Animation Short – Official Selection – May 2020
Happy Birthday, Grace | Republic of Korea | 2019 | 06’
Directors: Subin Kim, Jihye Lee
Writer: Subin Kim
Producers: Subin Kim, Jihye Lee
Cast: Seul Lee, Juyeung Lee, Subin Kim, Jihye Lee
Synopsis: Grace, the girl who wants her birthday to be celebrated by everyone brings up her courage to attend a party held by Jonathan, the school’s celebrity.
Stick To Manual | United States | 2020 | 08’
Directors: Christian Antonini, Tanice Arnold
Writers: Martin Leon Y Leon, Karen Salzgeber
Producer: UCF SVAD
Synopsis: When a curious robot finds a seemingly worthless book, he discovers that the knowledge within is truly priceless.
White Paradise | Belgium | 2020 | 11’
Director: Xavier istasse
Writer: Xavier istasse
Producer: Xavier istasse
Synopsis: A young boy tell his story – before his dad kill him
Save The Digis | United States | 2020 | 03’
Director: Zi Wang
Writer: Zi Wang
Producer: Zi Wang
Cast: Zi Wang
Synopsis: It’s a satirical digital pets rescue commercial.
Pork Chop | United States | 2020 | 03’
Director: Katherine Guggenberger
Writer: Katherine Guggenberger
Producer: Ringling College of Art and Design
Synopsis: A severed pig’s head becomes conscious, finding himself in a deli shop with a terrifying butcher. In order to escape his predicament, the pig’s head assembles a new body, made out of the parts of other animals he finds in the shop’s meat freezer. After overcoming the butcher with his newfound power, the pig slices off the butcher’s head, takes his human body, and escapes the butcher shop as a pig-human hybrid.
Felt Love | United States | 2020 | 07’
Synopsis: A young boy learns to understand the depth of his mother’s love despite the distance her dedication may create.
Dancer By The Sea | United States | 2019 | 10’
Director: Barbara Mones
Producer: Barbara Mones
Synopsis: An lonely widowed older woman who lives by the sea finds and adopts an abandoned baby otter on her property. The relationship that develops transforms her life.
Long Way Down | United States | 2020 | 02’
Director: Brandon Lopez
Writer: Brandon Lopez
Producer: Brandon Lopez
Synopsis: A round, chunky cat is lazily playing with a squeaky mouse toy on top of a steep staircase. After accidentally nudging the toy, the feline heads down into an inevitable predicament.
Bacterium Delirium | United States | 2020 | 03’
Directors: Fransis Chicote , Nicole Tan
Writers: Fransis Chicote , Nicole Tan
Producer: Ringling College of Art and Design
Cast: Nicole Tan , Fransis Chicote, Kiwon Lee
Synopsis: A comedic tale of two high school lab partners who argue and de-evolve all the way down to bacteria; but will they be able to put their differences aside before their sub-atomic bodies disappear into nothing-ness?
Quarantine | United States | 2020 | 01’
Director: Margarita Mapa
Writer: Margarita Mapa
Producer: Margarita Mapa
Synopsis: The repetition and anxiety of quarantine life (March-May)
Children Short – Official Selection – May 2020
The little thief | United States | 2019 | 04’
Director: Nicole Vanden Broeck
Writer: András Roder
Producer: Jervis Li
Cast: Kue Lawrence
Synopsis: After stealing a bean from a local market, a young boy experiences guilt for the first time.
Doomsday Princess | United States | 2020 | 03’
Director: Alyssa Ragni
Writer: Alyssa Ragni
Producer: Ringling College of Art and Design
Synopsis: As the only human survivor of a radioactive apocalypse, a cheerful young woman sings her way through life, planning a tea party where she hopes she can finally find friendship.
Long Way Down | United States | 2020 | 02’
Director: Brandon Lopez
Writer: Brandon Lopez
Producer: Brandon Lopez
Synopsis: A round, chunky cat is lazily playing with a squeaky mouse toy on top of a steep staircase. After accidentally nudging the toy, the feline heads down into an inevitable predicament.
Joe | United States | 2020 | 06’
Directors: Luke Sarabacha, Benjamin Sarabacha
Writer: Luke Sarabacha
Producers: Luke Sarabacha, Benjamin Sarabacha
Cast: Dane Larson
Synopsis: The story of a children’s writer who’s stuck for an ending.
Documentary Short – Official Selection – May 2020
EDIT AS IF I DISAPPEARED | Russian Federation | 2019 | 16’
Director: Oksana Timchenko
Writer: Oksana Timchenko
Producer: Oksana Timchenko
Synopsis: Sometimes life can only be accepted through death denial. A film about the therapeutic nature of creativity, exploring the extent to which film-making can be a psychotherapeutic practice. Young people get to know each other on a film course, make a documentary about suicide together in search of an answer to the question why life is worth living, and fall in love with each other. Six months later, the guy commits suicide, and the girl tries to make him the protagonist of the film, editing from the periphery of the footage: the moments and phrases captured by the camera – by accident or as a joke.
Fire + Sand | United Kingdom | 02’
Director: Jolyon White
Synopsis: A short glimpse into the art of glassblowing.
