Animation Short – Official Selection – December 2021
Daily Bread | Spain | 2021 | 08’
Director: Manuel Sirgo
Writer: Kristen Bernardi Rader
Producer: Manuel Sirgo
Synopsis: An exchange student living in Madrid sets out to buy a loaf of bread, but finds herself lost in translation, making unexpected connections on her journey.
Out Of Touch | Canada | 2021 | 04’
Director: Yuhan (Henry) he
Synopsis: After falling from the sky, our character relives his early childhood memories with his grandparents – except, they aren’t his grandparents, and he’s not in his regular body. Out of Touch is a 2D animation short film created by Henry He.
How to Meet 42nd Sheep | Malaysia | 2021 | 06’
Director: Yasu Tanaka
Writer: Yasu Tanaka
Producer: Bea Tanaka
Cast: Eqifshah Kamarul
Synopsis: The 10 years old village boy, Hakimi’s nightly routine is simple and peaceful; feed his guppies, say “Good night” to his father and go to bed to count sheep to fall asleep. Well, everything seems to be fine, as the relaxed Hakimi is about to enter the world of dream… until one night the 42nd sheep won’t jump over the fence like the other sheep…
Gift | China | 2021 | 14’
Director: Jiaqi Bin
Writer: Jiaqi Bin
Producer: Xi Liu
Synopsis: The arrival of a hen broke the peace of life. The story of a cute and naughty dog growing up in the process of hen struggle in order to regain his most cherished toy
Downfall | Lebanon | 2021 | 04’
Producer: Academie Libanaise des Beaux Arts
Synopsis: Enya’s journey trying to make it as a dancer is hindered as her behaviors drag her downhill.
Debut – Official Selection – December 2021
There is no other home | Russian Federation | 2021 | 23’
Director: Elizaveta Chuprina
Writer: Roma Lantukh
Producer: Elizaveta Chuprina
Cast: Valeria Siselina, Yuliana Suvorova, Viktoria Parkhomenko
Synopsis: Eighteen-year-old Alice dreams of entering a literary university. However, her mother, Vera Petrovna, is categorically against this idea. Alisa’s Mom works for a large company called Ryaba. She gets a promotion and an opportunity to move to another city. Vera Petrovna expects that Alice will undergo training and eventually take a promising position in the company. The film contrasts two worlds — a rational, adult, understandable world of the mother and a very imaginative, conditional, and sometimes even scary world of the daughter. The world of Vera Petrovna envelops, closes the world of Alice. These two worlds cannot find common ground, which considerably affects the emotional state of both. On the last day before leaving for another city, on the advice of a psychologist, Alice and Vera Petrovna come to the old house, where Alice spent her childhood. This day becomes a turning point in the relationship between mother and daughter.
Minha Mãe Fazia | Brazil | 2021 | 03’
Director: Andrei Smoler
Producer: Andrei Smoler
Cast: Arlete Julio, Giovanna Chagas, Marina Ambrósio, Nina Coelho
Synopsis: A short documentary film about Arlete Julio, a black business owner, and cook, reminiscing on her biggest influence, the inspiration behind her personal and professional success: her mother.
The Last Christmas | Canada | 2021 | 12’
Director: Ryan Port
Writer: Ryan Port
Producer: Ryan Port, Moe Rai, Mafalda Gugliuzzi
Cast: Madison Cheeatow, Miley Haik, AC Peterson
Synopsis: LOGLINE A mischievous 8-year-old girl unleashes a twisted Christmas nightmare, when her plans to capture Santa Claus go horribly wrong. SYNOPSIS ‘Tis the night before Christmas and all is peaceful. That is until High School Cheerleader, Kirsten, is awoken in the middle of the night by her mischievous 8-year-old sister, Alice. Teased at school for still believing in Santa, Alice’s plan to capture the mythical gift giver and prove his existence has gone horribly wrong. The living room is trashed and Santa lie dead amidst a gruesome Christmas crime scene! The girls argue over their predicament, but Alice has a plan and convinces her older sister they must work together to get rid of the evidence and bury the body before anyone finds out they killed Christmas! As the girls struggle to drag Saint Nick’s carcass across the back yard, they are pleasantly surprised to find he is still alive! But just as things are starting to look up for the trouble-making sisters, they soon discover that Santa Claus isn’t quite the beloved character we’ve all grown up to believe.
Documentary Short – Official Selection – December 2021
Hill 314 | Israel | 2020 | 28’
Director: Omrie Levy
Producer: Omrie Levy
Synopsis: My childhood’s view – Latrun’s hills. “Oasis of Peace”, A settlement set on hill 314, has founded on coexistence between Arabs and Jews. Ibrahim, a herder Bedouin, lives there with his family for 51 years. Since 1999 the settlement and Silence Monastery, the landowners, has made an agreement therefore Ibrahim has been threatened to be deported.
Pain Solution | Norway | 2021 | 19’
Director: Daniel Klingen Borg
Producers: Daniel Klingen Borg, Linn Helene Løken, Jon Jerstad / OsloMet
Cast: Håvve Fjell, Morten Narverud, Marte Maritdatter
Synopsis: Pain Solution is a film about fakir Håvve Fjell’s final performance. He has made a living of his own pain for 26 years. This is his last goodbye to the stage, the audience and the pain.
