Children Short – Official Selection – February 2019
Lilly Goes Fishing | Canada | 2018 | 08’
Director: The Bum Family
Writer: The Bum Family
Producer: Xstine Cook
Cast: The Bum Family
Synopsis: Lilly, a giant orange monster, embarks on an adventure at a lakeside fishing camp with her friend Fluffle. Will Lilly discover the mysterious secret that lurks below the surface of the lake?
L’appuntamento (the date) | Italy | 2019 | 07’
Director: Marco Di Gerlando, Ludovica Gibelli
Writer: Marco Di Gerlando, Ludovica Gibelli
Producer: Scuola di cinema per ragazzi ZuccherArte
Cast: Allievi Scuola di cinema per ragazzi ZuccherArte
Synopsis: Erika deve incontrare Paolo, un ragazzo di cui è innamorata. Sostenuta dalle amiche deve dichiarargli il suo amore… Erika has to meet Paolo, a boy she is in love with. Supported by her friends, she must declare his love …
I Didn’t Like Hubert | Australia | 2019 | 06’
Director: Henry Smith
Writer: Genevieve Clay-Smith
Producer: Briana Miller
Cast: Hubert
Synopsis: Sometimes the person you least expect to be friends with can open up a world of possibilities you never dreamed of! Created for interactive play for kids on the iPad, ‘I Didn’t Like Hubert’ is a story that encourages children to see past their differences in order to make extraordinary bonds with those who might be different to themselves.
They Hunt | United Kingdom | 2018 | 13’
Director: Rhys Byfield
Writer: Rhys Byfield
Producer: Hannah Lee Miller
Cast: Baylee Frank, Pedro Caxade, Jake Hawley
Synopsis: In a world filled with monsters sits a heavily protected diner. A young, outgoing waitress works there for her uncle, the chef. She sees that their monsterous food supply is at an all time low. So she decides to take matters into her own hands and prove that she’s not a kid anymore. Driving off into the desert on the hunt she ends up biting off more than she can chew, unleashing a whole host of trouble.
I Love Happiness | 2018 | Taiwan | 2017 | 14’
Director: Chun-Hsu Su
Writer: Connie Ma
Producer: Bruce Yao
Synopsis: “I Love Happiness” is a 3D animation series based on the stories from Fo Guang Shan “Humanistic Buddhism” books by Hsing Yun. The stories cater to the problems faced by today’s children, and present the “Three Acts of Goodness – Do good deeds, say good words, think good thoughts” through exciting and fun animation production. “I Love Happiness” has contemporary elements and linkage to the everyday life of modern society, as well as issues that the audience can relate and generate huge respond.
Operation First Light | United States | 2018 | 16’
Director: Irving Nestor
Writer: Irving Nestor
Producer: Kelsey Waddill, Emily Trendle, Irving Isaiah Nestor
Cast: Jefe the Entertainer, Will McManus, Ben Spragg, Brody Schrepfer, Graham Rifkin, Jayden Briggs-Belt, Ashara Wilson, William Mantzaris, Eliana Costello, Xander Alvarez, Reid Murphy
Synopsis: In this creative, high-energy story, a group of boys at summer camp plan a mischievous raid on the girls’ cabins only for the advantage to be reversed as the boys face an ambush unleashed by a ruthless, well-oiled pranking machine.
Student Short – Official Selection – February 2019
Unhappiness | Germany | 2018 | 21’
Director: Tobias Sauer
Writer: Tobias Sauer
Producer: Samuel Nerl
Cast: Christoph Türkay, Alma W. Bär
Synopsis: Blumfeld seems to be unhappy. But who is to blame? His surroundings, which create conflicts constantly? Or he himself who is unable to bridge the rift that separates him from these surroundings – and who is perhaps “happily unhappy”? These are just a few of the questions that come up while we observe Blumfeld in a series of absurd situations in which he is confronted with the difficulties of dealing with closeness and distance. For example, balls are suddenly bouncing around in his apartment – and then a ghost appears. Based on texts by Franz Kafka.
Night Scenes | Canada | 2018 | 11’
Director: Farhad Pakdel
Writer: Farhad Pakdel
Producer: Farhad Pakdel
Cast: Ekaterina Elport, Igor Shamuilov
Synopsis: Katerina feels nauseous. Michael used to be an alcoholic. They are a couple living in Toronto. Katerina is pregnant, and her father is dying. Michael has lost Katerina’s trust. He is awkwardly trying to make things right.
Rally ON/OFF | Russian Federation | 2019 | 09’
Director: Aleksandra Artemeva
Writer: Aleksandra Artemeva
Producer: Aleksandra Artemeva
Cast: Vladimir Permyakov, Natalia Shvetc
Synopsis: A group of people sells their votes at the rally. Having received money, they leave, exposing their frauds. Will the heroine prove that “the future is in our hands” ?!