WHEN MOM IS GONE | Turkey | 2020 | 29’
Director: Zeynep Gulru Kececiler
Producer: Zeynep Gulru Kececiler
Synopsis: “When Mom is Gone” is the story of a father and his six children trying to hold on to life. Mohammed is left alone with his six children, the oldest of whom is 11 and the youngest is 2, in the mountain village of Sumara, in the city of Bamyan in Afghanistan. 9-year old Masume has quit school and is trying to be a mother to her siblings. 11-year old Jumahan, the eldest son, is working far away from his family. What has happened to leave Mohammed and his children in this condition? Why is Masume taking care of her siblings? Why is Jumahan working as a shepherd at a distant village away from his siblings? Yes, a father and his six little children in Afghanistan have to struggle hard. Filmed in 35 days, the documentary demonstrates the micro-scale reflections of the devastation caused by the war in Afghanistan that has been going on for a decade.
The Last Stand | Spain | 2020 | 20’
Director: Martín D. Guevara
Writers: Martín D. Guevara , Juan I. Malcolm
Producers: Martín D. Guevara, Juan I. Malcolm
Cast: Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo
Synopsis: Marinaleda is no ordinary town. Neither is its mayor, Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo, who managed to stay in power for 40 years, sustained by a social model that is unique in the world. The director and his camera follow the mayor of Marinaleda for three years, generating a total immersion and approach to one of the most spectacular stories of struggle and disappointment of recent decades. A fabulous discovery that will make us think and reflect on the current system.
Experimental Short – Official Selection – May 2020
Iva Bedlam/ Shinner Dogma | Belgium | 2020 | 10’
Director: Luyckx Jonas
Synopsis: During the first week of the great confinement, behind our walls between father and son, we talked about us, family history and these constructions which rise too high not to collapse.
Seedling | India | 2020 | 04’
Director: Nisrin Aziz
Producer: Adil Aziz
Cast: Kannakee Bhuyan
Synopsis: Seedling is an experimental film created and spearheaded by Nisrin Aziz along with collaborators from all over the world. This piece is a non-profit film endeavour that seeks to inspire introspection and a spiritual connection to the natural world, especially for those who have little or no access to greenery and nature in their Covid-19 lockdown scenarios world over.
A Vague Flicker | Germany | 2019 | 30’
Director: Linda Weidmann
Writer: Linda Weidmann
Producer: Linda Weidmann
Synopsis: How close can I get to reveal the infinity of the black pixel? The flickering of vague images that lie in a sudden void? “A Vague Flicker” is a cinematic meditation on disappearance, on the pictorial nothingness from which everything emerges – into which everything returns. About human connections and the search for the similarity between phenomena that are about to vanish. In different chapters the cinematic experiments circle around the Japanese feeling ‘mono no aware’, the sensitivity for the impermanence of existence and yet they come together as a unity in the infinite black of the night sky or the brilliant white of the snow tracks.
Immaturity | United Kingdom | 2020 | 05’
Director: SHINY
Producer: Luana Alb
Cast: Adam Ayadi
Synopsis: After taking his first breath on earth, a man experiences the human plight of maturity. Doomed to live in a constant state of rebirth, he endures infancy, childhood, and adolescence in fast succession, as he fulfils the most human of quests for knowledge. But does man’s pursuit of wisdom kill the inner child?
Mini Short – Official Selection – May 2020
A to Z | United Kingdom | 2020 | 03’
Director: Sara Buccellato
Writer: Sara Buccellato
Synopsis: “If you stop to think about it, you’ll have to admit that all the stories in the world consist essentially of twenty-six letters.” Micheal Ende, The Neverending Story. A to Z is an animated alphabet that contains all the stories ever told and it’s a reflection about the common threads of narration.
Busy Tuesday | Canada | 2019 | 03’
Director: Roger Gariépy
Writer: Roger Gariépy
Producer: Gabrielle Tougas-Fréchette
Cast: Serge Bouchard
Synopsis: In the form of a haiku, Gros mardi (Busy tuesday) is a little poem that celebrates the evanescence of things and… outdoor cardio.
HUGS | United Kingdom | 2020 | 03’
Director: Harry Plowden
Synopsis: A little animation about a world without human touch, made during lockdown.
Eternal Damnation | United States | 2020 | 01’
Director: ENRIQUE CABALLERO
Cast: Birch Davis
Synopsis: One-Minute short of a man trying to escape a vicious cycle.
AQUARIUM | Turkey | 01’
Director: Ekin Sensev
Writer: Ekin Sensev
Cast: Ayşe Nil Sensev, Kaya Sensev
Synopsis: In a dystopia, which all humanity is isolated in their homes, the ship horn heard by a middle-aged couple takes them to different places.
Sleepwalking | United Kingdom | 2020 | 02’
Director: Christopher Haddock
Synopsis: Sleepwalking is a short reflection on adjusting to time spent in isolation. As the world abruptly stopped, lives halted and many of us were left wondering how we pass the hours.
They faced at the bakery… | Russian Federation | 2020 | 03’
Igor Gordin, Svetlana Timofeeva-Letunovskaya
He and she were married for fifteen years and after a divorce didn’t meet for five years hoping to forget each other. But one day they face at the bakery and all bustle of the city becomes secondary to their fond memories of the past.
Exit | United Kingdom | 2020 | 03’
Director: Elodie Chiper
Writers: Jean-Paul Sartre, Elodie Chiper
Producer: Elodie Chiper
Cast: Elodie Chiper
Synopsis: Based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialist play “No Exit”. The short video takes the concept of different types of gaze – the performer’s gaze, the camera’s eye and the spectator – exploring the relationship that is formed between them.
Mobile Short – Official Selection – May 2020
REPRISE | Turkey | 2020 | 02’
Director: Özümcan Akın
Writer: Özümcan Akın
Producers: Sultan Akın, Mücahit Akın
Cast: Ömürcan Akın
Synopsis: A young man quarantined at home alone during the COVID-19 pandemic becomes a prisoner of his own mind.