An Arcade Odyssey | United States | 2021 | 04’
Director: Nicole Batista
Writer: Bella Saavedra
Producer: Chris Blandon
Synopsis: This documentary explores the origin story of Arcade Odyssey. Rick Medina, the founder and owner, recounts his experience of building his personal collection and creating the only retro arcade in Miami-Dade county, sharing his treasured collection with the community.
Experiemental Short – Official Selection – December 2021
The Dressing of an Octopus | United Kingdom | 2020 | 02’
Director: Nilufar Nuthalll
Writer: Nilufar Nuthall
Producer: Nilufar Nuthall
Cast: Nilufar Nuthall
Synopsis: Researching Nilufar’s family heritage and updating the story through her children, “The Dressing of an Octopus” is a film about the matriarch and her relationship to her children in the context of her own struggles as an infant. Using 100 photographic stills and a cacophony of sound, the child interrupts the parent and highlights the claustrophobia of parenting. Presenting the mother as a marginalised static figure unable to engage with the child in an internal way, the constantly moving energetic child externally covers the mother’s face, exchanging roles with the mother, the child’s internal emotions in the spoken narrative, becoming hers.
SMOKE | United States | 2020 | 05’
Director: Wilhelm Schalaudek
Writer: Wilhelm Schalaudek
Producers: Wilhelm Schalaudek, Andrew Garcia, Stefani De Souza
Cast: Wilhelm Schalaudek, Juan Orozco
Synopsis: A multifaceted critique of identity and alienation unravels as five individuals, all portrayed by the same actor, look for deliverance in a pack of cigarettes.
The Land of Nod | Romania | 2021 | 04’
Director: Manuel Cojocaru
Writer: Manuel Cojocaru
Producer: Manuel Cojocaru
Cast: Manuel Cojocaru
Synopsis: In the Land of Nod, two brothers struggle with their faith in an absurd, morbid, cursed land.
Headshots | United States | 2021 | 06’
Director: Ryan Koch
Writer: Ryan Koch
Producer: Ryan Koch, Luisa Alzate
Cast: Jonathan Kim, Sam Bayaraa
Synopsis: A casting director kills off Asian actors at an audition for reasons unknown.
Estella Cancels Cancer | Russian Federation | 2021 | 08’
Director: Kadriia Tuktamysheva
Producers: Ilya Grizenko, Kadriia Tuktamysheva, Dmitry Fadeev
Cast: Estella Shilnikova
Synopsis: The true story of a young lady. Once Estella found out she had stage 4 cancer. So she is learning how to live with it. Her life is very ordinary, but she is special, she is bright, stylish and open minded. And we can see how she gets through the challenges and what she feels about it.
Mini Short – Official Selection – December 2021
Naturhistorisches Museum Basel – Wissen erleben | Switzerland | 2021 | 02’
Director: Andy Klossner
Writer: Andy Klossner
Producers: Andy Klossner, Yvonne Barmettler
Cast: Seraina Klopfstein, Maurice Lunak, André Puschnig
Synopsis: The nature historical museum of Basel has this year it’s 200th Birthday. For the opening of the birthday-exhibition we realized this promotion-movie. The goal was to show with how much love, care and respect for the exhibits this exhibition was made.
Flame | United Kingdom | 2019 | 02’
Director: Cherelle Owusu
Writer: Cherelle Owusu
Producer: Carolina Xavier
Synopsis: Lightning strikes in the desert, and Flame is born. Alone and scared, she soon realises that she is in trouble, as the same storm that brought her to life is a threat to her survival.
MOONLIGHT SERENADE | Russian Federation | 2021 | 04’
Director: Ruslan Aksenov
Producer: Alexandr Lokotkov
Synopsis: A poetically visual ocean serenade for the moon, where the moon is feminine and the ocean is masculine, at the intersection of poetic Renaissance paintings. This is a story about acceptance, strength, timidity, weakness and love.
Journey | 2021 | 02’
Director: Sean Sevestre
Synopsis: Journey is a short animated film that I unintentionally started making in July 2020 as I moved back to Scotland in the midst of pandemic happenings. I started making more work based on small but beautiful moments of day to day life. It seemed to be a lot of those in between moments of travelling that caught my attention and the themes of the journey, destination and the transition I felt in my own life started to arise. The project became the playground for my experiments in these strange times. Combining 3d and animation with my paintings in new ways in an effort to unlock new potential to bring my work to life. The culmination of this organic play being Journey.
Minha Mãe Fazia | Brazil | 2021 | 03’
Director: Andrei Smoler
Producer: Andrei Smoler
Cast: Arlete Julio, Giovanna Chagas, Marina Ambrósio, Nina Coelho
Synpsis: A short documentary film about Arlete Julio, a black business owner, and cook, reminiscing on her biggest influence, the inspiration behind her personal and professional success: her mother.