The Death of Don Quixote | United Kingdom | 2018 | 14’
Director: Miguel Faus
Writer: Miguel Faus
Producer: Nathalie Lamprecht
Cast: Jamie Paul, John O’Toole, Dermot Caravan, Michael Watson-Gray
Synopsis: London, 1968. Alphonse, a young and ambitious filmmaker, attempts to complete his greatest cinematic work yet, “The Death of Don Quixote”. But with his ageing star, Patrick Quincey, falling ill, it’s unclear what will die first: his vision, Patrick or Don Quixote. “It’s brilliant!” (Terry Gilliam)
Once More, From the Top | Canada | 2018 | 06’
Director: Evan Friesen
Writer: Tavish Kelpin
Producer: Madison Friesen, Evan Friesen
Cast: Sean Mahaffey, Ziyana Vasaya
Synopsis: In this date-gone-wrong comedy involving the pausing and rewinding of time, Mark tries again and again to answer his girlfriend’s trick question. He navigates through an escalating and repeating sequence of events, trying to find an answer that doesn’t lead to disaster.
Kapital | Russian Federation | 2017 | 22’
Director: Ivan Perekatov
Writer: Ivan Perekatov
Producers: Ivan Perekatov, Natalia Bannikova
Cast: Igor Sergeev, Arseniy Topolaga, Dmitriy Kartashov, Yulia Sereda, George Kuzubov, Gulnara Sabitova, Marianna Vasilieva, Sergey Bataev, Marianna Barskaya, Dmitry Orlovich, Ilia Silchuk, Michael Edlis, Igor Gutzu, Ekaterina Gracheva
Synopsis: The tramp-marxist named Kapital roams through Moscow with fanatic glimmering in his eyes. He seeks his stolen shoes, wich are necessary for his surviving, and at the same time any place at the Earth, where the indisputable dogmats of communism have embodied. But instead at the end of his journey, he gets the immeasurably greater Eternal Value.
Mental Facade | United States | 2018 | 19’
Director: Tyler Schlipf
Writer: Tyler Schlipf
Producers: Dr. Baron Bell, Ethan Derner, Shelly Lipkin
Cast: Sean McCarthy, Paul Bright, Ally-Jo Frush, Elizabeth Zimmerman
Synopsis: Matthew, a seemingly ordinary man, is plagued by an unusual ailment: an aggressive and hateful alter ego who delights in assaulting Matthew’s mental state. Looking for relief, Matthew speaks with a psychologist and learns that the unwanted friend may be more a part of himself than he would like to admit. However, in reaching out for help, hope remains that he will find the peace of mind he is looking for. This film was produced as the final senior thesis for the Art Institute of Portland, which closed its doors permanently shortly after the film’s completion.
M LIKE MOBIUS | Islamic Republic of Iran | 2018 | 08’
Director: Faranak Moradi
Writer: Faranak Moradi
Producer: Faranak Moradi
Cast: Faranak Moradi
Synopsis: Lili is a waitress and obsessed with sound. she can’t stand her loneliness more than before.
The Nanny | Israel | 2018 | 13’
Director: Lee Nechushtan
Writer: Lee Nechushtan
Producer: Mor Tsivion
Cast:Yael Levental, Inbar Marco, Yarin Perry, Shagi Nehamkin , Noa Evyasaf, Etel Littman
Synopsis: A day in the life of Miriam, a devoted and loving nanny of three children who upon finding out her 17-year-old daughter has been regularly missing school, tries to get her daughter’s life back on track. Along the way she questions whether she has been a better mother to the three children she works with or to her own daughter.
S’more To It | United States | 2018 | 06’
Director: Micaela Edwards
Writer: Micaela Edwards
Producer: Luca Rohr
Cast: Chloe deVries , Kendall Slocum
Synopsis: A cowboy must convince his aspiring country singer wife, who is questioning her decision to marry so young, that they have everything they need to build a life together.
Enid’s Crow | United Kingdom | 2018 | 12’
Director: Aphra Evans
Writer: Aphra Evans
Producer: Aphra Evans
Cast: Matthew Christmas, Bethan Leyshon
Synopsis: An elderly woman looks back on her life-long – and eventually, adulterous – romance with Donald Crowhurst, whose attempt to become the first man to sail non-stop and alone around the world ends in tragic circumstances.
Chaos Toad | United Kingdom | 2018 | 9’
Director: Carlos Lopes
Writer: Joanna Benecke
Producer: Tomm Coles
Cast: Tomm Coles, Beverly Klein
Synopsis: Stuck living as a full-time carer for his distant mother Andy receives a surprise intervention from his fabulous childhood imaginary friend.
Styopa | Russian Federation | 2018 | 15’
Director: Svetlana Solnechnaya
Producer: Svetlana Solnechnaya, Mihail Buntov, Svetlana Haylo
Cast: Anastasia Dobrynina, Alexander Volkov
Synopsis: The storm catches the young merchant on the way to his family estate. He stops at the Inn, where he meets a young girl, who seduces, taking advantage of her naivety. The film based on a novel of the Russian literature classic Ivan Bunin.
LATE | United States | 2018 | 9’
Director: Anton Saich
Writer: Anton Saich
Producer: Anton Saich
Cast: Tom Kilgallen, Carly Williams
Synopsis: A young girl waits to get picked up from soccer practice when an unexpected stranger arrives.
