Animation Short – Official Selection – November 2019
Urbanality | Australia | 2019 | 04’
Director: Evan McInnes
Synopsis: The city folk are about to get a wake-up call. But, will they stop and listen? “Urbanality” explores the isolation of our modern environment, the resistance we have to change, and the beauty of going with the flow.
Am I a wolf? | Islamic Republic of Iran | 2018 | 09’
Director: Amir Houshang Moein
Writer: Amir Houshang Moein
Producer: Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children & Young Adults, KANOON, Iran.
Synopsis: Children perform the familiar story of the wolf and yeanlings in school as a puppet theater. The nanny goat in the grief of its yeanlings and the angry wolf in its solitude, face each other. As usual, the wolf defeats, but…
The Superfood Solution | United States | 2019 | 05’
Director: Michele Carter
Writer: Michele Carter
Producer: Michele Carter
Synopsis: A group of friends are offered a scientific solution to their health woes with terrifying results.
Code | United States | 2019 | 04’
Director: Xinyue Song
Synopsis: Technology makes life easier, but not everyone can adapt to it.
Eadem cutis: the same skin | Germany | 2019 | 06’
Director: Nina Hopf
Producer: Nina Hopf
Cast: Nina Hopf
Synopsis: „I just want to be seen as the one I am today“ – In this experimental animated documentary John takes the viewer with him into the world of body and identity.
Ruthless Serafin | United States | 23’
Director: Shayna-Raye Funderburk
Writer: Shayna-Raye Funderburk
Producer: Shayna-Raye Funderburk
Cast: Shayna-Raye Funderburk
Synopsis: A space pirate saves a young man from a group of bandits and takes him on the adventure of a lifetime.
Melted | United States | 2019 | 03’
Director: Shuting Zhong
Writer: Shuting Zhong
Producer: Shuting Zhong
Cast: Ruomiao Li, Minghao Ouyang
Synopsis: A girl recalls her childhood memory about stealing a popsicle from a shop.
Transparent Delusion | United States | 2019 | 05’
Director: Haomin Peng
Cast:Haomin Peng, Siyan Li, Simon Attwood, Kyxus Seward
Synopsis: Animation/video poem “Transparent Delusion” is an attempt to solidify the transient sensation of how the varied locations appear in our dreams could have connections with each other. With a map of our very own dream world, hopefully, we are able to lucidly explore from here to there, from today to yesterday.
Children Short – Official Selection – November 2019
THIS TOWN. THAT FUTURE | India | 2019 | 24’
Director: Thomas John
Writers: Thomas John, Maitri Shah
Producer: Thomas John
Cast: Bhairavi Raichura, Virti Vaghani, Shubhrojyoti Barat
Synopsis: It’s a story of two young sisters who are on a mission to get back to the city they love. Their father gets a job in a small town and moves the base from Mumbai city to a small hill town. A sudden change of lifestyle from fast and interesting city life, to a slow and simple small-town life, gets to them. After a year and a series of events, they finally confront their father for good and demand that they are taken back to their city life. The father tries to explain that life has rules and he cannot just leave his job and move to a city which has an expensive lifestyle. To this, the girls take upon themselves to find ways to get back to Mumbai city without their father’s help and move out of the small town they’re trapped in, which by now has become their enemy NO.1
Mimi Meets Books | Taiwan | 2019 | 07’
Director: Yih-Fen Chou
Writer: Yih-Fen Chou
Producer: Y. C. Chang
Synopsis: Warmly presents how Mimi meets and falls in love with books.
The Elephant of Air | Russian Federation | 2015 | 15’
Director: Alexey Galkin
Writers: Alexey Galkin, Vadim Kuskov
Producers: Vladimir Malyshev, Fedor Popov
Synopsis: In every family there is a place for a great adventure, and our characters are no exception to the rule. Together they find themselves in a parallel fantasy world inhabited by flying hippos and other fantasies.
Imdaad | India | 2019 | 09’
Director: Mohammad Ali Husainy
Writer: Fatema Nafisa Lokhandwala
Producer: Farhina Husainy
Cast: Tisha Si, Tushar Mishra, Moon Moon Si, Shakuntala Singh
Synopsis: Megha is in desperate situation and looking for some help. Would she be comfortable in asking for help from a boy ?
Cazando Gamusinos | Spain | 2019 | 06’
Director: Silvia Mañes Velasco
Writer: Silvia Mañes Velasco
Producer: Máster de Animación UPV
Cast: Gamusino Cazado
Synopsis: Humans possess a totem that gives them control of their imagination. When a gamusino steals Ruben’s totem, his son Hugo goes on a quest and will confront the creature to restore his father’s vitality.
Documentary Short – Official Selection – November 2019
The edge of the world | Russian Federation | 2018 | 20’
Director: Dmitry Stepanov
Writer: Dmitry Stepanov
Producer: Dmitry Stepanov
Cast: Yory Miskimov, Alexander Kurguzov, Alex Miskimov
Synopsis: For thirty years, shoulder to shoulder and spade to spade; the two fellow-gravediggers – Sasha and Yura – have been working together at the town cemetery in Sergiev Posad. One is a former wrestler who gave up sport because of health problems. The other studied to become a physicist in the 1980s but in the end preferred easy money to a career of a scientist. They feel independent and their families are financially secure, which , probably, is their main purpose. Yura is helping his divorced daughter to raise a child. Sasha’s daughter is grown-up ; but he has got a special interest: he works as a wrestling trainer with teenagers. Superman Yura who works without his shirt on even in the winter hopes he will enjoy good health another ten years to help bring up his granddaughter . The former physicist is 63. Sasha is younger than his partner but it’s becoming more and more difficult for him to combine his two jobs. The two friends now have got a new partner – 40 – year old Alexey. He was made bankrupt by his partners. Alexey hopes to earn enough money quickly and leave the cemetery, but it is a well-known fact – “there is nothing more permanent, than something temporary”. This deep sky and this eternal tranquillity brings back J. Brodsky’ s phrase “every grave is the edge of the world”.
