 14:02 deadpan documentary-mimic that pivots at the three-minute mark when you realize the craftspeople are building Nazi props. That kind of tonal-architecture confidence is rare.
Reviews
It's comedy that could easily cross a line, but Kiefer always finds the perfect balance. The performances are perfect, from the camaraderie of the short's central pair to the comic timing of the wandering extras, while the unobtrusive camerawork and patient edit makes it all feel very authentic.
Festivals
- Poitiers Film Festival 2020
- Max Ophüls Preis 2021
- Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2021
- Palm Springs International ShortFest 2021
- San Francisco Jewish Film Festival 2021
- FEST – New Directors, New Films 2021, Honourable Mention
- Odense Film Festival 2021
- Kustendorf International Film and Music Festival 2022, Silver Egg Award (Best Short Film)
- Moscow International Film Festival, Grand Prix (Best Short Film)
- exground filmfest, Jury Prize