At Home in The Village | Netherlands | 2019 | 27’
Director: Tom Roggen, Casper Slotboom
Writer: Tom Roggen, Casper Slotboom
Producer: Tom Roggen, Casper Slotboom
Cast: Felix Roosenstein, Gitta Overmaat, Martin Prins, Nadia Cornelisse, Johan Visser
Synopsis: Original Amsterdammer Felix (75) has found his passion in the small village of Pingjum and continues to devote himself every day with heart and soul to the village. Together with him we will show what is so special about living in a village.
Bluebirds | United States | 2019 | 16’
Director: Zolian Yunfan Hu
Writer: Richard Alfredo
Producer: Nick Sakai
Cast: James Chen, Ayesha Adamo
Synopsis: Casey, a wealthy architect, frustrated by the confinement of his wheelchair confronts his wife, Jayne, about his assumption that she has been unfaithful. A quarrel erupts over the nature of their marriage, and whether or not to adopt a child into a household where there is already misplaced caretaking. The fight escalates into physical violence leaving them both with a new understanding of their relationship to one another.
Narrative Short – Official Selection – February 2019
Úrs | Belgium | 2018 | 20’
Director: GASPARD AUDOUIN
Writer: GASPARD AUDOUIN
Producer: LYDIA INDJOVA
Cast: MAXIME RENAUD, DAPHNE WELLENS, CLEMENT GOETHALS
Synopsis: During an audition, a young actor stares the eye of the camera. He then recalls his last night unusual encounter. A man in front of a supermarket, in the middle of the night…
Wasteland | Sweden | 2019 | 04’
Director: Gustav Bondeson
Writer: Gustav Bondeson
Producer:
Cast: David Digman, Max Shore, Hedvig Lannsjö
Synopsis: Wasteland portrays a broken relationship between two men and the emotional (non) processing of it. The story follows two persons conversation about life where the main character in the conversation realises that he never has allowed himself to feel sorrow.
No Deer for Dinner | United States | 14’
Director: Yuhang Chen
Writer: Otoniel Walker
Producers: Yuhang Chen, Xiaoran Wu
Cast: James Mcfarlane
Synopsis: A small town located in Nevada mountains that has a very strange things happening that last 36 years. Each year, one person missing and nobody ever found the body or any belongings. A young couple breaks into an old couples house after they robbed a bank. They want the help from the old couple but the things that are waiting for them is way beyond than they can imagine……
Between Time | Canada | 2018 | 18’
Director: Agostino Leone
Writer: Agostino Leone
Producer: Agostino Leone
Cast: Michael MacEachern, Cara Pantalone
Synopsis: In an unknown subway station, Oliver, a young man discovers he is trapped in the space not knowing how or why. He meets a woman called The Custodian, who holds the key to exiting the station and allowing Oliver to move on.
WHATEVER IT TAKES | France | 2019 | 15’
Director: Pierre Amstutz Roch
Writer: Pierre Amstutz Roch
Producer: Olivier BERLEMONT
Cast: Lionel Abelanski , Camille Japy , Phillipe Duquesne
Synopsis: Stéphane, 50, loses his job. Desperate to get a new job, he makes up a plan with his wife Fiona to take down his rival. Their bad luck and clumsiness won’t make it easy..
AMERICA | Romania | 2019 | 02’
Directors: George ve Gänæaard, Horia Cucută
Writer: Ron Riekki
Producers: Ayrton P. Bryan, Horia Cucută, Alin Boeru, Valentin Paduraru, Vlad Ghinea, Ron Riekki
Cast: Daniel Popa, Octavian Boțel, Eli Lester
Synopsis: Frederik’s attempts at creating the safest place possible, where he is protected by his lovely walls in a room filled with guns. A story of uNRAveling.
Strong Desire | France | 2019 | 07’
Director: Nikolai Saoulski
Writer: Nikolai Saoulski
Producer: Who You Art Production
Cast: : Sophie Garmilla, Victoria Erulin, Amaranta Pedrani, Nikolai Saoulski
Synopsis: A pregnant woman questions her choice, whilst a boy wonders about his mother’s intention. A narrative and poetic amble on the idea of kinship.
Barber Fight | United Kingdom | 2019 | 9’
Director: Blake Ridder
Writer: Blake Ridder
Producer: Blake Ridder
Cast: Linda Louise Duan, Barry He, Ling Whye Hang
Synopsis: Edward is new in the city and needs a haircut. Walking into the first Barber Shop he can find, his simple grooming mission suddenly becomes a fight for his life.
Ada | China | 2018 | 10’
王稚珩
Director
王稚珩
Writer
王网琳
Producer
周叶菲
Key Cast
YOU or ME | United States | 2019 | 07’
Director: Yana Zinov
Writer: Drew Schrum
Producer: Tessa Rocha
Cast: Drew Schrum
Synopsis: A New Yorker comes face-to-face with an unwanted guest forcing him to choose…YOU or ME
Fashion Short – Official Selection – February 2019
GAL 9000 (a set odyssey) | United Kingdom | 2019 | 05’
Director: Boldizsar CR
Writer: Boldizsar CR
Producer: Imola Fedor
Cast: Ella McRobb, Sian Scale, Fang, Ruinan
Synopsis: Boldizsar CR teamed up with Pier Fioraso and Premier Model Management in this new Fashion Film called GAL 9000 (a set odyssey). The film is a dark, jaded view on the everyday life of the new face model in the big cold city. Looks like a bad start of a rainy London day when models missing each other and maybe even followed by a shadowy figure. While haunted by inner voices similar to Kubrick’s HAL 9000 in Space Odyssey, a chaotic Fashion shoot is unfolding. The film is playing with merging subjective realities and daydreams with the often not glamorous reality of being on set. Unlike in the movies many times it means being in competition with strangers, submitting to demanding people who act like bosses in a chaotic environment with dubious results. And of course nobody remembers anybody else’s name. All hail the stamina and bravery of models!
