Documentary Short
19'


Director
Denise Riedmayr



shot on
Canon C300 MK I

lensed with
Stealth Zeiss HS



VISUAL APPROAcH
Through a sensitive, observational approach, we capture the love and care the children receive in their new home, focusing on moments of warmth and connection.

In another city, in the neonatal unit for drug-dependent newborns undergoing withdrawal, we encounter a unique setting with dimmed lighting and blue light therapy. These visual elements emphasize for us the fragility and vulnerability of the children affected by the opioid crisis.








The same-sex spouses Louisa and Nikki have adopted eight children from families with severe pain pill abuse. Their goal is to break the existing family cycles and to enable their adoptive children to grow up protected from the drug crisis.



Source: Synopsis “I teach my kids love”, Mubi 2020     





Festivals

2020, Filmschoolfest Munich
2021, exground filmfest 34
2021, Internationale Kurzfilmwoche Regensburg
2022, Brucker Kulturnacht
2023, Kurzfilmfestival Bunter Hund
2024, 40 Jahre Filmstadt München

 
Credits

Director, Editor, Sound   Denise Riedmayr
Director of Photography   Caroline Spreitzenbart 
Project Management   Prof. Claus Richter, Madeleine Müller
Producer Washington   Stefan Simons
Production Management Munich   Felicitas Sonvilla
Assistant   Anna Falkenberg 

A CLOSE UP production by Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München.

CLOSE UP is an annual educational project of the department of television journalism at the University of Television and Film Munich (HFF). Students travel abroad to create their own news reports and features. In February 2020 this year’s class filmed six news reports in Washington, DC on climate policy, racism, drug abuse, poverty, and the upcoming presidential election.