Mobile Phone Short – Official Selection – December 2021
Hotpot | China | 2021 | 05’
Director: 照宜Zhaoyi 应Ying
Writer: 照宜Zhaoyi 应Ying
Producer: 垠州Yinzhou 陈Chen
Cast: 茜Xi 罗Luo
Synopsis: A young girl, who was overwhelmed by work, could not even find a pot when she wanted to cook. Eventually, she gets helped and cured by her father and friends.
Sea | Spain | 2021 | 02’
Director: SERGIO M. VILLAR
Writer: SERGIO M. VILLAR
Producer: SERGIO M. VILLAR
Cast: AMAIA IRAZABAL
Synopsis: Sea has led a life of perfection, but not for herself, for others, for work; She doesn’t realize that this is weakening her health. As a result of a serious personal event, she begins to completely change her life habits, to connect more with herself and with nature.
Carmen | Paraguay | 2021 | 07’
Director: Daniel Gómez
Writer: Daniel Gómez
Producer: Daniel Gómez
Cast: Jazmín Romero, Alejandro Ramírez, Joaquín Bejarano, Cecilia Rojas, Magaly Fernández, Karina Sánchez
Synopsis: In 2004, Carmen meets Martín through a blind date. What seems like a chance encounter between strangers ends up being an unprecedented family reunion.
Music Video – Official Selection – December 2021
Miss Lune | France | 2021 | 04’
Director: Geoffroy Virgery
Producer: Julien Couson
Cast: Jennifer Rihouey, Sébastien Rambaud
Synopsis: Célestin is a man who lives on the moon … alone. One day he sees with a telescope a strange woman on earth and decides to travel to her planet to meet her.
Lus Kinder – I’m Talking To a Tree | Russian Federation | 2021 | 07’
Director: Vladislav Khaydurov
Writer: Vladislav Khaydurov
Producers: Ivan Fedoseev, Anna Umnova
Cast: Victor Shakhbazov, Timur Mizinov, Oleg Titov
October Rain | United Kingdom | 2021 | 05’
Director: MIRIAM
Producer: Masha Thorpe
Synopsis: “October Rain” has been written during lockdown and speaks on the darker days and the difficulties of dealing with life coupled with seasonal depression. The song is the narrator to growing pains and the emotional and journey that it comes with.
Niletto – Someone like you | Russian Federation | 2021 | 04’
Director: Vladimir Besedin
Writer: Vladimir Besedin
Producers: Vitaly Kapitonov, Kirill Borisow
Cast: Danil Prytkov, Elizaveta Lykhina
Synopsis: There are films about the formation of a hero in the Superhero Cinematic Universe called origin stories. This music video became the milestone in the development of the NILETTO hero and his universe. The story revolves around the internal contradictions of the hero who sacrificed everything for love. He is tormented by memories but however he must follow his destiny.
Amour | United States | 2021 | 05’
Director: Andres Soler
Producers: Andres Soler, John Allen Stephens
Synopsis: Two astropilots travel through space and time.
Problems | United States | 2021 | 03’
Director: Eric La Febre
Writer: Eric La Febre
Producer: Eric La Febre
Synopsis: When the stressors of life feel insurmountable, there is a beauty in letting things go. There is also beauty in completely destroying them.
A very good impression | 2021 | 05’
Directors: David Nguyen, Safran Lecuivre
Writer: David Nguyen
Cast: David Nguyen
Synopsis: A young and clumsy boy learns dancing to impress his crush.
Narrative Short – Official Selection – December 2021
Young Love In a Dirty Place | Latvia | 2021 | 04’
Director: Reinis Spaile
Writer: Reinis Spaile
Producer: Helvijs Finkis
Cast: Nikola Abola, Tomass Piternieks
Synopsis: A girl explores multiple ways of closing the door to save their first relationship crisis. A youthful love story in depressing surroundings depicts how it was when the first love blurs everything around you. Film captures the contrast between colorful highlights of the young couple and grim post-soviet environment that reminds about the dirty dumpster called routine.
Year of the Bookmaker | United States | 2021 | 15’
Director: Peter Monro
Writer: Peter Monro
Producers: Peter Monro, Dan Falconer, Steve Broxterman
Cast: Rob Winkworth, Copeland Diver, TM Rawlins
Synopsis: An illegal suburban bookmaker steers himself out of jail and back into a complicated home life.
Welcome Back | United States | 2021 | 07’
Director: Edwin Alexis Gómez
Writer: Gabriel Najar
Producer: Brenda Castillo
Cast: Gino Montesinos, Roland Ruiz
Synopsis: Welcome Back where a father extends an invitation back home to his black sheep son after picking him up from the police station, exposing their strained relationship and expectations of each other.
Sorta Rican | United States | 2021 | 07’
Director: Steph OH
Writer: Angelina Villapiano
Producers: Brenda Castillo, Felicia Mora, Cruz Castillo, Joanna Franco Kawatra, Araceli Velasco
Cast: Kaylah Pantaleón, Sergio Gavidia
Synopsis: Sorta Rican involves two siblings debating the realities of being biracial and their connection to the motherland.