Kaminda | Netherlands | 2020 | 03’
Director: David van Delden
Writer: Juan-Carlos Goilo
Cast: Zane de Wind, Lucca Elisabeth
Synopsis: A visual poem of a 3-year-old boy’s journey of self-discovery. Kaminda revisits David’s childhood adventures narrated by a young voice in spoken words written by Juan-Carlos Goilo. From the dry northern plains to the atmospheric damp caves, Kaminda takes you through the rustic landscapes of Curaçao with stunningly captured scenes. Hear the primitive sounds of Curaçao’s “Muzik di Zumbi” accompanied by scenes shot under water, on land and in the air. The unpredictability of nature and a 3-year-old boy presented some challenges when shooting certain scenes. But there where also these moments where all I had to do was press record and watch something amazing unfold in front of me. This resulted in a film that resembled the purity of the story. In 2017 I created my first film on an iPhone 6. Since then I’ve been experimenting with mobile film. When shooting on mobile the rules are completely different. This drives me to think outside the box and think of creative ways to capture that epic scene.
Rat. | United Kingdom | 2020 | 02’
Director: Luke Bather
Writer: Luke Bather
Producer: Luke Bather
Cast: Luke Bather
Synopsis: Rat is a very short film about trying to find inner peace at a time of great upset by having a funeral for a dead rat you found on the side of the road.
Fly, Martin | Switzerland | 2020 | 05’
Director: Boyera Louis
Writer: Boyera Louis
Producer: Boyera Louis
Cast: Emma Luna Boyera
Synopsis: A poetic vision of a young women in love with her gone boy friend.
Music Video – Official Selection – May 2020
Bastille, Alessia Cara – Another Place | United Kingdom | 2019 | 04’
Directors: Anna Radchenko, Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux
Producers: Rob Jelley, Nicole Powell
Cast: Dan Smith, Alessia Cara
Synopsis: Another Place is a surrealist music video directed by Anna Radchenko & Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux for English alternative rock band Bastille, featuring Canadian singer, songwriter Alessia Cara. The video sees Bastille frontman Dan Smith as he struggles to keep his home from falling apart. All the while, a giant version of Alessia Cara looks through and taps on the windows sending shockwaves throughout the building. Another Place stands as an evocative representation of a person’s distress caused by a breakup, seeking to keep one’s inner sanctuary intact by shutting off painful memories trying to make their way in.
Forlorn Hope | France | 2020 | 06’
Director: Moreau Pauline
Writers: Moreau Pauline, Poussard Théo
Producers: Moreau Pauline, Virgery Geoffroy
Cast: Vion Padrig, Chauvet Benjamin, N’Ganga Olivia
Synopsis: “Forlorn Hope” sets to music the sad account of a helpless witness to the exponential disasters of his planet. A lament which, through its multiple dimensions: violence, insalubrity, cleavage, utters a desperate cry. If the world is gradually sinking towards its destruction, are we inactive witnesses to an impending climate disaster?
DREZDEN “DAVIDA OLEN” | Belarus | 2020 | 05’
Director: Vladimir Nefedov
Producer: Vladimir Nefedov
KAROLINA PIECHOTA | State of mind | Poland | 2020 | 04’
Director: Marcin Starzecki
Writer: Marcin Starzecki
Producers: Marcin Starzecki, Karolina Piechota
Cast: Karolina Piechota, Juliusz Starzecki
Synopsis: Music video inspired by a Nobel Lecture of Olga Tokarczuk, Nobel Laureate in Literature 2018. “Missing a person means they’re there.” – she wrote. This film is an attempt to interpret the words of Tokarczuk and the bigger story behind this quotation about childhood memories, relations with mother and the need of trying to be a tender narrator.
End Effect – BLACKPITCH | Germany | 2020 | 06’
Director: Karolina Wyrwal
Producer: Karolina Wyrwal
Synopsis: The idea for the video was to create our own artistic document of personal plastic usage. Not a critique as such. More an acknowledgement of how damn useful plastic can be, how beautiful along with how permanent and problematic. We collected all our personal plastic for a 2 month period. We filled a room. It was a massive and sobering amount. We used most of it in the video.
Ill-legitimate’s DOO-WOP | Canada | 2020 | 05’
Director: Filippo Soevv
Writers: Antonio Mammarella, Marco Pistrin
Producers: Antonio Mammarella, Filippo Soevv
Synopsis: An homage to the most iconic mobster movies of all the time directed by the Italian film director Filippo Soevv. The FAMILY of the most notorious crime syndicate meet in an undisclosed location to discuss some serious business. After a lengthy encounter and some very tense moments, the Capo Regimes and The Don head to the East Side of town, later to “Take care of some business” whereby a friggin ‘body (of a rat) disappears in some large river system and THE PACKAGE was successfully transferred to said party. What was in that package?
Narrative Short – Official Selection – May 2020
Manasanamaha | India | 2020 | 00:17’
Director: Deepak
Writer: Deepak
Producers: Shilpa Gajjala, Harikanth Gunamagari
Cast: Viraj Ashwin, Drishika Chander, Valli Raghavender, Prithvi Sharma
Synopsis: A young man muses on the nature of love, recounting three relationships from his past. The girls in his life resemble three different seasons, namely Chaitra (Spring), Varsha (Monsoon) & Seeta (Winter).
The Body | Australia | 2020 | 12’
Director: Adam Weber
Writer: Adam Weber
Producer: Adam Weber
Cast: Anton Schrama, Marc Clement, Tim Hawkins
Synopsis: A hit man and his potential protege are tasked with burying a body in the countryside but the seemingly simple job takes an unexpected turn.