THE HUSTLE IS REAL | United States | 2019 | 12’
Director: Thomas B Draudt
Writer: Thomas B Draudt
Producer: Thomas B Draudt
Cast: Jamison Harvey
Synopsis: “It’s like Thelonious Monk said : Do your own thing. In 15, 20 years, people will catch on.” -Jamison Harvey, aka DJ Prestige THE HUSTLE IS REAL is a story about creating your own lane to make money doing what you love and the hustle and grind that goes along with it. “If you have to work, you might as well do what you love” DJ Prestige makes a living as a DJ spinning 7” 45 rpm vinyl records. He’s also a freelance writer, graphic designer, and champion of all things vinyl. “I’m really a working-class DJ” His lane is music that has soul, music that moves you. Funk, jazz, soul, hip hop, latin, disco, and more are what he delivers at his DJ night. Whether it’s in the lobby of the ACE Hotel in NYC, the SHAKE party in Brooklyn, behind the decks at various venues on the beach in Asbury Park, NJ, or as a guest DJ at Boston’s SOULELUJAH, Prestige is known for his impeccable selection that controls the vibe and moves the dance floor.
“90% of what I play people don’t know”, but, they get down and dance anyway because it’s good music. It’s the beat, the sound, the vibe, all from vinyl records collected over many years. “A lot goes into getting these records”
His site, Flea Market Funk, has been keeping people up to date on recent releases, re-issues, and DJ culture via daily reviews and interviews with other DJ’s from around the world for over 12 years. Featuring his on point, honest, writing and visually pleasing graphic design, each feature represents the passion and love of the culture.
“I want to be in control -that’s what’s going to make me stand out. I want to control the name, I want to control the vibe, I want to control the visuals” It’s a full-time job getting the gigs and promoting them, let alone doing the gigs. The hours are crazy and there’s very little downtime. Jamison is swimming against the current every day in a job that’s off the beaten path. But, he’s doing what he loves… “I just wanna evolve as a person and a DJ. And I’m gonna do whatever it takes…and whatever it takes means working harder than the next guy”
…“The Hustle Is Real all the time” A short documentary by THOMAS DRAUDT. Edited by MARK CHESAK Actual Size Productions © 2019
EXPEDITION TO THE PLANET CHAD 4K | Ukraine | 2019 | 05’
Director: Andrii Andreiev
Producer: Andrii Andreiev
Synopsis: Expedition to the Planet Chad – that’s the title that reflects our feelings during the travel right in the heart of Africa, in Chad. Sometimes the mind was blowing away imagining that we were on the another planet, often we were comparing it to Mars. Red bizarre rocks, giant arches, plateaus, dunes… Or even to more remote planet, in the another galaxy with authentic peculiar tribes and their customs. Enchanting beauty of their faces, their style, magic and energy of their night songs. We were realizing how happy we were taking the chance to get in touch with them, still having the possibility to listen to their songs that serve not just for the entertainment, but are the part of the important rituals. Time changes everything.
Campesinos | Australia | 2019 | 10’
Director: Matias Bolla
Producer: Matias Bolla
Synopsis: A glimpse into the secluded lives of Patagonian cowboys (Gauchos) living at the end of the world in isolation.
Experimental Short – Official Selection – November 2019
The Peach was Once a Bitter Almond | United Kingdom | 2019 | 08’
Director: Conor Campbell
Writer: Conor Campbell
Producers: Conor Campbell, Jack Dutton
Cast: Nicci Brighten, Rehao Currivan
Synopsis: Following an 18th century battle, the Wife of a dying soldier must deal with the consequences of his death.
Awareness | Finland | 2019 | 04’
Director: Arttu Nieminen
Writer: Arttu Nieminen
Producer: Arttu Nieminen
Cast: Arttu Nieminen
Synopsis: Neurocinematic dive into surreal prophecy, where awareness of mankind reaches to the heavens.
Currents | Croatia | 2019 | 16’
Director: Katerina Duda
Producers: Tibor Keser, Vanja Jambrović
Synopsis: The plants are the only ones remaining in the vacant business building. In this large and once lavish space, the gardener still maintains the plants, which have become part of its architecture. She sifts through the ones in pots and prepares them for their relocation. The plants which used to reign over this imposing interior in the eighties now construct a new temporality in this building void of people. Apart from the gardener, a single fireman watches over the empty building, doing absurd rounds, and maintaining for no one.