SKIN RIVER | Portugal | 2021 | 19’
Director: Mário Macedo
Writer: Mário Macedo
Producers: PEDRO CANAVILHAS, LUIS COSTA, André Guiomar, Mário Macedo
Cast: Raul Macedo, Joana Pereira, Rosália Rodrigues, Jaime Rodrigues, Fábio Fernandes, Daniel Fernandes, Imanuel Boucinha
Synopsis: Agostinho works at the night shift. Unable to explain a strange seizure leaving the factory, he wanders through his routine, aware of the impossibility of change.
Spin | United States | 2021 | 17’
Director: Lisa Marie Tedesco
Writer: Lisa Marie Tedesco
Producer: R.A. Johnson
Cast: Courtney St. Gelais, Sierra Berkeley Fisher, JahDey Oakley Wright
Synopsis: When the curtain descends on their final performance of Romeo and Juliet in drama club, high school seniors Abigail and Sky bid a fair adieu to the stage they loved while letting their most deepest desires for one another surface at the cast party.
Sparkle | United States | 2021 | 17’
Director: Allegra Licci
Writer: Allegra Licci
Producer: Aspen Nelson
Cast: Emily Oliveira, Michelle Goguen, Charlotte Hacke
Synopsis: After being forced to deal with the consequences of her lies, Sparkle searches for a safe haven to confront her demons.
The Masterpiece | United States | 10’
Producers: Ben Richardson, Andrew Smith, Arianna Myzia
Cast: Cristian Fredrick, McKenna Musich, Bailey Rayne
Synopsis: The cinematic, dramatized, but true story of Cristian Fredrick — from a terminal diagnosis at age 15, to alive and thriving as an artist and therapeutic painter.
Love hurts | France | 2020 | 30’
Director: Elsa Rysto
Writer: Elsa Rysto
Producer: Pierre-Yves Jourdain (Yggdrasil Pictures)
Cast: NOE ABITA, ANDRANIC MANET
Synopsis: Sam is a mysterious and shy teenager girl. She meets Troy, an ultra-violent boy who does not feel pain and fear. She’ll enter into his world… a world filles of love, punches and Grunge music.
Songlines | France | 2021 |19’
Director: Elise McLeod
Writer: Elise McLeod
Producer: Amélie Quéret (Respiro Productions)
Synopsis: After a car accident, JFC, rock singer of Algerian origin, wakes up, lost in the French countryside with no one around to help him; he has lost his memory and doesn’t know who he is anymore. Yet in the village everyone seems to know him …
Babil | France | 2020 | 05’
Director: Grégory ROBIN
Writer: Grégory ROBIN
Producer: Marie Agnély (Ysé Productions)
Cast: Piero CORSO
Synopsis: Stop everything. (where is the world going.)
The time of a night | France | 2021 | 23’
Director: Alice Fargier
Writer: Alice Fargier
Producers: La Belle Affaire (France), Tipimages (Suisse)
Synopsis: Nora disappeared for several months. One summer evening, she strangely reappears at a party with a certain Samuel. Camille, her best friend, comes to find her, wondering what way to behave. The night goes on, a trio forms and time stands still.
Roadblock | France | 2020 | 17’
Director: Dahlia Nemlich
Writer: Dahlia Nemlich
Producer: DEWBERRIES FILMS
Synopsis: Beirut 2019. During the revolution. On her way back from a protest, Farah, a Lebanese activist, and her French-Lebanese boyfriend Anthony are stopped at a roadblock held by two armed militiamen who have a bone to pick with Farah.
La Petite Mort | China | 2021 | 11’
Director: Nicole Zhou
Writer: Nicole Zhou
Producer: Yutian Feng
Cast: Fan Yang
Synopsis: Audrey grew up in a discordant family. Years of quarrels between her parents and their negligence caused Audrey to devote herself to watching every romance film on TV. “Audrey” is a name she gave herself because Audrey Hepburn is her favorite. And when Audrey finally thought that she had encountered true love, she found that she had confused reality and fantasy.
BALLOON | United States | 2019 | 17’
Director: Jeremy Merrifield
Writers: Jeremy Merrifield, Dave Testa
Producers: Kate Chamuris, Christina Cha
Cast: Paul Scheer, Jonah Beres, Jaylin Ogle, Carson Severson
Synopsis: Exploring gender through the lens of the superhero myth, BALLOON questions how we raise boys when our concept of masculinity has become narrow. For fourteen-year-old Sam, surviving junior high means staying below radar. But that becomes impossible after he becomes the target of the school’s next viral video. He’s pressured to “hit back,” but Sam isn’t so sure—even if he does have super powers.
American’t | United Kingdom | 2021 | 10’
Director: Joe Zalias
Writer: Joe Zalias
Producers: Sam Fulford, Joe Zalias
Cast: Oliver Hewitt, Steve Harris, Emma Johnson, Jan Brennan
Synopsis: Two actors risk it all trying to master the American accent.
Stuck In A Bit | United States | 2021 | 17’
Director: William C Kenton
Writers: Will Higgins, William Kenton
Producer: Sam Blumenfeld
Cast: Will Higgins, Shravan Amin, Jamie Watson
Stains | Spain | 2020 | 05’
Director: Roger Villarroya
Writer: Roger Villarroya
Producers: Roger VIllarorya, Irene Alfambra, Mario Rico
Cast: Edward J. Bentley
Synopsis: A man washes his hands.
