German Food Truck The Flying Deutschman Shares Rolling Movie Theater Plans for Philly and shnit Film Festival Picks

Made in Switzerland, the shnit International short Film Festival selection BON VOYAGE is about a couple on a holiday cruise and their encounter with a sinking refugee boat.Did you know the 14^th Annual shnit International Short Film Festival is the largest of its kind, taking place simultaneously in multiple cities across five continents? On Saturday October 15, Philadelphia is joining this global community of movie buffs who are coming together to share the excitement of world cinema.

Head chef Stirling Sowerby at The Flying Deutschman, a German food truck calling on your vote to become a finalist in the 2016 Brassys (Square’s Small Business Awards celebrating the boldest businesses in America) recently took a moment with me to discuss his transnational encounters and most anticipated films in the shnit CINEMAS lineup for Philly.

During our Q&A it quickly became clear that Sowerby’s extensive travels demonstrate the shnit International Short Film Festival’s mission of embracing diversity and exchange between creators and audiences from different cultures and backgrounds. “I have been in England, Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, France, Spain, Turkey, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Bahamas (that's where I met my wife); I traveled almost all states up and down the east coast and some of the central states; Mexico, I think that's it” he says. 

The Flying Deutschman and his main crew are in the running to become one of 35 finalists in the next round of the Brassys, in the food and drink category.Honored as a local Vendys finalist, The Flying Deutschman shared that he would also love to hike up to Machu Picchu in Peru, Tibet, and “experience the equator somewhere in Africa.” As a presenter for one of the few shnit Film Festival screenings in the United States, I not only have the pleasure of bringing epic films to the city, but also making it possible for Philly to have a voice in picking the winner of the shnit CINEMAS Audience Award.

Here is a further sneak peek into the films you can expect to see at this year’s show, some of the innovations that illustrate why you should tell everyone you know to vote for The Flying Deutschman in the Brassys, and more from the chef who has successfully carved out a space for himself in the culinary arts world.

Madlab Post: What kind of adventures did you experience during your time abroad?

The Flying Deutschman: There are many, how about when I was in the Bahamas where I met my wife.  It was me and 3 friends of which one of them was a pilot.  So we had this rental plane and planned to fly from Miami to Nassau; the problem was that with 4 of us and the luggage we were too heavy. So Frank, the pilot, flew me and the luggage over to Nassau with the mission to find a hotel for us while he would fly back and pick up the other 2. This was in 1989, so contacting people was still a little more complicated and as hours passed and no one showed up at the airport I got nervous and asked someone about my friend; he had left Miami but had not landed yet.

So they look into it and tell me that they had no idea where he was and that he had declared an emergency 20 minutes into the flight; that's all they had. Let's just say now I was really nervous -- all kind of scenarios went through my head. It took until 10pm that night ‘til Frank finally got a hold of me through the number I had left at the Airport and he told me that he had a Generator problem and returned back to Miami to get it fixed. Somehow the tower in Miami forgot to log that and that's what caused all that confusion. So those were some hell-raising hours thinking I had lost 3 of my friends.

MP: Is film a universal language?

TFD: Pictures speak a thousand words. I think that says it all.

MP: How many languages do you speak?

TFD: I speak German and English. I would like to become better at Spanish.

Made in Germany and Austria, the shnit International Short Film Festival selection DIE BADEWANNE (The Bathtub) is about three brothers trying to re-enact a childhood photo to prepare an original present for their mother.MP: Which film in the shnit Cinemas lineup for Philly interests you the most?

TFD: Die Badewanne (The Bathtub), for obvious reasons, but also the Swiss one – Bon Voyage,  I think the subject matter is very timely and deals with the biggest problem The European Union has faced in a long time, far greater than anything they have seen since WW2.

MP:  What is one of your favorite foods from another country or culture?

TFD: Thai by far; the food is clear, fresh, crisp, light and healthy.

MP: Can you describe one of your favorite foreign movies?

TFD: I know I saw many movies with subtitles, but I just can't recall them anymore. I keep thinking of Metropolis by Fritz Lang but to me that's not really foreign.

MP: What inspired you to want to add giant LED screens to The Flying Deutschman and what kind of movies are you planning to show on your food truck?

TFD: Turning the truck into a rolling Movie Theater is another way to create revenue. I am open minded as far as movie selection goes. I would start with old music movies….Stop Making Sense by Talking Heads,  Live in Pompeii by Pink Floyd,  She's the Boss by Mike Jagger, Help by the Beatles, Tommy by The Who, Breaking Glass by Hazel O'Connor. 

I would surely be on board for showing movies from independent filmmakers; it's publicity, so hell yeah. I am open minded regarding genres. The whole thing is new and I have to see what will and will not work. 