S T O P | Austria | 2019 | 12’
Director: Marieli Froehlich
Writer: Marieli Fröhlich
Producer: Marieli Froehlich
Synopsis: We are all almost uninterruptedly exposed to countless unfiltered events, both near and far. Reflecting this kind of overwhelming situations the idea for STOP came up. The project can be understood as an action of deceleration, a call for slowdown from a state of sensory overload, a flood of stimuli, that consequently leads to a restriction of our original perception. Contemplation or meditation, an exercise that has had its place in all cultures, offers people the opportunity to experience oneness within themselves and further leads to a feeling of unity with their fellow men. Referring to this project, people from all walks of life, of all ages, religions and race from around the world were and are invited, to take on a sort of meditative sleep state without preparation or artificial setting in their personal environment and stand still for a few minutes, allowing me to record them. During their brief pause the world keeps turning and the grass still grows. The participants are turning towards silence experiencing a gentle stillness spreading throughout themselves. The goal of that continuing project is to collect as many people as possible to participate in the experiment. Experiencing the projection of an “entire world” of people in contemplation also creates a feeling of oneness and inclusion for the viewers. Division and prejudice, whether racial, religious, gender, class or political believes, are thus consequently eliminated in this moment.
Fashion Short– Official Selection – November 2019
Brut. | United States | 2019 | 04’
Director: Blackout
Cast: Claudia Marsh
Synopsis: Two opposing forces…The age of technology & brutalism has ended and nature has begun to restore herself. A young woman traverses the lonely landscapes. This is Cara, she is a replicant from the past and is one of the very few things that remain from the old world.
Selene! | Turkey | 2019 | 03’
Director: Dicle Naz Tohumcu
Writer: Dicle Naz Tohumcu
Producers: Dicle Naz Tohumcu, Ozan Bekiroğlu
Cast: Cansu Boz
Synopsis: Selene, the goddess of the moon embraces her love and pain for forever asleep Endymion, near Latmos.
NIGHTFALL | Bulgaria | 2019 | 03’
Director: Yo Vo
Synopsis: Three girls come to life as night falls and artificial light penetrates the darkness.
Mini Video Short– Official Selection – November 2019
HeartFuel |Israel | 2019 | 01’
Director: Serj Maiorov
Writer: Serj Maiorov
Producer: Serj Maiorov
Cast: Serj Maiorov
Synopsis: Kick-starter for bio-mech body parts
Peer | United States | 2019 | 03’
Directors: Shayna Strype , Ada Defriez
Writers: Shayna Strype, Ada Defriez
Producer: Ruth Lichtman
Cast: Kyra Tantao, Emma Wiseman, Rowan Magee , Eleanore Pienta, Kittie Walsh , Matthew Onorato, Michael Halwagy , Matthew Shovlin , Caroyln Kettig, Spencer Lutvak , Dane Manary, Gabe Fine, Alex Mullen, Alex Difiglia, Malina Leslie, Anne Symons
Synopsis: A child imagines the progression and eventual unraveling of her parents’ marriage. Through use of puppetry, movement and humor, this continuous-shot film explores the ways in which society’s prescriptive structures may lead to the eventual corrosion of the structure itself. This film was made with an all female-identified team on a micro-budget. Original music is composed and performed by Grace McLean (Lincoln Center LCT3: In The Green, Broadway: Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812).
Aging Bull | Finland | 2020 | 03’
Directors: Leevi Ikonen, Heikki Ikonen
Writers: Leevi Ikonen, Heikki Ikonen
Producers: Leevi Ikonen, Heikki Ikonen
Cast: Heikki Ikonen, Jan Mäkelä
Synopsis: Aging Bull is a musical sports documentary about a passion that unites two generations.
Music Video – Official Selection – November 2019
Bingen Min | Norway | 2019 | 04
Director: Gianmarco Donaggio
Spend My Dayz | United States | 2019 | 05’
Director: Agni Raj Singh
Writer: Agni Raj Singh
Producers: Agni Raj Singh, Patrick Manning
Synopsis: An impressionistic portrayal of an artist obsessively chasing his vision & inspirations, as he journeys from Los Angeles’s gritty urban jungle to its delicate floral paradises.
Azhar’s Aria | Kazakhstan | 2019 | 05’
Director: Madina Altynbayeva
Writer: Madina Altynbayeva
Producers: Madina Altynbayeva, Zarina Altynbayeva
Cast: Zarina Altynbayeva, Darhan Suleimenov
Synopsis: Zarina Altynbayeva performs “Azhar’s Aria” from the opera “Abai”. This is a story of of pure eternal but forbidden love between Azhar and Aidar. Despite all of the obstacles they faced, with Abai’s help they seemed to stand a chance. This story is from Azhar’s perspective.
Load of Today | France | 2019 | 08’
Director: Romain Picard
Writer: Romain Picard
Cast: Tatiana Picard, Morgann Guimberteau, Vincent Terrier
Synopsis: Our story takes place in 1870, in a small town located in the wild west of the United States. A man just got killed by an unknown person. After this violent event, a young woman seeks revenge against this anonymous murderer. On this journey, she will fall into a never-ending loop of violence, confronting herself and her consciousness.
Dead Horse One – Saudade | Portugal | 2019 | 04’
Director: Pedro Wilde
Writer: Pedro Wilde
Producers: Marisa Lumini, Pedro Wilde
Cast: Carolina Marques
Nope Face | Italy | 2019 | 06’
Director: Antonio Michele Stea
Writer: Antonio Michele Stea
Synopsis: The unworkable gateway and the utopian disclosure of the Greek physis is described by loneliness of «Lavorare stanca» written by Pavese and by De Chirico’s metaphysical squares. «Nope Face» is a screen’s character, is the mask of a tree in an ordinary wood.