Wait for the Dog | United States | 2021 | 27’
Directors: Ian Rowe, Dillon Petrillo
Producers: Ian Rowe, Dillon Petrillo, Brit Freece
Cast: Ian Rowe, Leon Jacobs, Emily Eichman, Carrie Drovdlic, Jason Joyce, Dillon Petrillo, Holly Seeley, Nick Seeley, Holden Temple, Micah Temple, Laurence Ferdi, Jake Staley, Breon Jenay, Mothica, Lola Blanc, Tessa Nesis, Valencia Stallings, Matt Baker, Kirah H., Jesse Harley, Hayley Seat
Synopsis: In this surreal, dark comedy, a misguided loner named Quincy is forced to abandon the comforts of his daily routine and re-examine his life after his elderly upstairs neighbor spontaneously combusts. “Wait for the Dog” explores grief, depression, and perseverance of the human spirit, as we try to triumph over those pesky voices that bring us down.
Family Ties | Canada | 2021 | 09’
Director: The McCachen Brothers
Writer: Levi McCachen
Producer: Kyle McCachen McCachen
Cast: Thomas Elms, Ryan Williams, Carmel Amit
Synopsis: A young man tries to escape his family crime organization and lands in the hands of hapless FBI agents.
No/Low Budget – Official Selection – December 2021
The Chosen | Germany | 2020 | 12’
Director: Frederic Eynck
Writer: Frederic Eynck
Producer: Frederic Eynck
Cast: Timo Pierre Rositzki, Laura Ehrich, Josieane McCartney, Annalena Nitsche
Synopsis: Rael gathers his most loyal followers around him to be saved by their creators after the Apocalypse becomes known. Not everyone is aware that this requires some drastic means.
Father, i can’t find the remote | Turkey | 2021 | 12’
Director: Can Ilkbahar
Writer: Can Ilkbahar
Producer: Can Ilkbahar
Cast: Hasan Edip Mısırlıoğlu
Synopsis: Upon mysteriously receiving a dysfunctional television, a man places it in his bedroom, unaware of the device’s sinister implications.
Chamomile | Republic of Korea| 2021 | 10’
Director: Jonghyeon Han
Writer: Jonghyeon Han
Producer: Jonghyeon Han
Cast: GeonHee Park
Synopsis: The Boy who works at the company in center Seoul, sits down on park bench to rest for a bit in launch time. He looks around and all he can see is the adorable couples. He feels super lonely, so he just tries to work on something else on his tablet. At that moment, most beautiful Girl sits down on bench right in-front of him. When the Boy sees her, he instantly get crush on her, fantasying having a happy relationship with her. With the courage of his fantasy, he picks up the Chamomile flower around the park, and he tries to get to her. But he dives deep into bad fantasy since he saw she’s on the phone with someone delightedly. While he is thinking and fantasying too much, The girl is about to leave the park.
Butterfly | Canada | 2021 | 13’
Director: Mercenary
Writer: John Thomas Gauthier
Producer: Pol Seoige
Cast: John Thomas Gauthier, Pol Seoige, Thomas J Hugo
Synopsis: Two detectives, and long time partners interrogate a hostage. As the interview drags on, something about the prisoner appears to be “off”.
Simply Complicated | United States | 2021 | 25’
Directors: Gus Makres, Jake Brelesky
Writers: Gus Makres, Jake Brelesky
Producers: Gus Makres, Jake Brelesky
Cast: Gus Makres, Jake Brelesky, Gus Makres
Synopsis: A group of unlikely friends in college travel through an eventful night exploring the true meaning of friendship along the way. Enjoy this fun ride and directorial debut for two young filmmakers.
Minha Mãe Fazia | Brazil | 2021 | 03’
Director: Andrei Smoler
Producer: Andrei Smoler
Cast: Arlete Julio, Giovanna Chagas, Marina Ambrósio, Nina Coelho
Synopsis: A short documentary film about Arlete Julio, a black business owner, and cook, reminiscing on her biggest influence, the inspiration behind her personal and professional success: her mother.
A very good impression | 2021 | 05’
Directors: David Nguyen, Safran Lecuivre
Writer: David Nguyen
Cast: David Nguyen
Synopsis: A young and clumsy boy learns dancing to impress his crush.
Short Comedy – Official Selection – December 2021
Rise & Grind | Canada | 2021 | 01’
Director: The McCachen Brothers
Writer: Levi McCachen
Producers: Kyle McCachen, Chris Ball
Cast: Alex Barima, Kaylan Mackinnon, Jackson Playfair
Synopsis: Logline: An aspiring actor is stuck doing food delivery to pay his bills and struggles to find love.