Warrior with a Crown | Italy | 2018 | 05’
Director: JMP
Writer: Francesco Cuizza
Producer: Azziuc
Cast: Francesco Cuizza
Synopsis: “In an armour of scars, I fight the illusion of my fears. I’m a warrior” In the quest to excel in life, a man battles with his own failures. Expressing the weight that every person must carry, Warrior with a Crown addresses how our need to conquer is just a fight within ourselves, with the journey itself becoming the real conquest. Warrior with a Crown is based on the belief that failure is the fuel for one’s success. Director JMP and screenwriter Francesco Cuizza take the viewer on the journey of becoming aware that fear and failures are but manmade illusions. Shot in Malibu (California) on the beach in the eerie early hours of the day, the film employs movement and original choreography to unfold its narrative. In Warrior with a Crown, the viewers are presented with two different types of failures. The first brings a man to his knees, overwhelmed by his lack of experience and knowledge. But the second time failure does not fell the man; he has learnt from his mistakes and is able to stand once again, aware that he has become a warrior capable of withstanding the challenges of life.
Amateur Short – Official Selection – February 2019
Inspired | Finland | 2019 | 14’
Director: Aku Savolainen
Writer: Minna Salpio
Producers: Aku Savolainen, Jaana Salpio, Jape Ahonen, Minna Salpio
Cast: Minna Salpio, Jape Ahonen, Aku Savolainen
Synopsis: A middle aged Sanna lives alone in Helsinki city. She has an interesting, but very hectic job which takes all of her time and energy. Sanna decides to listen to her heart and make a radical move. Is it worth it?
Low Tide | United Kingdom | 2019 | 10’
Director: Alex Kavanagh
Writer: Alex Kavanagh
Producer:
Cast: Andrew Georgiades
Synopsis: A lonely man stranded in the wilderness seeks to escape from the manifestation of his fears.
The Bomb | United Kingdom | 2019 | 18’
Director: Martin Richards
Writer: Martin Richards
Producer:
Cast: Robert Ansell, Claire Carreno, Chris Brady
Synopsis: The year is 2039. Great Britain and Europe are now separated since leaving the European Union in 2020 AD. Britain has been amassing armies and power for its own protection. The terrorist group Liberté are causing havoc across Great Britain and the United States. Britain and Europe are poised for a possible war. In this political climate, certain operatives are called upon to work for the Sentient Bomb Disposal Unit. Due to the rise in technology, explosive devices and weapons of mass destruction are equipped with intelligent holographic protection units that can protect the explosive device on its discovery, and dissuade anyone trying to disarm it, by looking into the person’s memory and duplicating a character from their past. This should stop them from getting close enough to stop it counting down. The sentient bomb disposal expert must be trained in both psychology and advanced electronics devices to be able to perform their job. Normally ex military, they are forced or coerced into a vital role of trying to stop these units from being effective. Dave Walker is such an operative, and although hardened in pyscho- warfare and bomb disposal even he did not expect the level of personal grief that he would be exposed to in his attempt to outwit an intelligent holographic unit that is constructed to destroy the city. This is the story of the day he met his match.
Victims | United States | 2019 | 09’
Director: Dustin Petrillo
Writer: Dustin Petrillo
Producers: Dustin Petrillo, Christina Perez
Cast: Avery Lux, Andrew Thornton
Synopsis: Two strangers struggle to find commonalities with one another – including their motives.
Short Horror – Official Selection – February 2019
Blackout | Greece | 2019 | 05’
Directors: Konstantinos Gourgiotis, George Leontakianakos
Writers: Konstantinos Gourgiotis, George Leontakianakos
Producer: Konstantinos Gourgiotis
Cast: Ntenia Pssilia
Synopsis: A young woman comes home one night and parks her car in the garage. Suddenly there is a blackout and she is trapped in the dark, but she is not alone…
Spores | Norway | 2018 | 12’
Director: Tommy Bardal
Writer: Tommy Bardal
Producer: Didrik Bjerkomp
Cast: Margrete Ngo
Synopsis: A woman moves into a new apartment but something sinister is growing on the wall. She tries to fight it but it slowly consumes her.
Exitus | Egypt | 2019 | 06’
Director: Ahmed Haitham El Assal
Writer: Rami Soliman
Producer: Rami Soliman
Cast: Salma Maher, Hagar El Sarag
Synopsis: When a suburban family faces an eccentric crisis after the death of their parents, two of it’s members lean to an unprecedented solution which sends them on a catastrophic path leading to more unsolvable problems.
