Animation Short – Official Selection – June 2019
Goodnight, Mr. Sandman | United States | 2019 | 04’
Director: Nathania Zaini
Writer: Nathania Zaini
Producer: Nathania Zaini
Synopsis: A story about a writer who’s working to catch a deadline, but had to deal with a Sandman who’s trying to put him to sleep. The Sandman tries multiple times but keeps failing, each to a comic result.
Featherweight | United Kingdom | 2019 | 09’
Director: Kayleigh Gibbons
Writer: Kayleigh Gibbons
Producer: Richard Gordon
Synopsis: A dark humoured and expressive character animation about a Father and Daughter coping with the loss of a central family member. Whilst grieving in a graveyard, the Daughter is disrupted by a blackbird defecating onto her Mother’s grave. A fire of rage lights up inside of her and she sets out to direct it in various violent ways, whilst the Father chooses to shut himself up in an agoraphobic state and ignore everything. Can they proceed as a new family, smaller yet stronger? Made by Jam Media, with the support of Northern Ireland Screen and the BFI.
Nymphs of the Woods | Romania | 2019 | 06’
Director: Iulia Matei
Writer: Iulia Matei
Producer: Iulia Matei
Cast: Tripp Karrh
Synopsis: A man goes into the woods to look for his missing father when he stumbles upon a group of ancient female nymphs who are the guardians of the forest. Inspired by a Romanian folk myth.
Duodrom | Switzerland | 2019 | 09’
Director: Basil Vogt
Writer: Basil Vogt
Producer: Saskia von Virág
Synopsis: We all have two sides. But if even the tiniest scare splits someone into a timid skin on the one hand and an overconfident skeleton on the other, that person has a lot of work ahead to bring their characteristics back into harmony again.
The Mother of All Flowers | Turkey | 2019 | 08’
Director: Merve Caydere Dobai
Writer: Merve Caydere Dobai
Producers: Dragos Andrei Dobai, Sertac Karabulut
Synopsis: The Mother of All Flowers is a Middle Eastern war story from the eyes of a little girl. A mother and her daughter run a small flower shop where they also live, a war breaks out in their homeland. The mother uses shadow puppets to comfort her daughter and distract her from the war going on outside. They are just getting accustomed to the jets constantly flying above their home, when one morning, their lives would change forever. But is there any hope?
RETURN | United States | 2019 | 07’
Director: Jiaying Guan
Writer: Jiaying Guan
Synopsis: This is a story about returning a “ball”. I use watercolors, Sumi ink, and charcoal as improvisational tools to create this black and white, surreal world from my memory. The surroundings are based on my college dormitory and the streetscape around the campus. The “ball” is an existential object in the dream-space from the start to the end. The express delivery car and boxes labeled “Fragile” lying everywhere are also indispensable elements of my transient life. Some of these images are short-lived and disposable while some are eternal and contain some erotic impulse. For me, the story is quite personal but I want to evoke the essential emotions of the audience, such as intangible relationships, the displacement between organisms and objects, death and birth, disposal and eternal. The returning of the ball also represents the returning to instincts and the womb, a place of primal safety.
Aripi (2D) | Republic of Moldova | 2019 | 09’
Director: Dmitri Voloshin
Writers: Dmitri Voloshin, Sergiu Chirillov, Anastasia Berzoy
Producer: Dmitri Voloshin
Synopsis: This story is about an astronaut who, as a child, dreamed of flying and being free. And now he seems to be flying in the sky, but he is actually locked in the capsule of a spacecraft. One day, minor problems lead to bigger problems, causing the spaceship to lose control and collapse on Earth. And now the astronaut will once again spread the wings of his dreams and return to childhood.
Children Short – Official Selection – June 2019
My Bubble Dog | United Kingdom | 2019 | 05’
Director: Xuanchen Fan
Writer: Xuanchen Fan
Producer: Xuanchen Fan
Cast: Vincent Ott, Julius Johansson , Voice, Credits Design
Synopsis: A little girl blows a bubble, and creates a bubble dog. Then they start their wonderful adventure! However, when she grew up and have other interests in life. Bubble dog lost the love from her and dissolve into bubbles…
Above Alan | United Kingdom | 2019 | 05’
Director:Daniele Piscitello
Synopsis: The story of Alan, an ordinary fish that one day starts to wonder what lies above the surface.
Meow | United States | 2018 | 03’
Director: Yu Shu Grace Wang
Synopsis: This is a story about a dog, who thinks he is a cat, meets a real dog for the first time.
Blue and Curt | Canada | 2019 | 02’
Director: Jesse Cote
Producer: Jesters Animation
Synopsis: A stubborn little monster named Curt receives some advice from a clever little bird named Blue.
