Bene Culturale (A Cultural Good)

Dominik Balkow

Dominik Balkow studied film directing in Berlin, Germany. After graduating in 2012, he worked independently as a director on over 70 music clips (incl. Anti-Flag, Billy Talent, Nina Hagen, Kontra K, Haudegen, Unheilig & Yiruma). His last short film „O“ won (among over 25 other awards) the prestige „Méliès d’Argent“ as best European short film.
His feature film debut „Aphasie“ (English: Aphasia) premiered in 2022/2023 on festivals worldwide and is now as VOD on most big streaming platforms.

Director Statement

My last short film „O“ won at the 2023 „CinemaSuono Festival“ in Cervia, Italy. Part of the main prize is that the winning filmmaker gets the chance to create a new short film with the full support of the city of Cervia and its inhabitants. While scouting locations in Cervia, I was desperately searching for inspiration when I noticed all these beautiful paintings and statues of women around town.
During the development process we as a team began asking ourselves: why is it that we mostly only know the men who created these pictures and sculptures, but not the women they are portraying? And what unspoken stories and misogyny might linger behind these faces and bodies, frozen for all eternity? And is the separation of art and artist even possible?