POWERSOLO – LONELY GAL | Denmark | 2019 | 03’
Director: Peder Pedersen
Writer: Peder Pedersen
Producers: Peder Pedersen, Bjarke Toft
Cast: Kim Kix, Ida Marie Lebech, Tommy Prang Vonsyld
Synopsis: – A Horror Music Video with a Social Comment
Narrative Short – Official Selection – November 2019
august. september. | Canada | 2019 | 15’
Director: Ludovic Dufresne
Writer: Ludovic Dufresne
Producer: Audrey Fallu
Cast: Daniel D’Amours, Pascale Marineau, Sandrine Bisson, Audrey Fallu
Synopsis: Boris, a meteorology student, has always suffered from a rare condition that condemns him to short-lived relationships with girls.
Wake | Ireland | 2019 | 05’
Director: Katherine Foyle
Writer: Deirdre Sullivan
Producer: Leeona Duff
Cast: Tara Breathnach, Orla Ní Thiobraide
Synopsis: Set in the Galway of today, Wake tells the story of sisters Caitríona (Tara Breathnach) and Mara (Orla Ní Thiobraide). Mara has gone missing and has left a mystery in her wake. Based on the play of the same name by Deirdre Sullivan, first staged by NoRopes Theatre Company in 2019, Wake inhabits the hallucinatory intersection of grief, myth and memory.
Metaphorms | Hungary | 2019 | 12’
Director: Viktoria Szemeredy
Writer: Viktória Szemerédy
Producer: Terez Koncz
Cast: Andrea Petrik, Tamás Keresztes, Eliza Sodró
Synopsis: A psychologist and a painter interpret the works of young autistic people at an exhibition opening. Their conversation seems to target the abstract paintings, however, their real topic is the elusive and constantly changing dynamics of their relationship. While they walk through the gallery, it becomes clear, that they have as many difficulties talking about their feelings, as the artists themselves.
Lycanthropy | United Kingdom | 2019 | 16’
Director: Alexander Black
Writer: Alexander Black
Producers: Tom Vernau, Daniel Peak-Isebor
Cast: Paul Duncan, Stephen Clark, Daniel Knight, Jon McKenna, Laura Bayston
Synopsis: Lycanthropy is a dark investigative thriller short film, which follows detectives Mark Kessler and John Mills, as they search for a missing girl. The story starts in the middle of a crime investigation. We meet the detectives as they wait to search the residence of a key suspect, Mr. Johnson. However, Johnson does not cooperate and as the police don’t find any hard evidence, the case is at a standstill. Kessler is troubled, both in his private and his public life. His vocation has taken a toll and over the years, he lost his family. Yet, he struggles, helpless in the never-ending, unrelenting battle against daily evil. He needs this case, a purpose, and ends up making a decision that changes everything. Chasing through London’s rough underbelly, Kessler has his macabre worldview confirmed and chooses between law and justice, between his partner and his ethos. In the end, it becomes difficult to tell who the real villain is…
Pause | Norway | 2019 | 05’
Director: Christian Søgaard
Writer: Christian Søgaard
Producer: Christian Søgaard
Cast: Espen Krøll
Synopsis: John, a single and alone man, tries to escape his everyday thoughts of depression and restlessness to find a moment of calmness.
Innocent Boy | United States | 2019 | 15’
Director: Brock Cravy
Writer: Brock Cravy
Producer: Deiadra Armstrong
Cast: Unique Jenkins, Kamy Bruder, Michael Vincent Berry, Ian Michaels , Saul Vasquez , Becky Nitscheke
Synopsis: On an unforgiving highway, a group of hustlers, led by a loathsome Madam, prey on the lonely desperados who have come for sex, drugs and Mommas special milk. Penny, a young trans boy in the throws of withdraw, is relentlessly bullied by his brother in trade, but things change when a ruthless cowboy rides into town. As the boys begin to fall one-by-one, Penny is caught between the cowboys’ murderous rage and the greed and corruption that Momma represents.
The tears’ thing | France | 2019 | 25’
Director: Clémence Poésy
Writer: Clémence Poésy ; Eric Forestier
Producer: Nelson Ghrénassia
Cast: India Hair, Sabine Timoteo
Synopsis: Florence is an actress. Preparations for her new role will challenge her in a way she could never have seen coming.
RESURRECTION | France | 2019 | 10’
Director: Sabine Crossen
Writer: Nikos El Greco
Producers: Tim Clayton, Christophe Péchoux, Laurent Klug, Sabine Crossen
Cast: Samy Naceri, Tony Simonneau
Synopsis: Max had everything then he lost his most precious possession and life was no longer worth living. After months of dwelling in the streets an encounter with an odd barman who treats him with kindness changes his look on life.
A High Tide Day | France | 2019 |16’
Director: Timothée Catherine
Writer: Timothée Catherine
Producer: Xavier Lapandry
Cast: Amel Charif, Léa Tissier, Félix Armand
Synopsis: During a weekend beside the sea in Normandy with her partner, Constance has an unsettling meeting with a young woman in a café in the small town of Luc-Sur-Mer. This event, as well as the discovery of a local prophecy, will lead her to enter into a deceptive love triangle.