Paper Kite طيارة ورق | Egypt | 2019 | 07’
Director: Nada Bedair
Writer: Nada Bedair
Producers: Sahar ElKabbash, Md Razi Al Islam
Cast: Dana Al Refai, Noor Emara
Synopsis: In a sixth grade classroom, Noor sees a kite outside the school walls and sketches it, ignoring the lesson. Sister Caroline, the teacher, punishes Noor. Zayn, a new student walks in and joins the tense classroom. With only both of them in the classroom during the break, Noor writes her punishment on the school board, while Zayn, bored, looks through Noor’s notebook, which is filled with kite sketches. Zayn draws kite on the board. Noor sketches it with her. Both girls go to the courtyard where they set a plan to make the kite. First, they sneak into Sister Caroline’s office to steal her keys to the art room, which has the materials they need. They then get into the art room and nearly finish the kite before Sister Caroline walks in. Sacrificing herself, Zayn pushes Noor behind the cupboard. The nun breaks the kite and sends Zayn to the detention room. In detention, three nuns watch Zayn as she holds the Book of Rules with locked arms. Noor calls Zayn outside the window. Zayn looks over. Noor holds a patched up kite; the same kite they made together.
Teddy Bear Rescue | Canada | 2019 | 03’
Director: Louis Bodart
Synopsis: A boy goes on an adventure to find his teddy bear stolen by a monster under his bed.
Documentary Short – Official Selection – June 2019
You Will Survive Doomsday | Canada | 2019 | 09’
Director: Kyle McDougall
Cast: Bruce Beach
Synopsis: Thirty-five years ago, Bruce Beach started construction on the ‘Ark Two’—an underground nuclear fallout shelter that he designed and built himself. The structure is made up of forty-two school buses that were linked together and buried under twelve feet of concrete and earth. Over the years, the project has attracted the attention of people across the world and has been met with differing opinions—from other ‘preppers’ who celebrate it, to folks who think the whole idea is crazy. ‘You Will Survive Doomsday’ is a short documentary that explores the beliefs and decisions that shaped Bruce’s unconventional journey.
Echilibru, Bear Foot | France | 2018 | 26’
Directors: Jérôme Fatalot, Victor Jullien, Eve Cerubini
Writers: Victor Jullien, Eve Cerubini
Producer: Alexandre Talpe
Synopsis: Bears dance every year end in the Romanian Carpathians. During this ancestral celebration, men don bear furs and parade the streets. The wear the courage of this great predator and summon the strength to face the year ahead. In a country that hosts the largest bear population in Europe, men and bears have been close neighbors for centuries. Nowadays, the borders between their territories are thinning. To the point they sometimes intertwine… Echilibru offers an insight into a world without borders, at the dawn of a new equilibrium.
Small fish | France | 2019 | 25’
Director: Quentin Lestienne
Writer: Quentin Lestienne
Producer: Quentin Lestienne
Cast: Cyril Lestienne
Synopsis: Thinking about a quotation from Jean-Luc Godard : “We must make movies like a farmer makes his own organic vegetables and sells them on the market”, an investigation was necessary. Therefore I went to see my brother, organic farmer in the South of France. So what would be organic filmmaking ?
Emma | Israel | 2019 |16’
Director: Noa Maiman
Writers: Noa Maiman , Yael Leibovitz
Producers: Noa Maiman , Tomer Dvir
Cast: Noa Maiman, Tomer Dvir
Synopsis: Noa needs to let go of Emma, her beloved and dying dog. With a certain level of humor, ‘Emma’ portrays the banality of death, and the immense emptiness the people left behind experience when facing death of their close ones.
La Vie en Vrai | United Kingdom | 2019 | 13’
Director: Maggie Clark
Producer: Emma Davie
Synopsis: A young woman tries to navigate between her online and offline personalities in this observational documentary about life in the digital age.
Experimental Short – Official Selection – June 2019
Bunker on Kummerstraße [Grief Street] | United Kingdom | 2018 |12’
Director: Susanne Dietz
Writer: Susanne Dietz
Producer: Ricky Stecker
Cast: Frauke Requardt, Kerim Butz
Synopsis: More than twenty-five over-ground bunkers can be found in the City of Duisburg, Germany. These concrete structures are an imposing reminder of an atrocious past. For decades they have been repurposed; some into flats, some occupied by musicians and artists, and some as accommodation for the elderly. ‘Bunker On Kummerstrasse [Grief Street] was filmed in a bunker built by the Nazis in 1943. An intimate cast of family, friend and people from the community participate in an abstract re-enactment of recurring memories and images, the film continuously moves through the floors of the bunker as scenes [re]visit moments of intensity. We just want something soft to fit between our heads and the earth.
The Distraction Towers | United States | 2018 | 13’
Director: David Baeumler
Writer: David Baeumler, Kevin Silva
Producer: David Baeumler
Cast: Kevin Silva
Synopsis: On the road to spiritual transcendence, a voice over artist gets lost in the forest. He makes some commercials along the way.
Prologue | Poland | 2019 | 04’
Director: Adam Mańkowski
Writer: Mark Tardi
Synopsis: “Prologue,” a video poem, based on an excerpt from book The Circus of Trust by Mark Tardi.
Vision Board Party | Ireland | 2019 | 13’
Director: Jan McCullough
Synopsis: Vision Board Party observes an unconventional social gathering and how we strive for improvement in the strangest of ways.
Plastic Flowers | Greece | 2019 | 05’
Director: Υannis Zafiris
Writer: Υannis Zafiris
Producers: Υannis Zafiris, Konstantinos Xenakis, Yorgos Bisdikis
Cast: Panos Xenakis
Synopsis: A fairy poisons the waters of the village. He is coming back thirsty. As he is looking for the fountain, he faces a desert place and some plastic flowers. A horse and a dog will keep him company till the end.