Nox | France | 2018 | 13’
Director: Keyvan Sheikhalishahi
Writer: Keyvan Sheikhalishahi
Producers: Keyvan Sheikhalishahi, Nahid Sheikhalishahi
Cast: Matt Passmore, Brigitte Millar, Agnès Godey
Synopsis: Peter and Claire are two professional burglars on the east coast. On senatorial election night, their mission is to break into a Senator’s villa.
Hermit | United States | 2020 | 15’
Director: Aimiende Negbenebor Sela
Writer: Aimiende Negbenebor Sela
Producers: Aimiende Negbenebor Sela, Ricky Rosario
Cast: Lukas Hassel, Lizinke Kruger
Synopsis: A grieving husband comes to terms with the loss of his wife the only way he knows how, on a night that would have marked their eighteenth year wedding anniversary.
Antagonist | Russian Federation | 2020 | 21’
Directors: Ivan Afanasyev, Anastasiya Ledkova
Writer: Ivan Afanasyev
Producers: Mikhail Afanasyev, Ivan Afanasyev
Cast: Yuri Deinekin, Daria Maximova, Rosa Khayrullina, Kirill Goncharov
Synopsis: Mark works in a movie theater, and he spends his free time trying to become a writer. He is at odds with himself and others: even with his beloved girlfrienh Masha he managed to quarrel. Once, his former soldier’ve come to Mark’s work, and Mark’s long past he clearly doesn’t want to remember have come with him.
Eldorado | Brazil | 2019 | 13’
Director: Cristiano Brant Trindade
Writer: Peele and Yentl Heitor
Producer: Dhalia and Egisto Betti
Cast: Cristiano brant trindade
Synopsis: Refugees in a place outside of urban frequency, a couple lives in search of more property about the time.
Mania | United States | 2020 | 11’
Director: Ron Downes Jr.
Writer: Ron Downes Jr.
Cast: Osaze Akerejah, Akash Jilla, Tori Varlow
Synopsis: When Darius starts seeking help from a new Doctor in hopes of treating his anxiety, he slowly begins to realize things aren’t all as they appear…
Vacancy | United Kingdom | 2020 | 05’
Director: Roy Visualz
Writer: Shakira Meghie
Cast: Jonathan Charles Gabriel
Synopsis: Vacancy “ When an unforeseen Pandemic forces a young man into unemployment and homelessness. He sets out on a search for food, money and answers. Armed with both hope and determination he is quickly hit with a dose of reality, life is no longer offering opportunities. He must face the truth of the uncertainty and panic the virus has left behind 🦠 The only question is ‘What’s Next’
Raspberry | The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia | 2018 | 13’
Director: Anastasija Lazarova Pilling
Writer: Аnastasija Lazarova Pilling
Producer: Nikola Madic
Cast: Ivana Pavlakovikj, Sara Klimoska, Amernis Nokshiqi, Stefan Spasov , Bojan Kirkovski
Synopsis: Andrea is home alone and her best friend Dona comes for a sleepover, determined to go to the party where her crush Viktor will be at. In the club, they see Viktor with another girl and Andrea’s brother. When Dona pushes Andrea to find out from her brother who the girl is, the persuasion puts their friendship to the test.
Abandoned | Denmark | 2020 | 13’
Director: Martin Vrede Nielsen
Writer: Martin Vrede Nielsen
Producers: Martin Vrede Nielsen, Michael Vrede Nielsen
Cast: Martin Geertz, Laila Lund Nielsen, Alva Luna Aaagaard Ege
Synopsis: A bone-weary man is on his way through the forest with his baggage and a mission, but his mind and conscience play tricks on him and make the journey strenuous.
lake on the mountain | Taiwan | 2020 | 21’
Directors: Yu-chen, Kuo
Writers: Yu-chen, Kuo
Producers: Yu-chen, Kuo
Cast: Jan, Chun Wen, Zhu,Zi-Hao , Gao,Teng-Fei
Synopsis: It is a story about the father-son relationships the director experienced in his childhood. Relationships between family are like the mist; one can see it but cannot touch it. Also, it is like a ship that carries memories sailing in the river of life and death.
Swarm | Germany | 2020 | 12’
Director: Stefan Koutzev
Writer: Stefan Koutzev
Producer: Stefan Koutzev
Cast: Janek Heese
Synopsis: Thirteen year old Janek is seduced by the new hype of a trading card game at his school. Wishing for approval, but not being able to afford new cards, he finds a way to harvest attention.
Playback Is A Bitch | United States | 2020 | 20’
Director: Scot Sax
Writers: Benjamin Stranger & Scot Sax
Producer: Leslie Mills
Cast: Cody Brooks, Bee Taylor
Synopsis: What does it take to find sanity in a world gone mad? A fat recording contract with a major label? The love of a good woman? Or maybe just a little wind, enough to get your kite off the ground.
Poser | United States | 2020 | 25’
Director: Nikola Stojkovic
Writer: Nikola Stojkovic
Producer: Matthew A Campbell
Cast: Ryan Satterfeal, Melissa Nelson, Tyler Burke, Angel Pedraza
Synopsis: Is anyone you know not a poser? To caustic tutor Roman, everyone’s a poser giving lip service to causes without doing anything to advance them. But when forced to examine himself, will he pass his own set of rigorous standards, or will he be just another poser, too?