Ring of Fire | United States | 2018 | 13’
Director: Tracy Kleeman
Writer: Katherine Banos
Producers: Katherine Banos, Madison Tower
Cast: Katherine Banos, Ianna Vasale, Conrad Sundqvist-Olmos, Tom McCafferty, Rufino Romero
Synopsis: Callie puts on her best poker face while she embarks on the run from Los Angeles through the desert, with nothing but her Toyota Solara and a pack of cigarettes. Seeking refuge from the open road, Callie finds herself in a small, local dive bar. Though only a few townie drunks populate the joint, a young woman named Mac mans the bar. Callie recognizes the signs of an abused woman, and the interaction they share forces her to ultimately come to terms with what or whom she is running from. Think THELMA & LOUISE meets GONE GIRL.
Gone with the River | China | 2019 | 27’
Director: Juan Lang
Writer: Juan Lang
Produce: Yao Yao
Cast: Yue Cheng
Synopsis: Fang Fang, a girl from a border town in China, who is about to graduate from a high school, fell in love with the young boy Bro Hao of the town. During her love, she found herself pregnant, and then broke up with Bro Hao. The matter was discovered by the superstitious grandmother and Let Fang Fang make a decision about the baby . The superstitious grandmother dreamed that when the child gave her a dream at the riverside, she was upset and asked the mage to do something about it. Later, Fang Fang discovered a mysterious object by the river.
Ria | Germany | 2019 | 20’
Director: Dennis Baumann
Writer: Dennis Baumann
Producer: Till Helldobler
Cast: Valentina Walde, Tobias Kluckert, Thomas Sturmfels, Lena Biallawons, Simone Ritscher, Erik Schäffler, Luke Neite, Peter Seaton-Clark
Synopsis: WWII through the eyes of a child that has never really seen the war. A fantasy-story, about family, growing up and learning to cope with difficult situations. Little Maria lost her father to the war and her mother to the depression in the late 1940s. The only close relative she has left is her hard-working uncle Philipp. Philipp works in a small newspaper publishing house and writes short stories for the Sunday edition of the local newspaper. One day he finds a short story of his niece between his documents. He first discovers a loving, fairy-tale child story – but as he soon finds out, there is much more to it. The story not only helps him to make one of his best adapted works, but also lets him see what Maria is going through at home. She understands much more than one can believe in a ten-year-old, and knows about the deal what it means to grow up. But more importantly, she is the only one who realizes that the family is more important than anything else – especially in times when everything seems to be lost anyway.
GPS | India | 2019 | 21’
Director: Raghunandan K S
Writers: Raghunandan K S, Sampath Sirimane, Chetan K C, Karthik
Producer: Raghuandan K S
Cast: RAGHUNANDAN KAANADKA
Synopsis: Hectic urban work culture of blue collar jobs such as a Cab driver (Ramesh), has lost his way after dropping a passenger in a remote outskirts of Bangalore. While his wife over the phone asks him to come home but he is more worried of his phone running out of battery charge, and thus reacts roughly to his wife with an unthoughtful statement and asks her to hang up.
SALOON | South Africa | 2019 | 11’
Dayakar Padayacheee
Silo Sithole
Pelisha Somiah, Simon Ratcliffe
Kwenzo Ngcobo, Mbalenhle Mavimbela, Yateen Dayaram, Caitlin Goulding, Vuyo Tshambula
Nkanyamba is a hit-man, in a dystopian Alternative South Africa. He wants the life of a righteous path, and sets off to the safe havens, Saloons, for a drink, only to learn enemies are all around him.
Fine Dying | Turkey | 2019 | 15’
Director: Umut Evirgen
Writer: Umut Evirgen
Producer: Umut Evirgen
Cast: Burak Yamantürk, Hazer Amani, Seda Akman
Synopsis: Chef Arthur, who is very sensitive to nature, is entertaining an important jury for dinner. Arthur who does yoga and kisses his flowers every morning turns into another character when he puts the chef apron on. He turns the kitchen into a battlefield while trying to cook the best food for the juries. There is no trace of this naïve man anymore. Arthur who is not even able to hurt a fly does not keep away from murdering animals and sacrificing anything for flavour when he steps into the kitchen.
‘CRACK IN THE WALL’ | Turkey | 2018 | 15’
Director: HAKAN ÜNAL
Writer: HAKAN ÜNAL
Cast: AZİZ ÇAPKURT, KÜBRA KİP, MUAMMER ÇAĞATAY KESER
Synopsis: Vahit is a religious,night-shift janitor, living alone in a patchy home. One day, he wakes up blood in sweat from an erotic dream and notices the wall where he puts the Koran is cracked.
Cower | United Kingdom | 2019 | 14’
Director: Jo Hewer
Writer: Jo Hewer
Producer: Junny Yap
Cast: Tom Lewin, Maddy Hill
Synopsis: Haunted by their troubled childhood and desperate to reconnect, siblings Benny and Karen become closer than ever. But as past resentments boil over, Benny allows his frustrations to take a dark turn.
Welcome Back Future! | Italy | 2019 | 10’
Director: Alessandro Rocca
Writer: Alessandro Rocca
Producers: Martina Mele, Nicolò Ferrara, Alessandro Rocca
Cast: Roberta Pazi, Sylvain Guey, Andrea Savillo
Synopsis: In the future of the world, there is the Great Recycling: a totalitarian political system that has brought economic revolutions to the Continents. An agent of a French clothing brand goes to a toy store to buy a doll for his daughter.