Indigenous Police | Norway | 2021 | 13’
Director: Egil Pedersen
Writer: Egil Pedersen
Producer: Mathis Ståle Mathisen
Cast: Mikkel Gaup, Sverre Porsanger, Ingor Ántte Áilu Gaup, Birgitte Larsen, Birgitte Amelia Hoff Larsen, Mary Sarre
Synopsis: Three Sami men travel to the capital of Norway. One of them is wearing gákti, the Sami traditional costume, to attract Norwegian women. The second one believes it unethical to do this, and the third is bitter that he doesn’t attract women when he wears the gákti. Koftepolitiet is a Sami short film told with humour and political sting. It is an identity satire about how people, both the Sámi and the majority population, consciously and unconsciously define what is the right way to be Sami.
The Swap | France | 2021 | 11’
Directors: Chloé Dumond, Ananda Henry-Biabaud
Writers: Chloé Dumond, Ananda Henry-Biabaud
Producers: Chloé Dumond, Ananda Henry-Biabaud
Cast: Frédérique Dufour, Sébastien Corona, Chloé Dumond, Matthieu Penchinat
Synopsis: Sonia, 40 years old, single, decides to exchange sperme for a thesis correction in order to have a child.
Family Ties | Canada | 2021 | 09’
Director: The McCachen Brothers
Writer: Levi McCachen
Producer: Kyle McCachen McCachen
Cast: Thomas Elms, Ryan Williams, Carmel Amit
Synopsis: A young man tries to escape his family crime organization and lands in the hands of hapless FBI agents.
Short Dance/Musical – Official Selection – December 2021
Addictions | United States | 2021 | 06’
Director: Sergei Stern
Writer: Sergei Stern
Producer: Sergei Stern
Cast: Marianne Bourg, Christofer Sands
Synopsis: One has a human meat addiction but hates ketchup, another has a ketchup addiction but hates human meat. Who will compromise first? Is this surreal plot just a metaphor for..? You decide. One-man-crew short film musical I shot in my apartment with a $350 budget. Developed in Sundance Collab’s Directing: Core Elements course, allowed for festivals submissions.
Who am i? Who i am. | Estonia | 2021 | 06’
Director: Sofia Kruusamägi
Writer: Sofia Kruusamägi
Producer: Sofia Kruusamägi
Cast: Anna-Maria Laius, Kertu-Liis Rannik, Anastasia Masalova, Sofia Kruusamägi
Synopsis: In the game of life no player have an advantage, everybody have a chance to win, regardless of the role the player chooses. If it is a battle between two people, the winner might seem to be obvious. But if there are more participants, the game becomes even more complicated.
Short Drama – Official Selection – December 2021
Lili Marleen | Germany | 2021 | 22’
Directors: Jonathan Lamont Williams, Ludwig Bachmann
Writer: Jonathan Lamont Williams
Producer: Adrian Martin
Cast: Daniel Grave, Marco Litta, Tristan Hebestreit
Synopsis: The Allied invasion is just one day old and Manning and his comrades from the 101st Airborne Division are trying to find their deployment site. Meanwhile, young soldier Paul and his comrade Manfred are in the rear of the invasion front, looking for their unit. Both Paul and Manning are struggling with their situation. Each has his own reason for wanting to come back home.
Clumsy Mother Bird | Taiwan | 2021 | 20’
Director: Tony Shih
Writer: Tony Shih
Producer: Alex Chou
Synopsis: As a mother, how far will you go to protect your own child from the ugly truth? This is a story that took place in a small village in Taiwan, during a school trip, Adi and her Indonesian mother had a fight, things keep getting worse , at least until Adi finally learns the truth from a sad lesson.
Judith | United Kingdom | 2021 | 09’
Director: Sarah Dutton
Writer: Sarah Dutton
Producer: Guen Murroni
Cast: Rudzani Moleya
Synopsis: ** Currently in post – final sound mix and credit score to follow** A town under siege. A government in crisis. Judith hears the call of God to save her people from being swallowed whole by Holofernes and his army. Armed with her femininity and beauty, Judith uses Holofernes’ weakness and desire to seduce her to end his campaign of terror against her town and its people. She puts her faith in God and He repays her with the strength to do what must be done. With Holofernes’ head in a bag, she returns home. Her victory is celebrated by her people until the town echoes. Instead of basking in her own strength and glory, she pays respect to God, thanking him for his strength and trust in her.
Bella and Unicorn | Russian Federation | 2021 | 07’
Director: Anasatasiya Sovashchenko
Writer: Tatiana Filimonova
Producer: Anastasiya Sovashchenko
Cast: Bella Ozhegova
Synopsis: This is a touching story about a girl who loves to dream very much.
The Masterpiece | United States | 10’
Producers: Ben Richardson, Andrew Smith, Arianna Myzia
Cast: Cristian Fredrick, McKenna Musich, Bailey Rayne
Synopsis: The cinematic, dramatized, but true story of Cristian Fredrick — from a terminal diagnosis at age 15, to alive and thriving as an artist and therapeutic painter.
Short Horror – Official Selection – December 2021
She Was A Witch | Bulgaria | 2021 | 05’
Director: Ivelin Ivanov Kostadinov
Writer: Ivelin Ivanov Kostadinov
Producer: Ivelin Ivanov Kostadinov
Synopsis: “She was a witch” is a coming of age story of a young girl living in an unknown and beyond comprehension world of traditions bound in fire and pain. A story where the hunters become the hunted.