No/Low Budget – Official Selection – May 2020
Parrot | United Kingdom | 2020 | 09’
Director: Alexander Wilks
Writer: Alexander Wilks
Producer: Alexander Wilks
Cast: Jørgen Rudshaug, Emily Taylor
Synopsis: An isolated young woman phones an ex-partner seeking advice and closure.
Derek and his Brick | Jersey | 2020 | 05’
Director: Lee White
Writer: Lee White
Producer: Lee White
Cast: Claire Foy, Lee White, Alethea Steven
Synopsis: A twisted fairy tale with a hint of Edgar Allan Poe and a dash of Edward Gorey featuring the vocal talents of Claire Foy as the narrator. Made during the lockdown of 2020. From the corners of a small room, comes the story of Derek and his Brick. Derek is Isolated and torn between the love of his pigeon and a beautiful damsel. What is a hermit bachelor to do?
Shill | United States | 2020 | 06’
Director: Werner J. Traut
Writer: Werner J. Traut
Producer: Werner J. Traut & Eric Morton
Cast: Michael Doonan, Alex Offenkrantz, Zane Haney, James Jelkin
Synpsis: A local street con-artist recruits a new accomplice into his scheme.
The Odd One Out | United Kingdom | 2020 | 14’
Director: Laura Roklicer
Writer: Laura Roklicer
Producer: Laura Roklicer
Cast: Joe Worthy
Synopsis: Terry is the only one who can see colours in a society of black and white perception. Is he mad or is the society? And how can he ever explain what he is seeing to his beloved Pat? Follow the psychological journey of an odd one out trying to understand his own, as well as the society’s mind.
Showdown | Australia | 2020 | 04’
Director: Sabrina Dervis
Writer: Tonia Stangherlin
Producer: Megan Williams
Cast: Nick Allen-Ducat, Jackson James Kubian
Synopsis: Showdown is a short film about a champion afraid to lose his title. This film was the combined efforts of 30+ filmmakers in the Sunshine Coast and Noosa area, with the focus on capacity building to grow our screen industry locally and shot with zero budget.
Anamorphosis | Germany | 2020 | 09’
Director: Tamara Denic
Writer: Tamara Denic
Producer: Tamara Denic
Cast: Kolya Neukoelln, Jeff Hallman, Katharina Goebel
Synopsis: Yana is in a happy relationship with the man of her dreams. Her love live is perfect – seemingly. The facade begins to, when Yana increasingly crumble discovers strange marks on her body in the mirror.
Flycatcher | Colombia | 2020 | 08’
Director: Guillermo Trujillo accini
Writer: Guillermo Trujillo accini
Producer: Guillermo Trujillo accini
Cast: Gabriella Trujillo, Emma Trujillo, Luis Fernando Jaramillo, Juliana Rios
Synopsis: Three dead birds fall unexpectedly into the garden of Bia’s house while she playing with her sister. Bird-loving Bia, looks for the possible causes of these mysterious deaths. Reasons that could be the harbinger of the arrival at her home could be caused by a deadly virus that has the whole world in lock down and could change their lives forever. This Shortfilm was #filmeathome during the covid 19 pandemic in 2020.
Adventure Brothers | United Kingdom | 2020 | 10’
Directors: Paul Longley, James Longley
Writer: Paul Longley
Producers: Paul Longley, James Longley
Cast: Paul Longley, James Longley, Susan Longley
Synopsis: Paul and James are brothers. They do not get on well with each other. Forced to isolate together during the lockdown of 2020, they struggle to coexist in each other’s company. However, when they discover a sketchbook with unusual powers everything begins to change as a whole world of possibilities presents itself to the pair. Will this discovery bring them closer together? Or will it drive them further apart?
Toothbrush of Death | Germany | 2020 | 08’
Director: Tilman Immisch
Writer: Tilman Immisch
Cast: Tilman Immisch, Idan Weiss, Phillip Draeger, Arian Albrecht, Johannes Hassenstein
Synopsis: Two boys and a promising deal: 2000€ each — for a toothbrush? Sounds too silly to be true.
Short Comedy – Official Selection – May 2020
Across The Room | United States | 2020 | 10’
Director: Mellinda Hensley
Writer: Matt Clifford
Producer: Mellinda Hensley
Cast: Karisa Tate, Zach Tinker, Cait Fairbanks, Tyler Johnson, Christian LeBlanc
Synopsis: When Ben and Alexandria’s first dates go downhill, the two unexpectedly create one of their own.
Walter Kurz | Germany | 2020 | 07’
Director: Melanie Benna
Writer: Melanie Benna
Producer: Stunning Stunts
Cast: Marco Albrecht
Synopsis: Walter Kurz, engineer for airbag folding systems, is on his way home and has to go to the toilet very urgently. His germ phobia only allows him to be at home, so he runs as he can, but realizes at the door that he forgot his key. He tries to break into his own house, the struggle between germination and pressure begins.
Barrel Full of Magic: The Beethoven Story | United States | 2020 | 14’
Director: Alyssa Kurtzman
Writer: A Salao Evan
Producers: Cutler Wattles, A. Salao, Kendrick Alan Reinsch, Alyssa Kurtzman
Cast: Kendrick Alan Reinsch
Synopsis: A documentary on the rise and fall of Blake Caldwell, who purchased and subsequently destroyed the Beethoven franchise in the 1990’s.
The Negotiation | Russian Federation | 2019 | 09’
Director: Anton Shushpan
Writer: Anton Shushpan
Producer: Nathan Mawhinney
Cast: Seth Ervin, Cam Yates, Gerhard van Schalkwyk, Margo, Nathan Mawhinney
Synopsis: A team of Videographers head to meet their potential client, only to find out, like so many before, they don’t understand what it takes.