Thanks a bunch to The Flying Deutschman for discussing shnit short films, food and culture with me! Cinema fans can GET TICKETS to see some of the world’s best films.

The Flying Deutschman menu. Jaeger Schnitzel with Dumplings and Red Cabbage Foodie fans in South Philly can find The Flying Deutschman at The Navy Yard this month:

• Tuesday October 18^th 11am – 2pm

• Thursday October 27^th 11am – 2pm

*The Flying Deutschman might also run a solo down at Clark Park on short notice. Get updates on the truck's Facebook page.

Which country do YOU think produces the best films?

What is YOUR favorite food from another country or culture?

Did YOU vote for The Flying Deutschman yet?

Never Been Kissed: Inside Director Barbara Kronenberg’s qFlix Comedy ‘Ballad of Ella Plummhoff’

'The Ballad of Ella Plummhoff' writer and director Barbara KronenbergIt’s nice to be blogging again, as I interrupt the Popcorn Snobs’ (semi)regularly scheduled “Taking of A-Z” series, in favor of world cinema. If you believe laughter is the best medicine, you need to get acquainted with Barbara Kronenberg, a German writer/director whose comedy Die Ballad Von Ella Plummhoff (The Ballad of Ella Plummhoff) is among the most anticipated shorts playing at the qFLIX film festival in Philadelphia, PA this weekend.

Dr. Sheena Howard and Wafiyyah Packer of the Women’s Screening Committee even cite it as one they would highly recommend people to come watch.

“I thought the angles and intensity of some of the shots were well put together,” praises Howard on the cinematography as well as the overall technical excellence of what she describes as “a really quirky” and entertaining short film. Packer agrees adding “I love teenage awkwardness….the way they told this coming-of-age story was great.” What’s interesting, however, is that this film almost didn’t get made. There was a time when Barbara Kronenberg got fed up with filmmaking after a string of depressing projects.

Encouraged by her wife along with family and friends to not give up, she tried working on a story that was different and more humorous than her usual fare – resulting in The Ballad of Ella Plummhoff. This 29-minute short helped Kronenberg, a former software developer, rediscover her passion for filmmaking. I arranged a conversation with Kronenberg, who was up for discussing a few topics, from the challenges of shooting goldfish to the definition of beauty and why everyone needs a funny bone.

So without further ado, here’s the woman behind this wildly enjoyable film about an eighth grader who is flunking Math, getting love lessons from a grotesque ballet teacher and only cares about landing her first kiss—on another girl. Grades be damned!

Madlab Post Asks: What is your favorite scene from The Ballad of Ella Plummhoff?

Barbara Kronenberg (BK): The one where Ella is sitting in front of the aquarium after everyone else left for holiday vacation. It has very subtle humor and people usually start laughing when they realize that Ella is wearing her swimming goggles as if she has made up her own holiday setting, which is of course not satisfying. Ella is just sitting there, observing the two goldfishes through her swimming goggles and it seems to be a very easy to shoot scene because there is no big action.

As you probably wouldn't imagine, the two fishes were not that easy to handle - they behaved like little divas. I tried to give compliments about their beautiful fish scale, I praised their skills as actors and we even bought them gourmet fish food, but they preferred to stay in the tank corners. Finally I told staff to fire them and to cast turtles instead of fishes. That was the key and they started to perform the choreography, which we trained on for about 3 or 4 weeks. So this very small scene took some more time then people are expecting.

What makes a woman beautiful?

I never felt attracted only because of a “perfect“ body, face or dressing; it’s always a mixture of charisma, behavior, attitude, brainpower and appearance. To me, beauty isn’t something that you can see, it’s something that you feel.  – BK

(l-r) Actresses Lotta devil and Inga Dreger on the set of 'Die Ballad Von Ella Plummhoff' directed by Barbara Kronenberg.Would you like to share the story behind your first kiss?

The only thing I can tell you is that I had to kiss a lot of boys before I found out that I prefer kissing girls. - BK

What is the best quality everyone should have?

I’d love to say it is humor because I think it makes life much easier and of course funnier, but there are maybe one or two things which are more important and could be helpful to save the future of humanity: honesty and tolerance. It’s ok to make mistakes as far as you admit them. It’s also ok to have a different opinion as far as you don’t force someone else to share your opinion or way of living. – BK

Kudos to Barbara Kronenberg for showing the world that perseverance pays off and it’s important to have fun when following your passion. Otherwise, what’s the point?!