Tomorrow | Italy | 04’
Director: Giovanni Baracchi
Writer: Giovann Baracchi
Cast: Gaia Bavaro, Giovanni Baracchi, Giorgio Serinelli, Magda Taverna, Luca Parma, Alessandro Nuvoli , Elfride Di Dio
Synopsis: A young woman is waiting, at home, the arrival of the following day. Tomorrow arises from a disconnected necessity, still incomplete, to express, show, investigate anxiety disorders. Not the tangible forms through which anxiety manifests manifests itself, but the intangible fragments composing the daily flow that feeds it: tomorrow. Tomorrow is an experimentation and an attempt to represent, through a sensory, perceptive, dreamlike dimension, the mental universe of a person suffering from anxiety disorders. Not the material and visible elements through which they show themselves in the actions of a person, but through the original fragments that generate and increase them: consequentiality, repetitiveness of the gesture, of the everyday, of existence, circularity of tomorrow and future. Una giovane donna attende, in casa, l’arrivo del giorno successivo. Domani nasce da un bisogno sconnesso, tuttora incompleto, di esternare, rappresentare, indagare i disturbi derivanti da ansia. Non le tangibili forme attraverso cui l’ansia si manifesta, ma gli intangibili frammenti che compongono il flusso quotidiano che la alimenta: il domani. Domani è sperimentazione e tentativo di rappresentare, attraverso un piano sensoriale, percettivo, onirico, l’universo cerebrale d’una persona affetta da disturbi d’ansia. Non gli elementi materiali e visibili attraverso cui essi si mostrano nelle azioni della persona, ma tramite i frammenti originari che li generano e incrementano: consequenzialità, ripetitività del gesto, del quotidiano, dell’esistenza, circolarità del domani e del futuro.
Home Smart Home | 2017 | 07’
Director: Marica De Michele
Writers: Marica De Michele, Matteo Reza Azchirvani
Producer: Marica De Michele
Cast: Matteo Reza Azchirvani
Synopsis: An experimental short that investigates the smart-human intersection looking at the real impact that the usage of smart devices might have on individuals. The work resembles a typical Control Centre: all the screens exhibit a set of ordinary daily life activities within a smart domestic environment, in which the human is surveilled by his own smart objects. The spotlight is on the psychology and behaviour of the (data producer) male character that is being observed, measured, analysed and eventually directed by his own smart tools within his very own ‘private’ space. The result is a dystopian scenario which displays the hypothetical conflict between the human and the machine once they get even closer. Our human experience is ultimately extended by increasing the control we have on our private and social environment, but the boundaries between ‘being in control’ and ‘being controlled’ are completely blurred.
Mini Video Short– Official Selection – June 2019
KA・TA・O・RI・HA | Japan | 2018 | 02’
Director: Kei Uehara
Writer: Kei Uehara
Producer: Masaki Shimamura
Synopsis: KATAORIHA KATAORIHA KATAORIHA KATAORIHA KATAORIHA KATAORI KATAORIHA KATAORIHA KATAORIHA KATAORIHA KATAORIHA KATAORI HAKATAORIHAKATAORI HAKATAORIHAKATAORI HAKATAORIHAKATAORI HAKATAORIHAKATAORI KATAORIHA KATAORIHA KATAORIHA HAKATAORI (Chorus) Hakata-ori, Japanese weaving passed down from generation to generation for 777 years. HAKATAORI
Bae | United States | 2018 | 02’
Director: Ryan Cervasio
Writer: Ryan Cervasio
Producer: Ryan Cervasio
Cast: Feyza Cakici, Anthony Janz
Synopsis: Enjoying a quiet night with bae
Valentin | United States | 2018 | 01’
Director: Vannithy Montero
Writer: Vannithy Montero
Producer: Vannithy Montero
Cast: Ian Guzman, Aaliyah Guzman, Khala Morales
Synopsis: Valentin is a drama short film, which pays homage to The Shining, one of Stanley Kubrick’s most celebrated films in cnema history and filmography. Here recreates the sequence of the boy Danny moving on his tricycle through a abandoned hotel. On this occasion Danny is again face to face with the terrifying twins, who cause a series of nightmares and hallucinations. Like the original film, the boy Danny is shocked to see the girls, but this time he takes the courage to face them and follow his path.
An Intervention | United Kingdom | 2019 | 02’
Director: Pete Fielding
Writer: Pete Fielding
Producer: Pete Fielding
Cast: Ana Cunha
Synopsis: Joanna gathers up a couple of friends to stage an intervention for heavy drinking Ana but she suffers a bit of a hiccup.
Mobile Phone Short – Official Selection – June 2019
The Broadcast | Russian Federation | 2019 | 19’
Director: Darya Sviridenko
Writer: Alya Farhat
Producers: Maxim Mussel, Boris Guts
Cast: Maria Trushkina, Sofia Shidlovskay, Mihail Fedorenko
Synopsis: The sincere wish of a teenager, with the help of a best friend, to wish mom happy birthday live, turns into an irreparable human tragedy and changes the fate of children.
9 lb Hammer | Hong Kong | 2019 | 11’
Director: Trevor Choi
Writer: Trevor Choi
Producer: Thomas Ng
Cast: Matt Chung, Hugo Hui
Synopsis: An unforgettable night of a legislator and a marijuana dealer entirely captured by an iPhone.