Short Comedy – Official Selection – November 2019
Short Calf Muscle | Netherlands | 2019 | 13’
Director: Victoria Warmerdam
Writer: Victoria Warmerdam
Producer: Trent
Cast: Henry van Loon, Beppie Melissen, Raymonde de Kuyper, Sieger Sloot, Wieger Windhorst, Bert Hana, Rogier Schippers, Bart Klever, Rein Mulder, Loes Schnepper, Michiel Kerbosch
Synopsis: Short Calf Muscle is an absurdist black comedy about Anders. And Anders is different. But he doesn’t know that. Yes, he’s also gay, but that’s not the point here. There is also this thing that others see but he doesn’t.
New Hire | United States | 2019 | 06’
Director: Ted Marsden
Writers: Cole Hersh , Ted Marsden
Producer: Monica Loomba
Cast: Cole Hersch , Monica Loomba
Synopsis: Hiring your significant other is a bad idea.
Forgive me | Colombia | 2019 | 13’
Director: Gustavo Adolfo Contreras Barranco
Writer: Gustavo Adolfo Contreras Barranco
Producer: Gustavo Adolfo Contreras Barranco
Cast: Mariana Belén , Jorge Cuéllar , Alex Palomino, Diana Hurtado, Wilson Quintero
Synopsis: Renowned medical doctor Julián Mosquera is also known for being unfaithful to his wife Diana. Tired of her lies, she decides on her own to follow him covertly in order to catch him with her lover and put an end to his stormy deception; but like all plans, they are not perfect.
Love T R.I.P. | Italy | 2015 | 18’
Director: Nicolò Montesano
Writers: Nicolò Montesano, Vincenzo Acinapura, Andrea Filardi, Simone Marolda
Producer: Agenzia per la coesione territoriale, Sensi Contemporanei , Regione Basilicata
Cast: Angelo Roberti, Maria Pia Papaleo, Domenico Orlandi, Franco Burgi, Luigi Mitolo, Pierino Carlucci, Enzo Musmanno, Vincenzo Rapisarda, Dario Colacicco
Synopsis: Matera – Maratea : the journey seems impossible for a group of four ” not so young ” from Matera that will face some comic adventures . The film , directed by Nicolò Montesano , tell about the road trip of Carlo, a septuagenarian of Matera , through Basilicata (Italy). In this area with little infrastructure and connections , the time dilate, giving the opportunity to the protagonist to take an inner journey , chasing the woman he is in love.
Short Drama – Official Selection – November 2019
The Hen Man | France | 2019 | 15’
Director: Thiebault Guérin
Producer: Jeanjean Films (indie)
Cast: Jean Lacroix, Meryl Mourey
Synopsis: John has the feeling that he belongs to the poultry world and meticulously crafts himself a hen costume. Marginalised by society but supported by his loving sister he remains true to his vision.
Sea | Ukraine | 2019 | 10’
Director: Aleksandr Fitsay, Ruslan Salivon
Writer: Ruslan Salivon
Producer: Ruslan Salivon
Synopsis: The insolvent father is trying to realize the dream of the child through a series of interweaving.
Adamivna | Ukraine | 2019 | 15’
Director: Olexander Bykov
Writers: Olexander Bykov, Maryna Ponomarenko
Producers: Yuliia Cherniavska, Oleh Scherbyna, Andrii Rizol
Cast: Nataliia Kudriavzeva, Heorhii Leschenko, Kateryna Vyshneva, Olexii Trytenko, Hryhorii Bokovenko
Synopsis: This is a story about an old lonely retired woman,who wills to build friendly relations with surrounding world, which is careless to her private needs, even in her own weird manner. This is a story about an old lonely retired woman,who wills to build friendly relations with surrounding world, which is careless to her private needs, even in her own weird manner.
The coffin | Ukraine | 2019 | 09’
Director: Kadim Tarasov
Writers: Iryna Ischenko, Kadim Tarasov
Producers: Andriy Rizol, Alina Krasnianska
Cast: Oleg Mosiychuk, Maria Hesh, Oksana Teliha, Anna Suranovich, Iurii Tymkovich, Pes Mykhachlych
Synopsis: Ukrainian existential western. Having lost his family, the old Ivan is going mad, he colors his face with paints and puts on a goetic headwear made of feathers, he removes icon from the frame. Ivan builds himself a coffin with his own hands and prepares for meeting with the death. It seems nobody can bring his mind back. An unexpected meeting with a vagabond black dog changes his plans. Looking into the dog’s eyes, Ivan comes round, he realizes that the death has arrived and meets it with dignity. The old man washes the paint off and takes away the headwear, he returns icons to the frames and disassembling the coffin, builds a doghouse for the dog. Ivan dies with a smile on his face.
Colourblind | United Kingdom | 2019 | 08’
Director: The Bashford Twins
Writer: Natasha Rose Mills
Producers: The Bashford Twins, Craig Conway
Cast: Natasha Rose Mills, Tom Benedict Knight, Chelsea Macleod, Abbie Steele, Jill Halfpenny
Synopsis: Based on true events. The story follows Amber’s life falling for the wrong man who manipulates her over the years. From what appears to be a loving relationship quickly unfolds the reality of a victim unable to escape from domestic abuse. Supported by SafeLives charity.
