2. BONNER KURZFILMFEST

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, liebe Freunde der AIB,

dieses Jahr findet erneut die Kurzfilmpremiere unserer amerikanischen Filmstudenten im Bonner WOKI Filmpalast statt. Es werden sechs ausgewählte dokumentarische Kurzfilme aus dem Semesterprogramm der School of Film&Television der Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles gezeigt. Alle Filme der amerikanischen Jungregisseure sind diesen Herbst in Bonn produziert worden und behandeln europäische Themen aus Sicht der jungen Amerikaner.

Bitte halten Sie sich schon einmal den folgenden Termin frei, zu dem wir Sie herzlich einladen:

2. Bonner Kurzfilmfest im WOKI: Freitag, 16. Dezember 2011

Programm:

• 19:30 Uhr - Begrüßung durch den Oberbürgermeister der Stadt Bonn, Jürgen Nimptsch im WOKI Filmpalast, Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz 1-7, 53111 Bonn
• 19:45 Uhr - Vorführung der sechs dokumentarischen Kurzfilme aus dem Filmprogramm (á 10 Minuten)

Falls Sie schon Freikarten zur Filmpremiere reservieren möchten, schicken Sie bitte eine Email mit der gewünschten Anzahl an: tickets@aib-studyabroad.org oder rufen Sie uns an unter: 0228 33 88 39 20.

Wir freuen uns auf Ihr zahlreiches Erscheinen und einen gelungenen Abend!

COOKIES!

The AIB engineering group from Loyola Marymount University celebrated Christmas early by baking Christmas cookies!
They created fun and unique cutouts in the dough, and enjoyed getting a little messy. A few creations were: a dragon, a multi-tool, Santa Claus, the letters AIB, and a few shout-outs to fraternities and sororities back at LMU. Thanks to the AIB staff for making the cookie party possible!

 

Written by Andrew Petersen

AIB STUDENT FILM MAKES IT INTO TWO EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVALS

Matt Rice (FITS Europe participant Fall 2010) and his documentary made it into this year’s final of Filmfest Düsseldorf and came in 2nd for the audience award of European Short Film Festival UNLIMITED Cologne.
Watch this Interview with Matthew Rice: http://vimeo.com/32003313 (The Yodel Within)

A new World Perspective

My study abroad trip in Germany not only defined who I was as a filmmaker, but it also helped frame a new world perspective for me. I discovered the power of documentary filmmaking and I immediately became enamored with it. Why try and recreate false experiences on a dark soundstage in LA when in reality stories surround our lives everywhere we go? I had finally realized that a documentary could highlight these interesting stories and emphasize the beauty of our natural world.
I wanted to go to Germany for a very specific reason. I wanted to rediscover my ancestral roots. Some members of my Bavarian-American family have participated in a German oompah band all my life. They are unique for continuing that tradition and I wanted to be unique too by mastering the German yodel. I went to Germany to find a true yodeling master. Luckily, LMU had a study abroad documentary filmmaking program located in Bonn, Germany.
Six months before I left, I researched as much as I possibly could about yodeling. I found several contacts in both the U.S. and Europe that agreed to do interviews and private yodel performances. I had even found the address of Franzl Lang, the World’s Greatest Yodeler, who retired from his yodeling career a decade ago. I sought out my contacts in Germany and finally found a suitable yodel instructor that taught me everything there is to know about the art. I am not quite sure which was more fun for me, developing my yodel documentary or learning how to yodel.
In the end, I produced and directed an eleven-minute yodel documentary that I was proud of. I quickly became comfortable with telling my story because I was able to connect my experience in Germany with my cultural upbringing in St. Louis. This never would have been possible if I hadn’t received the assistance that I did while I studied abroad in Germany.
The support I received from the AIB and my fellow colleagues was invaluable for my experience in Germany. Even after my film has been completed, the AIB is still helping me out by promoting my film in European film festivals. My study abroad experience will always remind me of this international camaraderie and I can only hope that I will receive the same support in my future career as a documentary filmmaker.

Written by Matt Rice

Read more news by FITS participants on www.fits-europe.de

CZECH US OUT BERLINERS!

The Fall 2011 New Europe Program posing for the camera in front of the Reichstag.