Hear Me | Finland | 04’
Director: Jesse Haaja
Writer: Jesse Haaja, Bianca Bradey
Producer: Jesse Haaja
Cast: Bianca Bradey
Synopsis: Lonely young woman trying to escape her demons in the cold and dark Finland where no one else can hear her expect herself.
Short Comedy – Official Selection – February 2019
AMERICAN MARRIAGE United States 2018-11-27 00:14:45
Director: Giorgio Arcelli Fontana
Writer: James Ivory (Collaboration)
Producers: Stephen Gibler , James Ivory
Cast: Giorgio Arcelli Fontana, Lori Hammel
Synopsis: Leonardo, an Italian immigrant who lives in New York, marries a Latina woman, Nikki, to obtain the American greencard. Through the comedy of it all Nikki and Leo fall in love “for real” but it looks like “Uncle Sam” will be the one to have the last laugh.
Power Of Change | Estonia | 2019 | 05’
Director: Khaled Al Masri
Writer: Khaled Al Masri
Producer:
Cast: Toomas Aria
Synopsis: In a missy full of empty beer cans room, Toomas wakeup on phone call from his manager, telling him that he is fired because he is late again. Tommes hears an add on the radio announcing a self-empowerment plan, he calls the serves and starts his sessions to change his life, He starts with cleaning his room, some exercises, and meditation. When he reached the end of his sessions someone starts knocking on the door he goes to open the door and we see his friends with a lot of beers and alcohol forcing their way inside the flat. He slender to this fact and takes a beer and smoke a cigarette.
Walter Treppiedi | Italy | 2019 | 15’
Director: Elena Bouryka
Writer: Elena Bouryka
Producer: Massimo di Rocco
Cast: Vittorio Ciorcalo
Synopsis: Walter is an unpleasant man, dirty, a small-time middleman, a third class swindler. He lives in an old station wagon full of dirt and scraps of a lifetime. In that car, Walter eats, sleeps, receives young customers to whom he promises to break into the show business, as long as they are willing to do anything and in exchange for a bribe. His bodyguard is always by his side, he’s too old and smells. He’s own faithful life companion: A Rottweiler named Blackie.
Tickle My Pickle | Lithuania | 2019 | 09’
Director: Greta Griniūtė
Writer: Greta Griniūtė
Producer: Travers Jacobs, Zone 6 Films
Cast: Emma Williams, Jason Lyke
Synopsis: First-Time Female Writer & Director – Greta Griniūtė presents “Tickle My Pickle” “Tickle My Pickle” explores the sexual fantasies of a teenage girl in her hot-pink bedroom! Accompanied by a jar of pickles and a banging soundtrack, Emily shows her primal emotions toward her milkman.
Short Drama – Official Selection – February 2019
Oh ! | Belgium | 2019 | 05’
Director: Antoine vans
Writer: Eric Debosscher
Producer: Antoine vans
Cast: Jeanne Abraham, Chris stof
Synopsis: A young police officer thinks it’s going to be easy.
Joyeux Noël | United States | 2018 | 11’
Director: Haley Webb
Writer: Haley Webb
Producer: Haley Webb
Cast: Haley Webb
Synopsis: A young woman navigates her first holiday season without her beloved father.
26 | Denmark | 2018 | 12’
Director: Emma Lund Rasmussen
Writers: Penelope Bjerregaard, Emma Lund Rasmussen
Producer: Penelope Bjerregaard
Cast: Alice Esther Bier Zandén, Rikke Westi, Julie Jeziorski Jensen
Synopsis: Barbara is turning 26. Her and her two friends, Olivia and Freja, has as a tradition to jump in the ocean, every time one of them has their birthday. But Olivia is completely absent, constantly looking at her phone and Freja have brought little baby Ella with her. They do not want to jump. And Barbara do not want to do it alone. In a magical moment, Barbara encounters her old friends, from back in time where they created the tradition. But the dreamy and carefree moment quickly disappears again. Back in the present, Olivia is arguing over the phone and Freja is about to leave. Barbara realizes, that she must find the strength in herself. She runs towards the ocean. Alone but confident.
Malek | Austria | 2018 | 06’
Director: Sandra Aberer
Writer: Sandra Aberer
Producer: frauAberer
Cast: Daniel F. Kamen, Jens Ole Schmieder, Bo Phylis Strube
Synopsis: Malek works as a carer in a social home and looks after a man who is confined to a wheelchair. His social commitment is deceptive because criminal machinations from Malek’s previous life keep flashing through his head. Once again he is on the verge of fulfilling another job and in doing so jeopardizing everything.
Burning | India | 2018 | 18’
Director: VS Sanoj
Writer: Jinoy Jose
Producer: Ajayya Kumar
Cast: Ketaki Narayan, Rukshana Tabassum
Synopsis: ‘Burning’ is a conversation between two young mothers brought together by strange and cruel social realities, at a funeral ghat in Varanasi. Facing myriad forms of patriarchal violence, they build an instant bonding and understanding towards each other while trying to strike a bizarre deal they were pushed to negotiate.