VITTORIA PER TUTTI | Italy | 2019 | 15’
Director: Elia Bei
Writer: Elia Bei, Alessandro Lui
Producer: 8 Production srl
Cast: Alessandro Lui, Federica Sabatini, Sebastiano Gavasso, Alessia Giuliani
Synopsis: Vittoria and Matteo, a young couple in love, are planning their future. The unexpected release of a hard video where the girl betrays Matteo will change their lives forever.
After Anyuta | United Kingdom | 2019 | 10’
Director: Clemy Clarke
Writer: C.C. Kellogg
Producers: Jaclyn Bethany, C.C. Kellogg
Cast: Sophie Mae Reppert, Theo Solomon, Blake Kubena
Synopsis: London, 2019. Anyuta spends the day posing as a life model for both her lover, medical student Steven, and neighboring artist Ferris. A meditation on toxic relationships and agency inspired by Anton Chekhov’s short story Anyuta (1886).
Little Philip’s Birthday | Canada | 2019 | 25’
Director: Hesam Anvari
Writer: Hesam Anvari
Producers: Hesam Anvari, Iman Karbalaeian, Wayne Chung
Cast: Vivian Davidson, Barsam Naemi, Maia rose, Derrick van dyk, Max , Dan Vaida
Three Minutes |2019 | 07’
Director: Victoria Kieburtz
Writer: Victoria Kieburtz
Producers: Gena Felton, Nikki Sherritt
Cast: Telisa Steen, Elena Flory-Barnes
Synopsis: Two women seek the shelter of tea and candid conversation in the wake of a quickly-changing world.
David Monty | India | 2018 | 21’
Director: Saransh Suresh Mohite
Writer: Saransh Mohite
Producer: Saransh Mohite
Cast: Satish Joshi
Synopsis: This is a film about a talkative old man, David and his silent dog, Monty. The man wishes for his dog to talk. The story revolves around what happens when David’s dream comes true
Student Short – Official Selection – November 2019
As Is | United States | 2019 | 19’
Director: Brock Spady
Writer: Brock Spady
Producers: KayDee Kersten, Brock Spady
Cast: Darren Mangler, Nicole Starrett, Joseph Callari, Liz Fenning, Patrick McCarthy
Synopsis: Freddie, a telegram delivery messenger, has no problem telling it like it is, unless it’s about himself. When his self-embellishments get him in over his head with his dream girl, he’s got to come clean and present himself ‘as is’.
JUSTLOVE | Japan | 2019 | 12’
Director: Youma Konishi
Synopsis: Undeniable, fragile, yet strong bond between a single homeless woman and an abandoned gifted boy. Through their peculiar relationship this film looks into what “family” and “love” could mean.
ADNAN Lost in Korea | Japan | 2019 | 11’
Director: Toru Kubota
Writer: Toru Kubota
Producer: Yusaku Kanagawa
Synopsis: Adnan has sought asylum in Jeju Island of South Korea after escaping kidnapping by the Houthis armed group in Yemen. Experiencing an influx of more than 500 Yemeni refugees, some Koreans have raised objections to accept them. Adnan also faced a repercussion from local people, but he has tried hard to bridge the divide between refugees and local residents.
Warm Regards | United States | 2019 | 06’
Director: Daniel Dinh
Synopsis: One cold winter day, a little girl decides to make a new scarf for her friend, the local mailman, but she soon discovers what is truly troubling him deep inside.
Faking Love | Taiwan | 2019 | 03’
Director: Xavia Chen
Synopsis: This animation is discussing about love. Always be a consultant between my friends, I found that people like to complain about their lover, and I can tell from their words that they want the other half changing to their ideal image. I was wondering does the ”ideal love” really exist? Is the prince charming a perfect lover for every girl?
The Picture of Isabel | United States | 2019 | 12’
Director: Shutong Fan
Writer: Natasha Soto-Albors
Producer: Eva Minemar
Cast: Clifton Samuels, Autumn Guzzardi
Synopsis: A divorcing couple encounters a car breakdown on a snowy day, stuck on a mountain road, as their relationship seems to take a nice turn–something weird happened.
Quartz | Lithuania | 2018 | 06’
Director: Odeta Riškutė, Klaudija Matvejevaite
Producer: Urtė Emilė Aškelovičiūtė
Synopsis: Winter in Soviet Lithuanian School. School authorities introduce regular quartz lamp sessions – so that children could receive a missing vitamin D amount. But for the sixth-grader Jokūbas, vitamin D is not important, he cares about a cool classmate, sadly this is a one-sided feeling. During the first quartz lamp session, the boy bravely violates the rules in order to impress his crush.
Sad Girl Weekend | Greece | 2019 | 16’
Director: Dimitris Tsakaleas, Lida
Writers: Dimitris Tsakaleas, Lida Vartioti
Producers: Iro Aidoni, Dimitris Tsakaleas, Maria Laskaridou, Sotiris Petridis
Cast: Elsa Lekakou, Giorgina Liosi, Natasa Exidaveloni
Synopsis: Three best friends are spending their last weekend together, since the two of them are leaving to study abroad. Sooner or later, they realize that goodbyes are hard.
GRENADINE | United States | 2019 | 15’
Director: Corentin Leroux
Writer: Corentin Leroux
Producer: Dimitri Lazarashvili
Cast: Hunter Fisher, Elijah Reyez, Xavier Reyes, Cole Zampas-Klean, Leilene Stewart
Synopsis: How do three brothers change when their parents inexplicably disappear?