The New Europe Program embarked on their second and final long excursion to the beautiful cities of Berlin and Prague. From October 29 to November 4 the students enjoyed themselves learning the amazing history Berlin had to offer and explored the wonders of Eastern Europe. Berlin was beautiful; the students saw the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Cathedral, they visited The Reichstag, and were able to experience the Hohenschönhausen Prison and Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. They were divided into four groups on “My Berlin" day: GDR, Cold War, Urban Art, and Multicultural. They were able to explore Berlin on their own, and gave a presentation on what they learned. Their trip to Prague was exciting. They were all in Eastern Europe, which was different, and definitely a new experience. They began with a tour of the central part of the city, and later that evening watched La Bohčme Opera. The next day they had a guided tour of Prague where they saw most of the city, and enjoyed a delicious cup of hot cocoa, and later that evening they enjoyed a group dinner. The excursion was really an exciting experience, and the AIB was successful in making this trip memorable for the students.

Picture of the Bradenburg Gate.

Students hearing the history behind the Berlin Wall.

Check Point Charlie.

Berlin Cathedral.

Entrance to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp in Berlin.

The students didn't know what to expect once passing these doors into the actual camp.

"Work will set you free"

Memorial to the victims of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

The students got a tour of the Reichstag.

German B class on top of the Reichstag.

The Fall 2011 New Europe Program posing for the camera in Prague.

The beautiful city of Prague

The clock tower in Prague that entertained the public with it's unique abilities.

After a long walk in the cold the students enjoyed a delicious hot cocoa from a cafe in Prague.

The Italian Opera La Bohčme.

"RENAMING COLOGNE'S EBERTPLATZ":

AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT WORKSHOP

As part of their „Field Studies in Design Philosophy“ coursework, the Landscape Architecture/Urban Planing students engaged in a two-day workshop in collaboration with German architecture students from the University of Applied Sciences on November 3-4, 2011 at the University's facilties in Cologne. The workshop was led by AIB's Prof. i.V. Thomas Knüvener and his colleague Prof. Karzel (Cologne University of Apllied Sciences).

The 18 A&M and five German students were charged to develop a new design for Cologne's Ebertplatz in groups of four or five. Ebertplatz belongs to the Cologne Ring, the grand 19th century boulevard that is core of the first large extension after medival times. It was restructured and redesigned many times - always to accomodate for changing needs. Today Ebertplatz is in a poor state and the question is how we have to change the square again and inscribe our time into the palimpsest of the city.

To that extend, Thomas Knüvener held an introductory lecture on Cologne's urban development, then followed by an extensive site visit/analysis. Afterwards, Frau Koch from Cologne's Department for Urban Planning introduced the group into the Cologne Masterplan and specifically the design proposals in that masterplan for Erbertplatz and other selected sites.

   

The rest of the time was spent by students developing their designs and presenting them in the afternoon of November 4.

Does the square need more buildings and a higher density? Are the two levels a source for increased activity or much more part of the problem? Can we relate to the different historic layers as a source of inspiration? Answers to these and many other crucial questions concerning Ebertplatz can be found in the students' works.

HALLOWEEN TOWN

We are in October now, and it is Halloween time, which can only mean one thing; Pumpkin carving time! LMU students from the New Europe Program and Engineering Program got into the Halloween spirit, and enjoyed carving pumpkins.

The students had a blast showing off their creativity.

Some students went with the traditional Jack-O'-Lantern and others were super creative and made amazing pumpkin designs. Everyone had a blast getting their hands dirty, and watching a must see Halloween film, Halloween Town.

   

Pumpkin carving at the AIB was successful in bringing a cheerful and fun holiday spirit to the students.

Written by Stephany Silva

THE IRONING MAN

AIB student film makes it into Cologne Short Film Festival Unlimited!

When I first came to Bonn with our study abroad program, I had no idea what was in store for me as far as making a documentary was concerned. I had never done one before and was excited for the challenges that would come with making a film in a foreign country. Originally, I had planned to make a much different documentary, but circumstances changed and left me to scramble for a new topic before our deadline. I have always been a lover of extreme sports and decided that I wanted to make a film about an obscure aspect of that world. What was my choice? Extreme Ironing of course!! No one had really heard of it before, so it was about time they did.