DESTINO | Italy | 2018 | 15’
Director: Kristina Cepraga
Writers: Emanuele Cerquiglini, Luigi Passarelli
Producer: Duel Produzioni
Cast: Kristina Cepraga, Aglaia Mora, Lorenzo Nohman
Synopsis: Fatima is an Iranian mother who finds refuge with her child in a social center in Rome. Fate (Destino) wants her to meet with Roberta, a policewoman, mother of a son’s classmate. The story begins at dawn and ends in the evening. It’s a social drama that tells the solitude of the feminine and that damned moment that can break lives … – Fatima è una mamma iraniana che in fuga dalla guerra trova rifugio con il suo bambino in un centro sociale di Roma. Il destino vuole far incontrare Fatima con Roberta, una poliziotta, mamma di un compagno di scuola del figlio. La storia inizia all’alba e finisce la sera. È un dramma sociale che racconta la solitudine al femminile e quell’attimo maledetto che può spezzare le vite…
Documentary Short – Official Selection – February 2019
Home | New Zealand | 2019 | 07’
Director: Benjamin Bryan
Writer: Benjamin Bryan
Producers: Caitlin Bryan, Tom Scott
Cast:
Synopsis: A look at what ‘home’ means for South Sudanese refugee Gum Wetnhiak and his family who fled their war torn homeland to start a new life in Melbourne, Australia.
Under The Blanket | Georgia | 2018 | 30’
Director: Tatia Akhalshenashvili
Writer: Anuki Burduli
Producer: Nika Niklaishvili
Cast:
Synopsis: The main character of the film is the subjective camera and the main theme of the film is camera’s journey to the city where it finds other characters of the film. These people differ from each other by their profession and sex, but they have one thing in common – all of them are young. They talk about their fears and dreams, protest and ideology, about things that everyone avoids to even think. These youngsters love their city but at the same time they can’t breathe here. They need to be listened.
You’ll Be A Woman Soon | Netherlands | 2019 | 12’
Director: Vincent Sparreboom
Writer:
Producers: Dan Nutu, Cristina Hoffman
Cast:
Synopsis: Estera is twenty now, so she must get married, her small-town family thinks. Estera obliges, but there is a trace of doubt on her face. Does she really want to marry? Does she even love this man? The film delves into Estera’s doubts and worry as she’s preparing for the ‘best day of her life’.
Atomkraftwerk Zwentendorf | United States | 2018 | 17’
Director: Hope Tucker
Writer:
Producer:
Cast:
Synopsis: Atomkraftwerk Zwentendorf is a monument to the power of public protest and the potential of a democratic vote.
The Magic Behind the Mojo | United States | 2018 | 30’
Director: Joe Gallo
Writer:
Producer: Jane M Gallo
Cast: Mojo
Synopsis: For the past 50 years Mojo has been entertaining audiences around the world. He’s a musician, singer and songwriter and the leader of Mojo and the Bayou Gypsies. About 6 years ago, I discovered his music searching for a soundtrack for 10 ‘Soldier Story’ mini-documentaries created to engage support of the creation of a National Museum of the US Army. These stories of Army combat veterans were impactful and emotional and Mojo’s composition ‘Lights on the Bayou’, a beautiful and haunting ballad in the cajun style, was the perfect fit. This introduced me to Mojo and the discovery that there is more to his music and more to the man than his cajun accordion. This documentary looks into the making of a man who gives something everyday, lives life to the fullest, and all his friends are friends for life.
Short Fantasy/Sci-Fi Short – Official Selection – February 2019
Spyglass | United States | 2018 | 10’
Director: Chris Hunt
Writer: Cameron Kunzelman
Producer: Jennifer Carriere
Cast: Johnny Chen, Cory Ball, Patrice Lovely, James Griffin
Synopsis: SPYGLASS tells the story of a dead man that speaks from beyond the grave and his childhood friends-turn-close but troubled business partners Joseph and Nicodemus who must unravel the mystery of his disappearance.
The Bomb | United Kingdom | 2019 | 18’
Director: Martin Richards
Writer: Martin Richards
Producers:
Cast: Robert Ansell, Claire Carreno, Chris Brady
Synopsis: The year is 2039. Great Britain and Europe are now separated since leaving the European Union in 2020 AD. Britain has been amassing armies and power for its own protection. The terrorist group Liberté are causing havoc across Great Britain and the United States. Britain and Europe are poised for a possible war. In this political climate, certain operatives are called upon to work for the Sentient Bomb Disposal Unit. Due to the rise in technology, explosive devices and weapons of mass destruction are equipped with intelligent holographic protection units that can protect the explosive device on its discovery, and dissuade anyone trying to disarm it, by looking into the person’s memory and duplicating a character from their past. This should stop them from getting close enough to stop it counting down. The sentient bomb disposal expert must be trained in both psychology and advanced electronics devices to be able to perform their job. Normally ex military, they are forced or coerced into a vital role of trying to stop these units from being effective. Dave Walker is such an operative, and although hardened in pyscho- warfare and bomb disposal even he did not expect the level of personal grief that he would be exposed to in his attempt to outwit an intelligent holographic unit that is constructed to destroy the city. This is the story of the day he met his match.