The Last Christmas | Canada | 2021 | 12’
Director: Ryan Port
Writer: Ryan Port
Producers: Ryan Port, Moe Rai, Mafalda Gugliuzzi
Cast: Madison Cheeatow, Miley Haik, AC Peterson
Synopsis: LOGLINE A mischievous 8-year-old girl unleashes a twisted Christmas nightmare, when her plans to capture Santa Claus go horribly wrong. SYNOPSIS ‘Tis the night before Christmas and all is peaceful. That is until High School Cheerleader, Kirsten, is awoken in the middle of the night by her mischievous 8-year-old sister, Alice. Teased at school for still believing in Santa, Alice’s plan to capture the mythical gift giver and prove his existence has gone horribly wrong. The living room is trashed and Santa lie dead amidst a gruesome Christmas crime scene! The girls argue over their predicament, but Alice has a plan and convinces her older sister they must work together to get rid of the evidence and bury the body before anyone finds out they killed Christmas! As the girls struggle to drag Saint Nick’s carcass across the back yard, they are pleasantly surprised to find he is still alive! But just as things are starting to look up for the trouble-making sisters, they soon discover that Santa Claus isn’t quite the beloved character we’ve all grown up to believe.
Short Romance – Official Selection – December 2021
Young Love In a Dirty Place | Latvia | 2021 | 04’
Director: Reinis Spaile
Writer: Reinis Spaile
Producer: Helvijs Finkis
Cast: Nikola Abola, Tomass Piternieks
Synopsis: A girl explores multiple ways of closing the door to save their first relationship crisis. A youthful love story in depressing surroundings depicts how it was when the first love blurs everything around you. Film captures the contrast between colorful highlights of the young couple and grim post-soviet environment that reminds about the dirty dumpster called routine.
Le Tournesol | France | 2021 |19’
Directors: Arnaud MIZZON, Anais AIDOUD
Writer: Anais AIDOUD
Producer: ARNAUD MIZZON
Cast: JoeyStarr, Danielle GRAULE, Anais AIDOUD
Synopsis: Voulzy, a 30 years old single woman without kids decides to give up everything to go on a misssion in the Antarctic. After months of exams and tests, an encounter is going to turn her project upside down
Short Thriller/Mystery – Official Selection – December 2021
The Disappearance of Janusz Klarner | Poland | 2021 | 12’
Director: Franciszek Berbeka
Writer: Franciszek Berbeka
Synopsis: In 1939 Janusz Klarner reaches the Nanda Devi East peak in the Himalayas. Everything that happened later seems to be a consequence of this act. The avalanche of events comes back in the memories of hero like a terrible dream. Broken taboo cannot be forgotten in a country that is reborn in the new communist order.
Bluff | 2021 | 20’
Director: Artur Matveev
Writers: Artur Matveev, Andrey Lisyanskiy
Producer: Andrey Lisyanskiy
Cast: Mark Bogatyrev, Aleksey Kirsanov
Synopsis: Leonid and German are business partners, former friends and members of an elite poker club. Here, using card game, players can solve conflicts much more serious than money they bet. How far they are ready to go in this game, as like as in life confrontation, and who’ll win it – depends on ability to evaluate every own step…
Student Short – Official Selection – December 2021
ANA | Romania | 2021 | 11’
Director: Stephanie Lemesianou
Writer: Stephanie Lemesianou
Producer: Audrey Larson
Cast: Carla Giosan, Georgiana Avram
Synopsis: On her mother’s birthday, 9-year-old Ana takes on a very important mission: make her mother smile for the first time in a very long time.
Filled Vacuum | Israel | 2020 | 17’
Director: Yotam Giustizia
Writer: Yotam Giustizia
Producer: Yotam Giustizia
Cast: Gayle Giustizia
Synopsis: A son in his 30’s returns home in order to interview his mother about her life choices for the final project of his academic degree. His goal is to try and “assemble”, through the art of cinema, the human puzzle that is his mother’s traumatic past, ever-changing present, and a future he must deal with. In this experimental journal, he constructs his mother’s life story while trying to answer his deep-rooted questions and worrying thoughts that are driven by the aging process of his mother.
First One Away | United Kingdom | 2021 | 08’
Director: Zak Harney
Writer: Billy Reed
Producer: Daniel Panyko
Cast: Dan Skinner, Angus Imrie
Synopsis: Paul (Dan Renton Skinner) desperately tries to get away from a lads night out. But in order to do so, he must play by the ‘rules’ and tell the group a story. Paul decides to tell the group a morbid story of an abandoned grave that he decides to tend, and the unexpected journey this took him on. Through a series of zany flashbacks we see a young Paul’s (Angus Imrie) plight to form a relationship with his deceased father’s cemetery plot neighbour.
Out of Play | Israel | 2021 | 20’
Director: Romi Menachem
Writer: Romi Menachem
Producers: Amit Gur, Gal Sharabi
Cast: Talma Tal, Netanel Bondi, Ori Sardam
Synopsis: Bar (12), a longtime member of the boys’ group and the class’s soccer team, dominates the field more than ever and scores the winning goal at her school’s semi-final soccer tournament. So when the team’s captain announces opening the fixed line-up for voting, she isn’t worried. Following their first sex education class, Bar senses a change in the group and feels the need to ensure her getting enough votes until the end of the school day. While going from one friend to another, having a hard time getting what she wishes for, she starts to realize that a deeper issue is at stake.