Jump rope | Norway | 2017 | 14’
Director: Alexander Svanåsbakken
Writer: Alexander Svanåsbakken
Producer: Kim Fjeldberg
Cast: Roger Opdal Paulsen, Mina Marie Dahle, Rose Aker, Henrik Bjelland
Synopsis: A man, desperate for love, lies about being a jumping rope master to a woman he falls in love with in hope that she will also fall in love with him.
Not Your Average Bear | Canada | 2020 | 15’
Director: Cliff Skelton
Writer: Simon Longmore
Producers: Adam Lolacher, Simon Longmore
Cast: Simon Longmore, Mauri Momose, Andrew Ucrianet, JC wendt, Christy Webb Gibson, Lisa Faist, Dominik Longmore, April Telek, Reese Alexander, Kevin O Grady, Adil Zaidi
Synopsis: A daring robbery pulled off by the most unlikely of culprits. What an average man will do when pushed to his limits.
Bacterium Delirium | United States | 2020 | 03’
Directors: Fransis Chicote , Nicole Tan
Writers: Fransis Chicote , Nicole Tan
Producer: Ringling College of Art and Design
Cast: Nicole Tan , Fransis Chicote, Kiwon Lee
Synopsis: A comedic tale of two high school lab partners who argue and de-evolve all the way down to bacteria; but will they be able to put their differences aside before their sub-atomic bodies disappear into nothing-ness?
Adventure Brothers | United Kingdom | 2020-05-19 | 10’
Directors: Paul Longley, James Longley
Writer: Paul Longley
Producers: Paul Longley, James Longley
Cast: Paul Longley, James Longley, Susan Longley
Synopsis: Paul and James are brothers. They do not get on well with each other. Forced to isolate together during the lockdown of 2020, they struggle to coexist in each other’s company. However, when they discover a sketchbook with unusual powers everything begins to change as a whole world of possibilities presents itself to the pair. Will this discovery bring them closer together? Or will it drive them further apart?
Feed the Cat or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Donald Trump | Russian Federation |2019 | 20’
Director: Leonid Gardash
Writer: Marina Sochinskaya
Producer: Anna Sokolova
Cast: Konstantin Makhovikov , Albina Sirchenko , Anna Ukolova , Leonid Gardash Sr.
Synopsis: The protagonist decides to get involved in the adventure to impress the girl. It launches a series of events that reveal the most terrible secrets of all participants of the action. Who will feed the cat? Is Ruslan Migunov really the illegitimate son of the famous penguin trainer Oktyabrina Zinger? And how is Donald Trump involved in this story?
Short Drama – Official Selection – May 2020
Togetherland | United States | 2019 | 14’
Director: Máté Boegi
Writer: Máté Boegi & Árpád Hermán
Producer: Melanie Grams & Kristof Boegi
Director of Photography: Ziryab Ben Brahem
Cast: Robert Brettenaugh, Alexandria Churchwell and Elohim Nycalove
Synopsis: A father’s half-baked plan to reunite his family.
I’ll | Isle of Man | 2020 | 18’
Director: Alex Maxwell
Writer: Alex Maxwell
Producers: Alex Maxwell, Max Phillips, Nathan Little
Cast: Jared More
Synopsis: A young man, Finn, living in isolation on an island with only his dog for company longs for something more. How far will a person go to escape their own personal prison?
DEPENDENCE | Ukraine | 2019 | 15’
Director: Valeriia Khodos
Writer: Valeriia Khodos
Producers: Olesia Korzhenevska, Oleksandr Zinievich, Oleksandr Zinievich, Viktoia Chernobuk, Dmytro Moroz, Illia Pinchuk, Olesia Stefanyuk
Cast: Daria Sokoliuk, Maria Shekhovtsova, Maksym Presich, Nataliya Zavinska, Vikoria Shulga, Anastasiya Nazarenko, Kateryna Babayeva, Rustem Emirsaliyev, Maskym Kasianov
Synopsis: Silent people live in a cold place together. something prevents them from being happy. They would have lived this way for years. But one day the phone rang…
With the Tide | United States | 2020 | 13’
Director: Mitchel Viernes
Writers: Mitchel Viernes, Angie Anderson
Producers: Mitchel Viernes, Angie Anderson, Taiana Tully
Cast: Taiana Tully, Gabe Griebenshaw, Angie Anderson
Synopsis: A young woman spends one final day with the man she loves, and reminisces on the events that brought their lives together.
Champion | Mexico | 2020 | 18’
Director: Oscar Rodriguez Gorriz
Writers: Oscar Rodriguez Gorriz, Miguel Valdez-Lopez
Producer: Ana Medellin
Cast: Miguel Sierra Martínez, Fernanda Arredondo, José Roberto Cáceres, Alejandra Pier Galindo, Federico Gramlinch Pérez, Eugenio Elizondo Chapa, Sergio Quiñones
Synopsis: As a young runner prepares for the big race, the strain from his parents’ push for excellence puts his love of the sport to test.
Echo and Armor | France | 2020 | 15’
Director: Chloe Pinson
Writer: Chloé Pinson
Producers: Anaïs Martin, Morgane Le Moing, Camille Pinson, Pham Phu Vinh, Amélie Pinson, Chloé Pinson, Marc Pinson, Florence Pinson-Ynden, Lauriane Vannier, Pierre Pinson, Odile Pinson, Noëlle Breton, Clément Bonnault, Françoise Pasternack, Cécile Bedel, Viviane Calautti Ivanova
Cast: Léo Chalié, Amandine Bataille
Synopsis: Jade is a young independent Chinese woman who doesn’t cultivate strong ties with her family. She is studying in Paris when her grand-mother dies and she receives a strange box, full of memories from a long forgotten life that will question her beliefs about her family. This film is about family ties and identity, but first and foremost it is about women. The choices, the strength and wounds of three generation, through the trials of time.