Solitary | United Kingdom | 2019 | 04’
Director: Luke J Armstrong
Writer: Luke J Armsrtong
Producers: Luke J Armstrong , Johnny Sachon
Cast: Johnny Sachon, Raymond Bethley , Matthew O’Leary Profit, David Sachon
Synopsis: When a man is coerced to commit a murder, he is sent into space to work on Earth’s first colony .Inso
Off | Singapore | 2019 | 12’
Director: Dag Kaszlikowski
Writer: Dag Kaszlikowski
Producers: Wiggie , Geoffrey Tsui
Synopsis: In the futuristic world, the pressure of convenience forces Min to make a choice about her boyfriend she is not ready for.
OBJET 01954 | France | 2018 | 04’
Directors: Grouard Xavier, Kharoubi Michel
Writers: Grouard Xavier, Kharoubi Michel
Producer: Grouard Xavier
Cast: Bermouga Farouk
Synopsis: After many years, a spatail probe that was thought lost, starts to emit again…
Music Video Short – Official Selection – February 2019
Lovesunk | Russian Federation | 05’
Director: Natalia Bykova
Synopsis: This is a story of a subterranean creature and his unrequited love for a bird. Or perhaps he’s just dreaming of sky and longing to fly?
Kekere | Brazil | 2017 | 05’
Director: Axel Sande
Writers: Lucas Chewie, Wagner Cinelli
Producer: Wagner Cinelli
Synopsis: The video Kekere deals with the sad theme of slavery focusing on social memory. It was released at Flink Sampa on November 17, 2017 at Zumbi dos Palmares College, in Sao Paulo. Brazil. Song interpretation: Urca Bossa Jazz. Guest singer: Kesia Estacio. Production: Wagner Cinelli. Lyrics and music: Wagner Cinelli. Voice: Kesia Estacio. Incidental singing and backing vocal: Bia Falcao. Percussion: Laudir de Oliveira. Bass: Didier Fernan. Guitar: Matheus VK. Tenor sax tenor and transverse flute: Tino Junior. Keyboard: Wagner Cinelli. Recording and mixing: La Maison Studio. Mastering: Orbita Music Studio. Animation: Gabinete de Artes. Film director: Axel Sande. English translation (subtitles): Mac Margolis.
Your Eyes, Will I Ever| France | 2018 | 05’
Director: Félicien Colmet Daâge
Writer: Félicien Colmet Daâge
Synopsis: In a house lost in the middle of the desert a man sees his girlfriend gradually transform into a butterfly.
Truth | United States | 2019 |04’
Director: Lei Wan
Writer: Lei Wan
Producer: Huijie Zhang
Cast: Gabriel Limbe, Omaryus Luckett, Li Qian
Synopsis: An older black man reminisces the ups and downs he faced when he was young and aspired to become a boxer.
Girls Just Wanna | United States | 2019 | 04’
Director: Stephania Dulowski
Writer: Stephania Dulowski
Producers: Sarah Donnenberg, Leah Donnenberg, Kirstin Vanskiver
Cast:
Synopsis: “Girls Just Wanna” is a gentle ode to the young women who shape New York with their own unapologetic vibrancies. It follows women from across the city through different neighborhoods, landscapes and seasons as they fly through streets, pass time on stoops and hangout in apartments. A haunting ballad of Cyndi Lauper’s famous pop song, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” sweeps through each vignette, embracing the women who make up the city from skateboarders to pole dancers to dominatrixes. “Girls Just Wanna” captures a day-to-day electricity that young women exude through the streets of NY. It was important to let these women embrace their own style, character, passions and uniqueness by showing the complexity of femininity—the warmth and darkness of it. This film is a unison of the empowerment and sensuality of female energy.
Experimental Short – Official Selection – February 2019
Acaiaca | Brazil | 2018 | 08’
Director: AXEL SANDE
Writer: WAGNER CINELLI
Producer: WAGNER CINELLI
Cast:
Synopsis: Acaiaca is based on a legend about a sacred cedar that was chopped down by the Portuguese, which caused the destruction of the nearby Puri Indian tribe in just one night. The Legend of Acaiaca was portrayed in the novel Acayaca 1729, by 19th Century Brazilian writer Joaquim Felicio dos Santos. The song was recorded in April/2017 by Urca Bossa Jazz, and it is one of the last works of percussionist Laudir de Oliveira (1976 Grammy Award Winner). The videoclip with narration in Portuguese was released in July/2017. This new production received an opening text and English narration by Mac Margolis.
In Brief | Italy | 2019 | 07’
Director: Carlo Perassi
Writer: Carlo Perassi
Producer: Kiwifarm Srl
Cast: Monica Martinelli, Cesare Scova, Vittorio Perassi, Nicola Marchitiello
Synopsis: In Brief starts from Post-history, by narrating scientific facts, like a documentary, regarding an enormous timespan in the Universe’s far future, whilst developing a silent drama around the heart of being human.
Misophonia | Italy | 2018 | 08’
Director: Marco Brunelli
Writer: Marco Brunelli
Producer: Griot
Cast: Luigi Franzese
Synopsis: The trill of an alarm clock. The drops of a tranquilizer in a glass of water. A razor scratches the shaving foam on the skin. Sounds. Obsessive, invasive, amplified. It is a pain. A sharp pain in the ear. Zeno walks in the forest with a microphone, a tape recorder and a pair of headphones. He collects the sounds of nature, the wind, the leaves, his steps. And the steps of someone else chasing him. He finds himself bound and gagged in a dark room torn by the beam of light of an 8mm projector. A hooded stranger forces him to watch a film with a soundtrack that exasperates and distorts violent, unpleasant, dissonant noises. For his ears it is an unbearable torture that seems to never end.