La Neige (The Snow) | United States | 2019 | 03’
Director: Hugo Hentoff
Writer: Hugo Hentoff
Producer: Hugo Hentoff
Cast: Hugo Hentoff
Synopsis: A brief look into the wonders of la neige.
Music Video – Official Selection – June 2019
White Cube – Yasutaka Nakata | Japan | 2018 | 04’
Director: Tatsushi Momen
Producers: Jun Ogawa, Masanori Wakita
The problems aren’t us | United Kingdom | 2019 | 03’
Director: karni and saul
Producer: sulkybunny
Cast: gili portal
Synopsis: A silent rave to the gods of creativity
Tie Me Down | Netherlands |2019 |05’
Director: Ruben Van Leer
Producers: RVL_studio, Mr.Frank
Cast: Torre Florim, Tessa Douwstra
Synopsis: The music video Tie Me Down (Dutch band DE STAAT featuring LUWTEN) plays with the idea of love and attraction being a literal force of nature. Pushing a man and woman together: he installing black flags and she white flags, which symbolise freedom but also mark territory. Shot in a black and white world…
Running in Circles | United Kingdom | 2018 | 06’
Director: Bianca Cassinelli
Synopsis: ‘Running in Circles’ is an animated music video for Wax Fang, realised combining cut out images and archive footage in order to visually reflect the surreal imagery evoked by the lyrics. The music video was produced as part of the final project for the Masters in Postproduction with Visual Effects at the University of York’s Theatre, Film and Television Department.
Blauka – Fantazmat | Poland | 05’
Director: Mateusz Białęcki
Writers: Georgina Tarasiuk, Piotr Lewańczyk, Mateusz Białęcki
Producers: Georgina Tarasiuk, Piotr Lewańczyk
Cast: Georgina Tarasiuk, Piotr Lewańczyk
Synopsis: “Fantazmat” is a third music video of Polish indie band called Blauka. This 70’s-stylized song and ‘out of this world’ video inspired by retro-futurism is about searching for a perfect and imaginary lover, who is so ideal that he can’t be real.
Whitebone | India | 2016 | 05’
Director: Abhilash K
Writer: Abhilash K
Producers: Abhilash K, Manisha Swarnkar, Naveen Boktapa
Synopsis: This video was made to highlight the horrific trade of ivory poaching in Africa.
A symphony of sparks | Canada | 2019 |05’
Director: Gabriel Fortin
Producer: Préfini productions
Cast: Patrick Fortin
Synopsis: A Symphony of Sparks attempts to metaphorically reconcile two opposite worlds: classical music and working-class environments. Marrying Tchaikovsky’s music and industrial welding, the film takes a poetic look at conductorship, turning it into a symphony of sparks.
Narrative Short – Official Selection – June 2019
Wolf Sheep Cabbage | Croatia | 2019 | 15’
Director: Goran Ribarić
Writer: Goran Ribarić, Ivana Vuković
Producer: Ivana Grubišić Perišić
Cast: Gracian Kovač, Dijana Vidušić, Robert Ugrina, Nina Erak Svrtan
Synopsis: Based on autobiographical motifs. Mark is a young boy who spends his free time on the bus, circling his route. Other passengers are not helping him in solving the seemingly impossible riddle that his favorite bus driver has given him. The driver shifts are changing, the passengers are leaving and evening is coming, but Mark never goes out.
Lost But Not Forgotten | United Kingdom | 2019 | 07’
Director: Stuart Hackshaw
Writer: Stuart Hackshaw
Producer: Heeva Hamed
Cast: Stephan Chase
Synopsis: In the summer of 1930 the St Kildans had to evacuate their remote island home, severing an ancient tie and bringing to an end an incredible story of survival. Lost But Not Forgotten is a portrait of one such islander; a man out of time and place, desperately clinging to memories of a lost home to which he will never return.
Lullaby | Spain | 2019 | 18’
Director: Roger Villarroya
Writers: Roger Villarroya, Verónica Navas
Producers: Irene Alfambra, Roger Villarroya, Mario Rico
Cast: Alba García, Aina Clotet, Josep M. Alejandre, Yann Labaye, Eva Llorach
Synopsis: In Laura’s dreams, a wound demands to be healed, deeper than anything that time and space define and reason explains.
Lollipop | United States | 2019 | 08’
Director: Amanda Moresco
Writer: Pauline Schantzer
Producers: Pauline Schantzer , Chris Johnson , Steven Michael Fadellin
Cast: Pauline Schantzer , Goya Robles , Robert Marlowe
Synopsis: A woman cheating on her boyfriend is caught in a web of lies, but her lover isn’t playing it straight either.
Mano a mano | France | 2018 | 22’
Director: COURVOISIER Louise
Writer: COURVOISIER Louise
Producer: MORAT Bruno
Cast: NEUBERGER Abby, BERNINI Luca
Synopsis: Abby and Luca, a couple of acrobatic artists, travel to perform from stage to stage. Their relationship is getting worse. The time of a trip by camper, they will have to face their problems and try to regain confidence in one another.