I mostly intended this to be a fun, goofy documentary, something that I would enjoy making at the very least. I never expected it to turn into what it was. When I arrived in England, however, with my partner Matt Christensen, we immediately recognized that our star Richard French (aka Frenchy) had a lot more to tell than just stories about a goofy sport. For the last ten years, he has worked as a sniper for the British Royal Army and has served on various tours to Afghanistan and Iraq. We quickly found out that he and his friends choose such an extreme pass time in order to help them cope with their extreme jobs.
With plenty of help from the staff and professors at the AIB, I was able to develop my story into a look at what life is like for these soldiers, on and off the battlefield of war. This film probably would’ve never been made in another setting. All of my professors and fellow students in our study abroad program were very supportive of such an “out there” idea for a film. They had their doubts about it, but in the end, they helped me pull through and make a film I am proud of.

The film program in Bonn, Germany offered me and many other students an excellent opportunity to experience different cultures and people that we never would’ve had a chance to otherwise. Best of all, they created an environment where we were allowed to explore any idea that came to our minds and help you to produce great films from those ideas. I will always look back to Bonn as the start of what will hopefully be my long career of producing documentary films!

Written by Abbey Nelson

GERMAN UNITY IN BONN

"Freedom, Unity, Joy - Move More+” 
...was the theme in Bonn from the 1st to the 3rd October 2011.

Germany was celebrating the “Day of German Unity” and the “North Rhine-Westphalia Day”. The Federal City of Bonn was host to the festivities and presented a rich and colorful program to 800.000 visitors. All over the city attractions were offered: concerts, boat shows on the Rhine, parades, etc.

Once more, Bonn vividly demonstrated the diversity and the international setting that it has.

Thanks to all the current students and host families of AIB, our stand on the “International Mile” was outstanding in every sense. Being located right in front of our student residence our stand was neatly decorated with American flags and was surrounded by the smell of freshly baked American cookies. Children were able to get face paint, and participate in exciting hands-on experiments.

   

It was a great and fun atmosphere. Thank you to all who made this day a huge success!

EURO-TRIP

LMU’s New Europe Program went on their first long excursion to Belgium and France. From September 19 to the 24th the students had an educational/enjoyable excursion to the wonderful cities of Brussels, Bruges, and Paris. They met early Monday morning in front of the AIB where the bus to take them was. Their suitcases were packed, the bus was ready to go, and the excitement for the trip was inevitable.

During the long drive the student’s watched movies to kill time. Amelie and Moulin Rouge were the films featured on this trip. After a four hour drive they finally arrived at Brussels, Belgium.

They met at the European Union Parliament where they enjoyed a presentation and a tour of the building. Once the tour was finished the students went with Nils on a walking tour of the city. They got to see many beautiful sites. And after a long day of walking, hunger kicked in, and they enjoyed Belgian fries. The students then boarded the bus, and were off to the city of Bruges.

After a two hour drive the students arrived to their hotel in Bruges “the Venice of the North”. There they checked into their lovely rooms on a boat, and then were off to a group dinner.
The following day the students had a guided bike tour through Bruges. The wonderful scenery was out of a movie. The country side was serene and enjoyable. The tour guides were wonderful, and showed the students the beauty of Bruges.

Hearing the legend of the “black dog” from the tour guides was intriguing. They enjoyed themselves riding around on a bike, and also survived a sheep stamped encounter. Before leaving the students enjoyed an a uthentic Belgian waffle (Delicious!). Bruges was a beautiful city, but after a long bike tour, and walking around; they were off to Paris.

After another four hour drive the students arrived to the beautiful city of Paris. There they met up with their tour guide for the next five days, Julien. Paris was an exciting city filled with many sites to see, and many places to be, but also very tiring for the students. The next couple of days were filled with amazing tours.
They had a guided bike tour of Paris; From the Eiffel tower to the Ente de Triomphe; it was an amazing bike tour riding around in the streets of Paris. The Ile de la cite, Quartier Latin, the Notre Dame, Louvre Museum, Musee d’Orsay, walking tour to the Montmarte, Moulin Rouge, and many sites of the featured film watched on the bus Amelie were visited. They had an educational visit to the OECD “better policies for better lives.”
An unforgettable day was going to the top of the Eiffel Tower at night. It was memorable seeing the Eiffel tower in touching distance, and then being on it. The lights, the view, and being there was just beautiful. The day was done with a Paris city bus tour at night where the students were able to see the whole city at night.
In the farewell dinner some students were adventurous and had an authentic French dinner. It was perfect because everyone was enjoying themselves eating the last dinner in Paris together. On the last day the students visited Versailles and had a picnic in the gardens of Versailles. The excursion was truly amazing and no doubt a success. Everyone enjoyed themselves, and it is something that is going to be unforgettable for the students.