Lost Sock Collection | United States | 2018 | 14’
Director: Eliot Michl
Writer: Eliot Michl
Producer: Michelle Sander
Cast:
Synopsis: Loss takes so many forms when it collides with time. Lost Sock Collection is an experimental poetry film: a multi-sensory experience steeped in loss on every level and told through the lens of time. The layers of sounds in the piece are collected from far-flung locales around the world: bumblebees in middle America, waves crashing in Montenegro, a girl splashing in a shallow pool, hiking in Transylvania, the Prague Symphony warming up, a needle dropping on my father’s favorite record. The highlight of the background audio—and from where the piece derives its name—is from a live performance art piece performed in Malaysia entitled, Lost Sock.
MASS | France | 2019 | 10’
Directors: Fu LE, Adrien Gontier
Writer: Fu LE
Producer:
Cast:
Synopsis: MASS is a 10 minutes single take video-dance shot in Paris. The project was framed within the Danse en Seine’s choreographic workshops, including 40 amateur dancers. Images of the crowd appear more and more often and symbolize the current upheavals all over the world, evoking alternately parties, migrations of refugees, manifestations, religious gatherings or just the daily life of big cities. We thus work on the mass, with all the drunkenness and horror it can inspire. We confront the individual with crowd movements, in order to observe how he resists or lets immerse himself.
Animation Short – Official Selection – February 2019
The Last Man on Earth Sat Alone in a Room | United States | 2019 | 03’
Director: Junyi Xiao
Synopsis: “The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door …”
LSZ – Larson C | Austria | 2018 | 03’
Director: Simon Skrepek
Synopsis: Three Men are stranded in the Ice.
My Mother’s Eyes | United Kingdom | 2018 | 05’
Director: Jenny Wright
Synopsis: A story about motherhood and loss in an abstracted world of childhood memory.
Boxer Story | United States | 2018 | 20’
Director: Lance Myers
Writer: Lance Myers
Producer: Lance Myers
Cast: Les McGehee, L. B. Deyo, Beth Myers, David Blackwell, Shannon McCormick, Chuck Beard
Synopsis: Amateur boxer, Twomey Martin, suffers from a rare and absurd affliction: the sound of each punch to his face is audible as a one-liner joke. And even though he dreams of one day becoming a serious contender in a title fight, all anyone ever hears are the ‘punch lines.’
Anacronte | Argentina | 2018 | 15’
Director: Raúl Koler, Emiliano Sette
Writer: Raúl Koler, Sabrina Pace
Producers: Emiliano Sette, Yashira Jordán, Francisco Zamudio
Cast:
Synopsis: Anacronte and the Sorcerers of Evil, without any emotion and fulfilling their destiny, they put to test humanity’s happiness in a struggle that, in short, has each of us as winners and losers.
Mobile Phone Short – Official Selection – February 2019
Tempo | Australia | 05’
Director: Dudi Zvedeniuk
Writer: Dudi Zvedeniuk
Producer: Dudi Zvedeniuk
Cast: Sarah Carinci, Laura Manicone, Karilyn Sisko
Synopsis: Christa convinces dance partner Alvia, and pianist Sylvia, that a change in music tempo ultimately works better with their dance.
Please, Subscribe | Turkey | 2019 | 17’
Director: Umut Kayacan
Writer: Umut Kayacan
Producer: Umut Kayacan
Cast: Baran Durak, Gökçe Pınar Yıldız, Mustafa Talha Yetkin, İzgi Yetkin, Hülya Kayacan
Synopsis: A vlogger who publishes absurd and dangerous challenge videos does everything in his power in order to push the boundaries. However, a minor follower who is trying to be like him; is not aware of the limits of danger.
Mini Short – Official Selection – February 2019
Love Like You Give a Shit | United States | 2019 | 02’
Director: Miles Sager
Writer: Katie C’etta
Producer: Katie C’etta, Olivia Simonton
Cast: Ivan Austin, Derek Ringold, Patricia Rodriguez, Lionel Rodriguez, Mia Smith, Sasja Lee, Julian Pace, Magdelena Fischbacher, Brady Lindsey, Matthew Harnden, Lito Velasco
Synopsis: Based on the article by Jordan Gray (www.jordangrayconsulting.com), “Love Like You Give a Shit” is a short video about love and all the different ways love looks.
Section F | Germany | 2019 | 02’
Director: Patrick Steinmann
Writers: Henrike Fehrs, Franciska Friede
Producers:
Cast: Franciska Friede, Henrike Fehrs
Synopsis: Two women on different sides. Working together to defeat the enemy. But can you still trust each other when it’s about your own family?
The Machine | United Kingdom | 01’
Director: Leon Williams
Writer: Jodie Kay Ashdown
Producer: Daniel J. Harris
Cast: Shaun Llewelyn
Synopsis: The first day on any job can be tough, but this job is something else.