Flow | India | 2019 |16’
Director: Mansi Bhajanka
Writer: Mansi Bhajanka
Producer: Mansi Bhajanka
Cast: Bhumika Dube, Pavail Gulati
Échappé | United States | 2018 | 13’
Director: Allison Mattox
Producers: Charlie Wilson, P.J. Walsh
Cast: Olesya Senchenko, Pavel Shatu, Nikolai Tsankov, Abigail Simon, Martin Harvey
Synopsis: While on tour in New York, a Soviet ballerina learns of her brother’s plan to defect.
MONSTRUS CIRCUS | Francez | 2019 | 30’
Director: Jordan Inconstant
Writer: INCONSTANT JORDAN
Producer: INCONSTANT JORDAN
Cast: JORIS ADU , BERNARD FARCY , JORDAN INCONSTANT, TRISTAN TENARDIER, KEVIN LEGRO, DIDIER MORVAN , LOUIS DONVAL, OPHELIE VERRET
Synopsis: Leonard, a magician, decides to set up a circus troupe of unusual artists. His intention is not to show their monstrosity but rather to change people’s attitudes through the audience’s acceptance of them. However, not everyone is ready to welcome them and Leonard will stop at nothing when it comes to imposing his convictions …
Home | United Kingdom | 2019 | 20’
Director: Paul Morris
Writer: Paul Morris
Producer: Benjamin Harris
Cast: Ian Beattie, Lily Aslandogdu, Daniel Mihai
Synopsis: When a lonely young girl meets a local farmhand claiming to be held captive, can she help him or will his secret keep them both prisoner?
RHYTHM IN PERSON | Netherlands | 2018 | 07’
Director: Nicky van Exel
Writer: Nicky van Exel
Producer: Nicky van Exel
Cast: Ruben Sanchez, Nicky van Exel, Mayke van Veldhuizen, Reggy Deekman
Synopsis: Sasha has been deaf his whole life, but that doesn’t stop him from following his passion for dance. He meets an interesting, young woman who ‘speaks’ his language. It leads to an unexpected, silent friendship.
Samoeraai | Netherlands | 2019 | 10’
Director: Sven Peetoom
Writer: Sven Peetoom
Producers: Didi Spaans, Sven Peetoom
Cast: Kyran van der Veen, Marcelle Arriens, Adi Cojocaru
Synopsis: The young Ivan lives with his eccentric single mother in Rotterdam. When he receives a samurai sword one day, all his hopes and dreams become reality. Reality, however, proves to be more threatening than he could ever have imagined.
WEEKEND | Turkey | 2019 | 13’
Director: Armağan AKIN
Writer: Armağan AKIN
Producer: Sıla AKIN
Cast: Tuğçe Özlü, Ufuk Kurtuldu
Synopsis: On Friday night, Burcu who is out of work, decides to go out of town with his boyfriend LEVENT (33) to ease the constricted soul. Burcu, on this journey, finds herself facing her dilemmas in the her inner world and fanning distress inside more.
Series (Web/TV) – Official Selection – June 2019
Killing Time with Lizzie Boredom | United States | 2012 | 10’
Director: Elizabeth Theis
Writers: Elizabeth Theis, Kate Mercier
Producer: Elizabeth Theis
Cast: Elizabeth Theis
Synopsis: Lizzie Boredom is a reclusive sociopath who has convinced herself she’s a television star. Following a traumatic childhood event, Lizzie locked herself away in a rickety old house that she later inherited after her parents mysteriously disappeared. For 25 years, Lizzie’s only escape is through her own nightmarish delusions, where she’s the star of her own ghastly sitcom.
Singles’ Diaries | Germany | 2019 | 07’
Director: Sascha El Waraki
Writers: Sascha El Waraki, Nadja Goldhammer, Silva Raddatz, Jan Krebs, Lisa Brunke, Jennifer Arp
Producer: Sascha El Waraki
Cast: Raúl Richter, Lena Meckel, Manuel Mairhofer, Leslie-Vanessa Lill, Gianna-Valentina Bauer
Synopsis: “Singles’ Diaries” is a comedy webseries about 5 urban singles and their daily struggle with dates, Tinder, the question freedom or relationship or the desire to have children. What the most of them have to learn is, that they have to stop hunting their desires. Just turn to each other and give a person a chance. In every episode the narrator view is changing from one to another character. The storylines of our 5 Singles are crossing each other on a funny way. Scenes are be shown from different angles.
The Reform – Pilot | United States | 2016 | 11’
Director: Darren Kwan
Writer: Darren Kwan
Producers: Darren Kwan, Justin James
Cast: Daniel Imperiale, Tim Wardell, Matt Baca, Luca Nicora
Synopsis: John Doe wakes up in a secluded forest area without any memory of who he is and what happened. He soon discovers the truth to his identity might be connected to a domestic terrorism attack on various cities. He has only days to find out who he really is, save his own life and possibly stop the attacks from psychotic trained left wing militia.
Venus | France | 01’
Director: Kinan SHORBAJI
Writer: Adèle POTEL-GOUGET
Producer: Manon BRAGUER
Synopsis: Camille leaves her hometown for Paris to find her ex-boyfriend with a suitcase and a photograph of him. She meets Pauline, her new homosexual roommate who is her perfect opposite. With the intervention of Pauline and her group of friends, Camille discovers the LGBTQ+ community. Her ideas shift and for the first time of her life, Camille experiences a situation she can’t control: her desire to reconquer her ex and her growing feelings for Pauline. She traps herself in a dual life, accelerating her two relationships…
Spice Frontier | United States 2019-04-30 00:08:10
Director: Jalil Sadool, Adam Meyer
Synopsis: Centuries after the destruction of Earth, Kent and his cyborg companion, C-LA, embark on a flavor-driven adventure across the dangerous intergalactic trade route known as the ‘Spice Road.’