WHEN IN KÖLN…

Our excursion to Cologne (Köln in German) took place on the eighth of September. Cologne is a major metropolitan center with over 30 museums and it is Germany’s fourth largest city. It is also home to the famous Cologne Cathedral. As soon as we got off the morning train, we were greeted by two tour guides and they took us to various sites around downtown Cologne. We learned that it is rumored that the Cologne Cathedral buries the relics of the three wise men and it took 632 years for its construction to be finished. Cologne is also the site of a very large festival known as “Carnival” which occurs annually and dates back to when Cologne was a colony of the Roman Empire. At the end of the tour of the cathedral and the city, we walked around and tried the local cuisine.

After lunch, we broke off into two groups and toured two different museums. The first visited the Romano-Germanic Museum where the emphasis was on the historical development of the city. Cologne was originally a colony of the Roman Empire and this is where its name derives: Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium. The other group took a tour of the Museum Ludwig where the emphasis was on the significance of modern art in Cologne. The city has hundreds of galleries displaying many different forms of art and they serve to maintain Cologne’s status as a cultural center in Germany. At the end of the day both groups gathered at the cathedral once again to tour the upper levels of the structure. After a long ascent filled with narrow archways, heavy doors, and steel rafters, the tour culminated at the very top of the cathedral. The panoramic view that this spot offered was incredibly scenic as we could see several kilometers in every direction. The excursion to Cologne proved to be very intriguing and many in the New Europe Program will definitely be returning in the near future.
Written by Emilio Garcia, NEP Fall 2011

HOWDY FROM BONN!

The Texas A&M Landscape Architecture and Urban Planing Program 2011 started off with an action-packed first week. Aside from getting to know each other and learning what Bonn has to offer, the group went on their first bike-ride all across the city to learn about its history, get to know the site of their design studio project and experience the city's infrastructure. We were led by David Baier, head of the city of Bonn's Department for Green and Open spaces, who had agreed to support the students as their service-learning design project provider.

Following later that week, the group visited the spectacular Upper Middle Rhine Valley and experienced its romantic beauty. From Bacharach we took a boat down the Rhine past the Loreley Rock to Braubach, where, after some good Schnitzel, we visited the legendary Marksburg. The day was capped off by visiting a winery co-op in Mayschoss where we learned a lot about the region's wine-growing history and culture.



The final highlight of the week was the traditional welcome BBQ for all AIB students, host families and friends on the AIB premises. Our group presented a sample of A&M's most famous Aggie yells under the leadership of Luca Olivarez, which were met with great applause from the audience.

HERZLICH WILLKOMMEN IN BONN!

Our first weekend in Bonn started off with a competitive twist as the whole AIB program took part in the annual AIB Soccer Cup. The tournament took place on the beautiful garden area known as the Hofgarten Wiese which is in front of the main building of Bonn University. Although there were a few falls in the game, those who were playing could not help but be inspired by the cheers and applause coming from the audience (especially Viktoria and her loud-speaker.) After many fierce games, one team emerged victorious and received the coveted AIB Soccer Cup Trophy. At the end of the tournament, all of the students left the Hofgarten Wiese with a greater sense of camaraderie and went home to prepare themselves for the evening ahead.