Sunshine Periphery | Germany | 2020 | 24’
Director: Eric J. Liddle
Writer: Eric J. Liddle
Producers: Valentina Huber , EE Miller
Cast: Gabriel Tauber, Lary Muller , Matt Greenaway
Synopsis: Jonny wakes in the heat of the desert. The world that surrounds him is strange and utterly unpredictable. Upon encountering this absurdest reality, Jonny meets somewhat familiar strangers, who guide him on an involuntary quest to find meaning, truth and answers to some of life’s most elusive questions. During this journey of self discovery, Jonny is exposed to his weaknesses and reminded of his passions in a chaotic excursion of a world that vaguely resembles California. Beyond the vast deserts, never ending roads and idyllic beaches Jonny must try and evaluate his situation and come to terms with why exactly he is going through this experience.
Summit of Solitude | Austria | 2020 | 33’
Director: Andreas Bacher
Writer: Andreas Bacher
Producer: Juliana Kraushofer
Cast: Hannes Schmid, Wolfgang Hundegger, Gregor Kronthaler, Alfred Kröll
Synopsis: Peter Schweiger lives in Tyrol in 1958 and works as a farmhand on his grandparents’ farm. Like many others at the time Peter smuggles goods across the border into South Tyrol. On one of these tours he is shot by his father who works as a customs officer.
Poser | United States | 2020 | 25’
Director: Nikola Stojkovic
Writer: Nikola Stojkovic
Producer: Matthew A Campbell
Cast: Ryan Satterfeal, Melissa Nelson, Tyler Burke, Angel Pedraza
Synopsis: Is anyone you know not a poser? To caustic tutor Roman, everyone’s a poser giving lip service to causes without doing anything to advance them. But when forced to examine himself, will he pass his own set of rigorous standards, or will he be just another poser, too?
Student Short – Official Selection – May 2020
Røtter | United States | 04’ |
Director: Raven Jackson
Synopsis: Speaking through gesture, a dancer falls back into the land she grew from.
Watermelon | Romania | 2019 | 20’
Director: Vasile Marandici
Writer: Vasile Marandici
Producer: Vasile Marandici
Cast: Adi Dima , Sergiu Voloc
Synopsis: Mihai, a young man from Bucharest, goes to the Republic of Moldova to meet Doina, a girl he met on the internet. At the central railway station in Chisinau, he is met by Stefan, Doina’s brother. Mihai and Ștefan go to Doina but on the way they visit some Ștefan’s friends. Mihai drinks, falls asleep and dreams of Doina.
LOVE | Colombia | 2017 | 10’
Director: Valeria Martínez
Writer: Valeria Martínez
Producer: Anibal Castaño
Cast: Catalina Gonzalez, Carlos Posada
Synopsis: Carla and Marco, naive and dreamy, explore the intense passions and feelings that are produced by being in love, experience new sensations, where nothing is finished or yearned, where all desires are suppressed because they seem infinitely complete; With no more goals than to love, they welcome each other, living idyllic moments, going through everyday places and turning every situation into a space conducive to a loving encounter. The constant desire to love and the deep boredom that is generated from this, will lead them to face their own longings to finally fade the seemingly unshakable bond that united them.
Carnival | United States | 2020 | 04’
Director: Lia Wang
Writer: Lia Wang
Producers: Yue Liu, Jiahao Zhang
Cast: Stacy Chu
Synopsis: A young, visually impaired woman — accompanied only by her guide dog — sits in a café, reading a novel as she waits for the next bus. Suddenly, a pay phone begins to ring loudly outside. Led by her trusty friend, the young woman then experiences something that can only be described as magical.
In My Mind | United States | 2020 | 13’
Director: Daniel Carrai
Writers: Daniel Carrai, Nathan Wyatt
Producers: Marybeth DIngles, Jacob Harding
Cast: Lani Randol, Nathan Wyatt
Synopsis: Emma experiences her relationship in retrospect from a moment of betrayal, questioning how she perceives her position in the world.
Underneath those years | Germany | 2020 | 20’
Director: Alexander Müller
Writer: Alexander Müller
Producer: Alexander Müller
Cast: Florian Günther, Sebastian Kremkow, Rilana Nitsch, Astrid Pollak, Jakob Hippert
Synopsis: After the death of his mother it’s Markus’ duty not only to to clean out her messed up house but also rebuild the relationship with his own son.
Quarantine | United States | 2020 | 01’
Director: Margarita Mapa
Writer: Margarita Mapa
Producer: Margarita Mapa
Synopsis: The repetition and anxiety of quarantine life (March-May)
Toothbrush of Death | Germany | 2020 | 08’
Director: Tilman Immisch
Writer: Tilman Immisch
Cast: Tilman Immisch, Idan Weiss, Phillip Draeger, Arian Albrecht, Johannes Hassenstein
Synopsis: Two boys and a promising deal: 2000€ each — for a toothbrush? Sounds too silly to be true.