Short Comedy – Official Selection – June 2019
A Dunder Plunder | United Kingdom | 2019 | 08’
Director: Grace Alwyn Ashworth
Writer: Grace Alwyn Ashworth
Producer: Alan Livesey
Cast: Melanie Ash, Corin Silva
Synopsis: In this dark comedy, a cat burglar’s plans to steal from a football manager’s house are derailed, when he encounters the owner’s sobbing ex-wife in one of the bedrooms 15 Word Synopsis: A burglar’s plans are derailed, when he encounters a sobbing woman in the master bedroom
The Turn Key Club | Portugal | 2018 | 03’
Director: João Lourenço
Writer: João Lourenço
Producer: Cristiana Gaspar – Lightbox
Cast: João Delgado Lourenço
Synopsis: Gustave is a man of peculiar tastes, as his job requires of him. The Turn Key Club is an exclusive club with the purpose of studying and deconstructing an absolutely paramount element of the human condition – comfort. However, Gustave is about to learn that not everything is what it seems. Sometimes, we find what we look for where we least expect.
Dream Café | United States | 2019 | 15’
Director: Dasha Khritankova
Writer: Dasha Khritankova
Producer: Dasha Khritankova
Cast: Michael Hauschild, Shena Gryffudd, David Dotterer, Guy Prir
Synopsis: Dream Café is an absurd comedic drama about a young man Nick, who is obsessed with his dream of owning a café. However, Nick’s efforts to make his dream come true are way over the top. This obsession puts Nick’s relationships with his loved ones into jeopardy. What will Nick choose?
SHHHH | Israel | 2019 | 13’
Director: Jonathan Mordechay
Writer: Haim Zubida
Producer: Rechela Duetch
Cast: Noa Koler, Erez Drigues
Synopsis: It was supposed to be another ordinary evening for the couple who just had a cute baby. Father just came home from work, mother got up make dinner, but most importantly – don’t wake up the baby who just fell asleep because things can go wrong beyond imagination.
The Love Letter | Poland | 2019 | 07’
Director: Karolina Łachmacka
Writer: Karolina Łachmacka
Cast: Katarzyna Mikiewicz
Synopsis: When Milagros Rivera, the protagonist of a soap opera, arrives at a Polish bus station, the reality crosses paths with fiction.
Happy Hob Kabob | United States | 2019 | 09’
Director: Austin Frick
Synopsis: A crazed old man recounts the steps he took to celebrate the biggest holiday of the year, Hob Kabob.
Short Drama – Official Selection – June 2019
Alberca | Mexico | 2018 | 18’
Director: Paola Villa
Writer: Paola Villa
Producer: Helena Meidna
Cast: Denisse Corona, Benoit Nordin
Synopsis: Karla is on her mid-30’s who just got divorced, she meets Fernando a younger man on the swimming pool of the apartments where she lives. She’s still mourning her loss, as their friendship grows, this space becomes a refuge for both of them, from here they’ll both move to a new stage of their lives.
Fish Cracker | Turkey | 2018 | 13’
Director: Yigit Evgar
Writer: Yigit Evgar, Melisa Kesmez
Producer: Yigit Evgar
Cast: Okan Yalabık, Demet Evgar, Alihan Türkdemir, Elif Dündar
Synopsis: A brother and sister aged 8 and 14, are forced to leave the place they once called home after the sudden break-up of their parents, and revisit as ‘guests’. The return is to bid farewell to their father before they move out of the city with their mother. However, they soon realise that neither their home nor their father is as it used to be.
Codetta | Israel| 2019 | 12’
Director: Adaya Fiterman
Writer: Adaya Fiterman
Producer: Adaya Fiterman
Cast: Kosta Kaplan, Tal Gordon, Odem Urman
Synopsis: Michael is a young musician who plays guitar for Nina, a well-known musician that recently got divorced. He’s also Nina’s life partner, and functions as a father to her daughter Lia, for the last year. Now Michael and Nina’s relationship is coming to an end, while they still play together.
This happened to you…?/ Esto le paso a Usted…? | Peru| 2017 | 15’
Director: Ana Maria Estrada
Writer: Ana Maria Estrada
Producer: Ana Maria Estrada
Cast: Carlos Gassols
Synopsis: An old couple coming back to the country after 30 years and finding the reality that everything has change, also Fausto is obsses with the Alzheimer disease making this couple vulnerable for the scammers.
Short Fantasy/Sci-Fi – Official Selection – June 2019
The Weight of Our Travels | United Kingdom | 2019 | 18’
Director: Danny Helme
Writer: Danny Helme
Producers: Grace Alwyn Ashworth, Alan Livesey, Danny Helme
Cast: Mandy Roberts, Hannah Rebecca, Holly Woodhouse, Rebecca Millican Forster, Krystal Gault
Synopsis: The Weight of Our Travels is a short fantasy film. The story takes place in the world of the travellers. Theirs is a world both wild and barren. The travellers grow and gain memories from this world that take a physical form, which they choose to store inside sack-like objects called carriers. Athena has been travelling for many years and her age and experience has led to her carrier becoming vast and a great burden to carry. As Athena traverses the lands, she is stalked by The Forgotten: Nightmarish creatures that exist to steal the contents of a traveller’s carrier. Athena must surge forward to keep ahead of The Forgotten, because if they succeed in capturing her carrier Athena will cease to exist; her identity will be completely erased. 15 Word synopsis: Athena travels through a dystopian world, carrying memories in a sack known as a carrier.