Twists | China | 2021 | 16’
Director: Vivian Chen
Writer: Weiqing Chen
Producer: Shiyu Yao
Cast: Xiaohong Ye, Jian Yang, Yun Liu
Synopsis: Qiong’s dough twists are better than Lan’s, but pales in comparison when it comes to customers. Qiong’s niece, Zeng Qiao, suggests that she could improve her business with better marketing. Zeng Qiao sets up a tall column at Qiong’s doorstep and puts a statue of Guan Yu (god of wealth) to try and bring her aunt good fortune. With her new decorations Qiong’s business lures Lan’s customers away, and soon Qiong has customers lining up down the block. Lan is envious and starts to imitate Qiong’s strategy. Soon, the two owners are sunk in the vicious competition of buying and setting statues, having no time to make dough twists. They both receive complaints and lose customers. Sad and furious, Qiong breaks the first Guan Yu statue, only to find out that there is an audio recorder inside. Qiong and Lan realize that all of their competition and drama was merely a part of Zeng Qiao’s social experiment.
Home For Dinner | China | 2021 | 13’
Director: Shine Li (Xiang Li)
Writer: Shine Li (Xiang Li)
Producer: Steven Dong (Xiao Dong)
Cast: Xv chuan Pan, Meng xing Li, Xin Wen
Synopsis: The calm of the family was broken by one text message from the son who’s been on the run for years. The mother with blind love, the father with tough love and the childhood friend who took a loyalty oath to the police badge. An escalating crisis about love is ongoing.
Two faces, same coin | France | 2021 | 14’
Director: Sacha Paolini
Writer: Sacha Paolini, Romain-Pierre Renaut
Producer: Sacha Paolini, Pierre Moyon
Cast: Paul Le Bourdon, Arthur Massault, Pascal D’IVERNERESSE, Patrick Valette, Ludovic Charles, David Alexandre Galioto
Synopsis: Two old friends meet in a park for a game of chess. It is an opportunity for them to remember different periods of their lives.
Stuck | Ukraine | 2021 | 25’
Director: Artem Mkrtchyan
Writer: Artem Mkrtchyan
Producer: Artem Mkrtchyan
Synopsis: Pasha, a divorced father with an addiction to casinos and gambling, transports drugs as a taxi driver to pay his debts to banks and collectors. His ex-wife Marina and their son live separately and after nearly a year apart Pasha makes attempts to improve their relationship. Pasha hears from his son that collectors are threatening him and his mother. After Pasha’s next drug run, he receives an SMS from collectors with photos of them standing at the door of Marina’s apartment. On the next trip, Pasha transports drugs and receives SMS and photos from collectors standing at the door of Marina’s apartment. Pasha rushes home, trying to reach an agreement with the collector by phone. He arrives at Marina’s destroyed apartment and finds his son hiding in the closet. Pasha goes with his son for Marina. He leaves his son in the car and hides in the building, from where the exhausted Marina escapes after a while. She gets into the car with the sleeping Roma and drives off, trying to permanently break all ties with her ex-husband. Pasha leaves the building, beaten and bloody.
Elsie | Poland | 2021 | 06’
Director: Estera Anna Welchar
Synopsis: This animated short is inspired by a mission trip that I took to the islands of Vanuatu and the beautiful people that I met there. The film tells a story of an orphan named Elsie who, for her entire life, has known nothing outside of her village on the island. She decides to go on an adventure and visit a large, modern city in search of something new. Filled with hope, imagination and, perhaps, illusions of grandeur, she sets off. Quickly she discovers that the new world that she had imagined was not all that she dreamt it would be. Soon, she gains a newfound appreciation for her home, and the simple pleasures of life that it provides. “Elsie” confronts a central issue that modern society faces – the idealized world presented on social media that often leads us into jealous comparison and envy. As Elsie learns, true joy is found in gratefulness.
Peaches | United States | 2021 | 11’
Director: Benjamin Hunt
Writers: Benjamin Hunt, Samantha Hartman
Producer: Amelie Beresford-Wood
Cast: Martha Shaw, Noah Fletcher, Jennifer Arundale, Griffen Hamilton, Miles Shapiro, Cora Wilson
Synopsis: Based on a true story, Peaches follows young Eliza, the first female member of the local Scout troop. Determined to help others, she competes in the troop’s canned food drive. However, constrained by poverty, Eliza must decide whether or not to donate her last can of peaches and risk going hungry.
Play | Germany | 2021 | 14’
Director: Olga Kondyli Roussou
Writer: Olga Kondyli Roussou
Producers: Olga Kondyli Roussou, Benjamin Hassmann
Cast: Seedy Touray, Marno Quandt
Synopsis: Pascal is 16 years old and feels like an outsider. The music from his Bluetooth box is his only accompaniment. This changes when Pascal meets 18-year-old Tim.