Later on that evening the AIB hosted their annual welcome party for the various programs participating in Fall 2011 study abroad.  The faculty, students, and host families joined at the AIB building for this celebration. Deputy Major of Bonn Angela Kappel enlightened the guests with a few words, as well as Christine Di Girogi, from the Italian Consolate Generale d'Italia a Colonia. Everyone enjoyed the great music, free drinks, and the delicious food as well.  The various AIB programs had to present themselves in a creative way to the guests and all were very entertaining. LMU’s Engineering program constructed a human pyramid, the New Europe Program went poetic and recited an original poem, the Film program showed their artistic side by performing a skit, Texas A&M students from the LAUP entertained the crowd with their chanting, and the Italian students had the crowd singing in three different languages. The welcome party had everyone united in celebration of this wonderful experience on which the students will soon embark. It surely was a great success!
Written by Emilio Garcia, NEP Fall 2011

FAIRY-TALE LAND - THE EIFEL TRIP

The Eifel is a low mountain range in Western Germany and Eastern Belgium, only an hour away from our new home in beautiful Bonn. The LMU Film Students, in the company of the lovely LMU Engineers, took a bus ride out to the area. We would be staying in the town of Monreal for 3 days, the other students accompanying us only for a day visit to the nearby Gregorian mass held in Maria Laach’s Parish (Over 1000 years of amazing tradition in a valley created by an ancient volcano explosion).

After a beautiful mass and a visit to the gift shop (The Monks have a full retail/gift shop) we headed over to Monreal. The town itself is very quaint, less then six square miles in size with a population of less then a thousand. And it’s beautiful. It’s amazingly green, only broken by the tall white windmills in the distance and the quiet venerable castle overlooking the town.

Our main location was a large inn just on the outskirts of town. A young, kindly couple took care of us, making us food and walking us through the delicate steps of cheese tasting (Allgau for the win!). The six men of our program stayed with an amazingly welcoming wife and husband just down the street in a second story flat (wonderful bonding time) and the girls were across the street in their own house.

The next three days were spent doing a variety of activities, most of all just taking in the world around us. We had a few small projects and lessons, one of which was shooting a variety of nature shots to portray a specific emotion. In my own personal experience, with the company of the infamous Patrick Murphy, the two of us wandered around the village and farmlands, tracking deer and shooting lone shoes to convey the emotion of loneliness. We were guided by the lessons of famed Serbian film director Slobodan Sijan.

When we weren’t learning or eating wonderful food (And the desserts!), we trekked many hikes up to the beautiful castle overlooking the town. Up the keep you could go, rolling hills and green valleys stretching into the distance. We even went on an old-fashioned torch hike at night (with much singing of classic 80’s and 90’s songs) and the next morning had a very early hike with our constant trusty guide, Rainer. One of the most amazing ways to start the day.

A celebrity appearance was even made by the most beautiful dog in the Rhineland, Cosmo, whose proud owner is our very own Olaf, our wonderful program director.

The Eifel is a wonderful place. There’s something about looking up into that beautiful sky at night to see a thousand hovering stars twinkle over the waves of green, of feeling that crisp morning breeze blow past as we hike through streams of sunlight and to look at the generous (chicken-filled) nature.

CONGRATULATIONS TO VIZZERS KEVIN PRIMM AND JAKE ROSS

The Texas A&M VIZ students Kevin Primm and Jake Ross got selected to present their project “Running out of Steam“ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-FMdfuc3vM), created during their AIB study abroad semester 2010, at the SIGGRAPH conference in Vancouver next week.

The SIGGRAPH conference is is the premier international event on computer graphics and interactive techniques. Kevin and Jake will have the chance to present their animation to an estimated 25,000 professionals from five continents. Congratulations to these two and good luck in Vancouver!

“Running out of Steam“ by Kevin Primm and Jake Ross


Given a character description we were to design and incorporate our character into a live action environment... or small universe.


The project is a testament to just how expansive a project can be. It utilized elements such as 3D objects modeled, textured, and lit in Autodesk Maya; special steam and blur effects created in Adobe After Effects; final composition done in Final Cut Pro; and live action footage taken with a professional-grade video camera to create a setting for the character and an introductory time lapse video. Unique elements that also influenced the project were interactions with the German culture, as well as the pre-determined aspects of the assigned character’s personality. All these elements were combined into one immense conglomerate of innovative design.


Using creative problem solving skills, we were able to combine all these parts to our project in a relatively short amount of time. The project also forced us to step outside our comfort zone and interact with a culture completely different than what we were used to. This caused us to open our minds up to more than just the bubble that we were used to living in, and learn knew and exciting things about Germany, and the world as a whole.