Where is ‘me’? | Russian Federation | 2018 | 12’
Director: Ilshat Saetov
Writer: Ilshat Saetov
Producers: Natalya Shirshova, Ilshat Saetov
Cast: Anton Eremin, Polina Miroshnichenko
Synopsis: Neurogenetic Marat wakes up indoors and founds his exact copy behind the glass in the next room. A voice from the speakers gives them 10 minutes to figure out which of them is the real ‘me’. The original will survive, a copy will be killed.
Nectar | Canada | 2018 | 20’
Director: Anthony Zwartouw
Writer: Anthony Zwartouw
Producers: Alexandra Greene, Anthony Zwartouw
Cast: James R. Cowley, Andrew Wade, Madeline Setzer
Synopsis: LOGLINE A man lives out his days in a drug-induced state, prisoner to a parasitical guard, on a disturbing desert island of his own making, when he is awoken by the deep traumas of his past that he can no longer suppress. Compelled by the fentanyl crisis in Vancouver, this short film twists the tropes of a desert island survival story to take David, a person lost in his addiction, on a fantastical journey into the dark side of his psyche to find the last glimmer of hope. SYNOPSIS David, a long time drug addict who has lost all connection to his previous life and loved ones, is a prisoner on a disturbing desert island of his own making. The Guard, a parasitical entity, existing in a dank surveillance room, manifests as the voice of David’s self-loathing and addiction, and who’s sole reason for existing is to keep its captive, David, a slave to the Nectar fruit. However, the memories and pain that the protagonist has tried to forget through his intoxication will no longer be repressed and they start emerging to the surface – quite literally in the form of stranded baggage cases and a subway train wreck. Confronted by this, David feels the searing guilt of the family he abandoned and a huge sense of loss for the time he will never get back. All the while, the manipulative Guard feeds David’s self-doubt in order to get him to taste the Nectar fruit again and to forget once more. However, now lucid, David is horrified by the decade that has passed and is haunted by the thoughts of what has become of his family? Therefore, David attempts to escape, but with his withdrawal becoming stronger and manifesting itself in the form of paranoia inducing surveillance creatures, and the tyrannical Guard who will stop at nothing to keep him on the island, the odds of David managing to get away seem firmly set against him.
Mariana 627 | United Kingdom | 2019 | 22’
Director: Finbarr Pine, Gareth Rowntree
Writers: Matt George Lovett, Chris Mitchell
Producer: Gareth Rowntree
Cast: Douglas Utting, Ryan O’Connor
Synopsis: In the unexplored depths of the galaxy, at the edge of the known universe, lies monitoring station Mariana 627. Distance from Earth: 235 light years Days Operational: 1523 Crew: 1 For Kurt, sole inhabitant of the distant station, every day is the same. He wakes up. He makes coffee. He waits for a signal he knows will never come. He rinses and repeats. His only companions are the black and white figures of old Earth cartoons and a faded pin-up girl named Gloria. One month is much like the next for the lonely spaceman until the surprise arrival of iZak, an integrated AI system sent to automate the facility… and replace Kurt aboard Mariana 627. With his time on the station finally drawing to a close, Kurt must teach his new companion everything he knows. But when the moment comes, will he really be leaving the facility in safe hands? ‘Mariana 627’ is a sci-fi short film about friendship, isolation and robots in the bleak abyss of deepest space.
Short Horror – Official Selection – June 2019
NOM | Spain | 2019 | 11’
Director: Angel Hernández Suarez
Writer: Angel Hernández Suarez
Producer: Angel Hernández Suarez
Cast: Diego Higuera , Isidro García , Adán León
Synopsis: An old cyclist sets off on a last journey with an uncertain end…
MAKR | United Arab Emirates | 2018 | 15’
Director: Hana Kazim
Writer: Hana Kazim
Producer: Hind Al Basti
Cast: Mansoor Alfeeli, Mohammed Ahmed, Madiya Humaid, Iman Tarik
Synopsis: SHEIKH, a fake exorcist who recently lost his daughter and with it his trust in God, visits the home of KHALID, a man who claims his wife is possessed by a Djinn. He soon finds out that things are not as they seem.
Dead Winter | United States | 2018 | 16’
Director: Jason Winn
Writer: Allison Hogue
Producer: Allison Hogue
Cast: Yessenia Hernandez, Lainie Smith, Prussia Graul
Synopsis: Audrey, a young woman living in the post-apocalyptic American south, spends every day of her life fighting for the remnants of her family. However, her grandmother wants nothing more than for Audrey to move on and try to have a better life. But, Audrey can’t and won’t imagine any other life for herself. She is focused solely on caring for the only people she has left in the world, which means hunting for food, hauling water, chopping wood — and making difficult decisions. In the end, Audrey is left with only one option to truly care for her family, and she has to take it.