Die Ballad Von Ella Plummhoff /The Ballad of Ella Plummhoff is a German language film with English subtitles playing Sunday, July 10, 2016 at the Caplan Theater - University of the Arts – 211 S. Broad Street in Philadelphia, PA. Showtime is 2:30PM. It is part of the qFlix Film Festival’s  fun and fanciful “Damn Danielle” program, a collection of short films for everyone, with stories about family power struggles, revenge and the last laugh.

Share YOUR Comments!

What makes someone a good kisser? How supportive are YOUR loved ones in your chosen profession? If YOU had a pet turtle, what would you name it?

*Special thanks to Mike Nash for contributing to this piece. Images courtesy of Barbara Kronenberg.

Shooting Flames with 'Tex Montana' Film Director Christian Stella: Survival Kits, Hurricanes and Piracy

A man enters the wilderness alone and plans to stay there for 30 days but soon faces the reality that he highly overestimated his survival skills. It's the gist of the plot for Tex Montana Will Survive, a forthcoming comedy film being released digitally in March 2016, after several hundred supporters (including myself) basically bought the worldwide rights to the movie.

Orchestrated by O. Hannah Films through the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, this five-figure deal makes way for a future of independent film distribution where audiences can watch a movie without encountering territory restrictions nor the slow pace with which the entertainment industry moves when making titles available. It also looks to a future where visual media artists can be rightfully compensated for their work.

'Tex Montana Will Survive' Co-Director and Cinematographer Christian StellaHaving never heard of the filmmakers behind this movie until last weekend, I challenged Christian Stella - Co-Director and Cinematographer for Tex Montana Will Survive - to address some real-life disaster scenarios.

Stella also works as a food photographer, authors cookbooks and is behind a computer every other day, piecing together what he shot. Thus, he doesn't get out much and considers himself to be least likely to survive anything. Thankfully, he was still up for taking a stab at the following questions.

Madlab Post: You were just evacutated following a major collapse and are only allowed to save two things and one movie. What would you keep?

Christian Stella: First, I'm pretty sure I have to save my wife. For the second thing, I should probably save ONE of my two cats. Now that's a tough call, because one cat is very old, but the younger cat is a jerk...So I think I've gotta save the older cat, Sedna. I know that's a cheat because the question is most likely asking for inanimate objects. In that case, my camera and computer are the obvious ones. The movie would most definitely be PT Anderson's Magnolia. I have a Magnolia tattoo even.

MP: What disaster do you fear most?

CS: I'm fearing tornadoes right now. I've grown up with hurricanes in Florida my whole life, but those are so slow and come with so much warning. It's a little more rural where I am in FL right now and the wind gets crazy. I'm always listening for tornadoes now.

MP: What lifesaving skills do you have?

CS: I can cook. That's a good survival skill, I suppose, but I'm not saving anyone's life. It would be best if everyone on the island just let me explain how to cook me before they ate me. That would be as useful as I could get.

MP: Name a large-scale disaster that had a major impact on your views about humanity.

CS: I lived right outside Miami during Hurricane Andrew. That had a huge impact on my life because it destroyed a mall that my family owned a store in.

Christian Stella on location filming 'Tex Montana Will Survive' with Co-Director and lead actor Jeremy Gardner.MP: What would you do if you lost everything you owned and became displaced by a disaster?

CS: As long as it happens after this Kickstarter, I'd be fine. It's funny...This kind of thing freaks me out a lot because of the work on my hard drives. With piracy now, you've got to be so protective of your movie before release. But because of being so protective, if I lost my hard drives before the final release, we could lose years of work. There are versions online, but they are lower quality.

MP: Can you swim well enough to save someone else from drowning?

CS: I can swim well enough to save myself, but like a fully dead-weight unconscious person? They're doomed.

MP: What items would be in your 3-week survival kit?

CS: One of my rules while making this movie was that I wouldn't think too long and hard about actually trying to survive... Because Tex Montana is entirely impractical and completely inept... I didn't want to accidentally influence the movie by knowing any actual skills or thinking logically in any way. If I had to spend 3 weeks in the same 9 degrees we filmed in, I'd want to pack a flare gun and a GUN gun... Just in case no one responds to the flares.

Much thanks to filmmaker Christian Stella for taking the time to brief me on how he responds in the face of disaster!

How well can YOU cook?

Are YOU looking forward to watching 'Tex Montana Will Survive?' when the film is released?

There's still a few hours left to grab some of the merchandise that will ONLY be available until the O. Hannah Films' Tex Montana Will Survive campaign ends. This merchandise includes one of 400 limited edition DVD/Blu-Ray combo packages -- hand numbered and signed by both directors -- as well as Tex's Fat Survival Sacks, filled with surprise props used in the film and other random goodies.