Family Story | Indonesia | 2020 | 20’
Director: Rendro Aryo
Writer: Rendro Aryo, Satria Syuhada
Producer: Rio Nandono Baskoro
Cast: Lily Suardi , Hestu Wreda , Damar Rizal Marzuki , Nasywa Syahira Faylasufa
Synopsis: A family faces a new reality about work, home and togetherness. A question for all of us. What does home mean for family? Can family be a home?
Dancer By The Sea | United States | 2019 | 10’
Director: Barbara Mones
Producer: Barbara Mones
Synopsis: An lonely widowed older woman who lives by the sea finds and adopts an abandoned baby otter on her property. The relationship that develops transforms her life.
Feed the Cat or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Donald Trump | Russian Federation |2019 | 20’
Director: Leonid Gardash
Writer: Marina Sochinskaya
Producer: Anna Sokolova
Cast: Konstantin Makhovikov , Albina Sirchenko , Anna Ukolova, Leonid Gardash Sr.
Synopsis: The protagonist decides to get involved in the adventure to impress the girl. It launches a series of events that reveal the most terrible secrets of all participants of the action. Who will feed the cat? Is Ruslan Migunov really the illegitimate son of the famous penguin trainer Oktyabrina Zinger? And how is Donald Trump involved in this story?
Summit of Solitude | Austria | 2020 | 33’
Director: Andreas Bacher
Writer: Andreas Bacher
Producer: Juliana Kraushofer
Cast: Hannes Schmid, Wolfgang Hundegger, Gregor Kronthaler, Alfred Kröll
Synopsis: Peter Schweiger lives in Tyrol in 1958 and works as a farmhand on his grandparents’ farm. Like many others at the time Peter smuggles goods across the border into South Tyrol. On one of these tours he is shot by his father who works as a customs officer.
Short Fantasy/Sci-Fi – Official Selection – May 2020
uTransfer | United States | 2019 | 10’
Director: Giorgio Miraflor
Writer: Giorgio Miraflor
Cast: Giorgio Miraflor, Salmo Miraflor, Bella Mangiafico, AJ Hernandez
Synopsis: uTransfer is a new device that allows for certain U.S. Citizens to transfer their consciousness into a utopia called the New World.
The First Jellyfish | France | 2020 | 20’
Director: Sébastien Pesle
Writer: Sébastien Pesle
Producer: Alexis Garin
Cast: Pascal Voglimacci, Oumar Diolo, Benjamin Passedouet, Aurélien Péroumal
Synopsis: In a world under the dominion of pharmaceutical lobby, a man tries to get him off a dangerous mutagenic drug by concluding a deal with a mysterious guru…
The Caretaker | United States | 2020 | 27’
Director: Aman Adlakha
Writer: Aman Adlakha
Producer: Aman Adlakha
Cast: Christopher Parks, Carson Grant, Ivy Paige, Rob Fabiani, Bill J. Stevens
Synopsis: A struggling caretaker & disillusioned father finds himself entangled in a twisted series of events that lead him and his daughter into the realms of a dark fairytale.
Afasia | Italy | 2020 | 13’
Director: Fabrizio Cassandro
Writers: Francesco Ferraris, Fabrizio Cassandro
Producer: Rosario Isabel Rauber Mendoza
Cast: Francesco Savarino, Letizia Rivera
Synopsis: Afasia is the story of the growth of the love story between Max, a street musician, and Agathe, in a dystopian future in which words have become a consumer good and each has a counter that marks how many are left: Agathe has many and Max few. Through past and present the signs of this obstacle between them increase and the protagonist decides to ask the young girlfriend to marry him, but – having realized the impossibility of giving her what she deserves – she changes her mind and says goodbye. She is unwilling to accept it without fighting.
The fever | Spain | 2019 | 19’
Director: José María Flores
Writer: Miranda
Producer: Jose María Flores
Cast: Luisa Bellido,Alberto Sarmiento,Isabel Castro
Synopsis: In the doctor´s waiting room, all patients are quietly keeping their secrets.There, surrounded by whispers, a magical love story is born between HE: A patient tired of being quiet, and SHE: The nurse on the sign reminding: “Quiet please”.
Short Horror – Official Selection – May 2020
A Wild World | Spain | 2019 | 20’
Directors: Rodrigo E. Marini Valsechi,David Santamaría González
Writers: David Santamaría González,Rodrigo E. Marini Valsechi
Producer: David Santamaría
Cast: González,Rodrigo E. Marini Valsechi
Synopsis: The Saint, a gangster from Madrid’s underworld, is obsessed with the pursuit of loyalty. His favorite hitman Dante, his trusty cook Benigna, and his unconditional Evaristo, a lackluster torturer, according to his closest environment. Kira, an enigmatic woman with a desire for revenge, unleashes in him the hatreds of a past he believed buried.
A Stroke of Luck | Argentina | 2019 | 13’
Director: Antonia Baudouin
Writer: Antonia Baudouin
Producer: Facundo Vanolli y Facundo Olmedo
Synopsis: Martin is a young traveler that wins a bet in a pool game. His prize is a night in a hotel, so he won’t need to sleep in his shitty car this time. Little does he know his luck’s about to change when he meets a mysterious woman in the ancient hotel.
Be Careful What You Say | Turkey | 2020 | 15’
Director: Buğra Mert Alkayalar
Writer: Buğra Mert Alkayalar
Producers: İrem İskenderoğlu, Buğra Mert Alkayalar
Cast: Atakan Yalçı, Işıl Yılmaz, Serhat Onbul, Barış Günaydın
Synopsis: Sometimes, human life can change with a tiny word. A dubbing artist does not pay attention to what he says in the studio at midnight, and the ancient one wakes up. He will find himself in great horror.