The Care | Russian Federation | 2019 | 21’
Director: Dmitry Fadeiev
Writer: Dmitry Fadeiev
Producers: Dmitry Fadeiev, Ilia Grizenko
Cast: Lisa Varenikova, Nadia Ivchenko, Andrey Tregubov, Evgeny Zhenikhov
Synopsis: Careless and reckless, she has the only chance to prove that she can look after another person, before social services remove her son. To her dismay, this person is completely paralyzed, but can move objects around.
CHICKENS | United States | 2018 | 13’
Director: Bryian Keith Montgomery Jr
Writer: Bryian Keith Montgomery Jr
Producer: Sam Vinal
Synopsis: Two racist cops try to cover up killing an unarmed black teen. Things don’t go as planned…
Seagrass | United States | 2019 | 03’
Director: Dylan Clark
Writer: Dylan Clark
Cast: Charlotte Butcher, Karen Butcher, Georgia Butcher
Synopsis: Picking up trash along the beach, a girl discovers items left behind that become increasingly ominous.
Hello Baby | Hong Kong | 2019 | 25’
Director: Lee Siu Lung
Writer: Lee Siu Lung
Producer: Wa Choi
Cast: Fish Liew, Ngo Ka Nin, Cheung Man Ka, Crystal, Chan Pui I, Natalie
Synopsis: Every mother should be happy while seeing their child in the first eyesight… Crystal is pregnant, and she moves into an old rented apartment. The strange things keep happening since the first day she moves in. Master “Kind Heart” indicates that the last abortion of Crystal causes all of the supernatural events. The Infant Spirit aims to get Crystal and her baby killed. How does Crystal face it as the mother of both unborn children? At last, can her baby survive?
Stop Motion/Time Lapse – Official Selection – June 2019
The Dinner | France | 2019 | 07’
Director: Matthieu Fouquet
Producer: EMCA
Synopsis: They have been together for many years, living as a beautiful couple, but today, love has faded to give way to a terrible and yet classic monotony. One day, she decides to make him react by giving him a very peculiar meal.
The Freeway Man | United States | 2019 | 03’
Director: Paige Hurd
Producer: Sofia Perez
Synopsis: A stop motion film about a demon who feeds off fear running into a kid who’s indifferent to the demon’s scare tactics and is only concerned about his music.
Student Short – Official Selection – June 2019
Tea Time for Lions | United States | 2019 | 20’
Directors: Joel Fleurent, Rob Fleurent
Writers: Joel Fleurent, Rob Fleurent
Producer: Patrick Local
Cast: Cleo Isabella Bowling, McKenna Bintz, Daniel Dennis
Synopsis: The bond of two sisters growing up in an abusive home.
Diary | Republic of Korea | 2019 | 24’
Director: Jaejin Lee
Writer: Jaejin Lee
Producer: Jaejin Lee
Cast: Gunwoo Lee
Synopsis: Gunwoo’s favorite time of the day is when he writes his diary. He tells his diary everything; from trivial thoughts to dirty little secrets. If anyone saw his diary, Gunwoo would want to kill himself out of shame. But one day, the diary got lost…
Bonsai | 2018 | 15’
Director: Sebastian Ortiz Wilkins
Writer: Mara Alvarez
Producer: Robin Macabulos
Cast: Cassandra Naud, Niki Wipf
Synopsis: Bonsai is a story about Frida, a teenager with a head full of leaves, who is deprived and neglected of the nurturing she should be getting. Frida, who was once a joyful teenager becomes a melancholic individual whom is faced with challenges after losing her mother. Frida faces problems in school, with herself, and at home where she is left behind to live under the parenting of her father whom does not support nor appreciate Frida’s passion for music due to the fact that it reminds him of his late wife. We tap into Fridas interior world where in we see her at her most comfortable state. We see her use of music and movement to help her find inner piece amidst the negativity in her exterior world. Paired with a melancholic piano piece, she is able to feel her mother’s love and touch. In here, Frida’s world is much more beautiful.
Carrots | Iceland | 2019 | 15’
Director: Bergur Árnason
Writer: Bergur Árnason
Producer: Laura López
Cast: Sigurður Traustason, Sigríður Láretta Jónsdóttir
Synopsis: Based on the eponymous short story by Haraldur D Thorvaldsson, Siggi, a young man tries to deal with a world where he does not fit in and where everyone around him seem to be obsessed with carrots, forcing them upon him. An analogy that examines his relationship with love, family and isolation.
Say Yes | Sweden | 2018 | 13’
Director: Johan Stavsjö
Writer: Johan Stavsjö
Producers: Johan Stavsjö, Max Thume, Gustav Andersson Lilliehorn
Cast: Emma Melkersson, Fredrik Carlsson, Senait Imbaye, Charlie Petersson
Synopsis: Julia is in love with her best friend Christian. Christian is in love with the single life. A film about the modern day relationship, being young, stupid and daring to say yes to love.
A Divine Life | Germany | 2019 | 20’
Director: Fabio Thieme
Writer: Fabio Thieme
Producer: Fabio Thieme
Cast: Henry Jimenez, Nike Martens, Sofia Loose
Synopsis: After a random near-death experience in his daily berlin life a young man is estranged from himself and his ecstatic surroundings.