LUCE | United States | 2019 | 11’
Director: Ciro Apicella
Producer: Alec Mahon
Synopsis: In a synesthesia of classical music, death and sex, ADRIANO finds love in a time of grief.
Fingers | Israel | 2019 | 12’
Director: Hofit Sigavi
Writer: Hofit Sigavi
Producers: Hofit Sigavi, Oren Sigavi
Synopsis: Tamar is trying on her wedding dress for the last time before her wedding. During the measurement, she discovers that she is unable to open her palms. Will she tell her fiance about or not?
I See in the Dark | Slovenia | 2019 | 17’
Director: Lana Bregar
Writer: Lana Bregar
Producer: mag. Jožica Blatnik
Synopsis: The short documentary shows three individuals, who have lost their sight. Their intimate narrative takes the viewer on a journey to their world and feelings about the loss of vision.
Merry Christmas | China | 2019 | 18’
Director: Yang Kai
Writers: Yang Kai, Wu Tong
Producer: Yang Kai
Cast: Wang Yibin, He Huan, Liu Mingming
Synopsis: Thoughts, like waves, going up and down in every one’s mind. Liu Yue, as a freshman in a professional company, a new comer in the metropolis Shanghai, he feels like he is being carried by huge waves, any decision is forced. However, choose a city, choose a job, choose a way of love, all decisions are made by oneself. Even some of the decisions lead to a single way road, do you really have no choice of being yourself?
Time Sheds No Tears | Canada | 2019 | 17’
Director :Telly Bitsakakis
Writer: Will Moran-MacDonald
Producers: Mengzhu Ni, Wyatt Steacy
Cast: Desmond Langan, Nik V Vasilyev
Synopsis: Rudy, an isolated graphic designer, recounts the final night he spent with his brother Jed before Jed’s sudden passing.
Clean Slate | Israel | 2019 | 09’
Director: Shahar Tenne
Writer: Shahar Tenne
Producer: Jordan Sultana
Cast: Tom Kroszynski, Naama chetrit
Synopsis: Jonathan, an introverted and violent high school student, makes his weekly meeting with Rona, the school’s counselor, but this time the encounter affects the nature of their relationship.
Short Horror – Official Selection – November 2019
DIBBUK | France | 2019 | 30’
Director: Dayan David Oualid
Writer: Dayan D. Oualid
Producer: Trois Jours De Marche
Cast: Dayan D. Oualid, Michaël Charny, Sophie Arama, Dayan D. D. Oualid
Synopsis: Dan, a pious man who lives on the fringe of his community, the Jewish community of the nineteenth district of Paris, is summoned by Sarah to check on her husband Eli, obviously not in its normal state. Dan then unites a “Minyan”, an office with ten people of Israelite confession, to perform an exorcism according to a precise and grueling rite.
Once Upon A Time In…Sai Wan | Hong Kong | 2019 | 23’
Director: Nate Ki
Writer: Nate Ki
Producer: Mani Man
Cast: Raymond Chiu, Wong So Fun, Zeno Koo, Brian Thomas Burrell
Synopsis: In 1989, there were rumors saying money became joss papers when a delivery guy returned to his restaurant after delivering food order to Room 4E of Sau Lai Building which was to be disassembled. Such rumors horrified restaurant staff members nearby as they all afraid that they would receive call from the ghost someday. Shui, who was a staff member from Chiu Fat Restaurant, however, manipulated people’s superstition, claiming that he received order from the ghost. He stole all the money after delivering food orders while replacing the money with joss papers. His boss and colleagues were shocked as they had never thought that their restaurant was chosen and cursed! Shui found that his trick succeed and thus decided to cheat money using the same tactics again and again…
KAREN | United Kingdom | 2019 | 13’
Director: Jake Mann
Writer: Jake Mann
Producer: Jake Mann
Cast: Tilly Vosburgh
Synopsis: Karen seems trapped within her own house. She follows the daily routines of her life with a robotic familiarity, but something isn’t quite right. Is this a woman stuck in a domestic dictatorial regime, or is there a deeper, darker undercurrent to her actions? We discover what Karen is willing to do, to escape the life in which she has become a prisoner…
Short Fantasy/Sci-Fi – Official Selection – November 2019
Love Sleeps in the Last Room | Colombia | 2019 | 16’
Director: Andres Toro
Writer: Andres Toro
Producers: Andres Toro, Ryan Thomas-Sontag
Cast: Geena Meszaros, Robert Leaf
Synopsis: Javier, an 80-year-old writer, walks into a room where an 18-year-old girl lays sleeping on the bed. He calls her Isabella. It is a room he has been in many times but this particular day is the only time he has ever felt sadness in this room. It is his goodbye to his beloved Isabella, to this magical room and to their conversations that led to the discovery of love.
AMARA | United States | 2019 | 04’
Director: Ethan Chancer
Synopsis: “AMARA” is a short film in which the titular protagonist, spurred on by a cataclysmic celestial event, must embark on a pilgrimage through her barren and desolate world. Battling doubt and fear of the unknown, her courage and strength become her only guides on a journey to salvation.
No/Low Budget – Official Selection – November 2019
Mother Stands For Comfort | United States | 2019 | 10’
Directors: Nick Smith, Daphne Lewis
Writers: Lou Columbus, Daphne Lewis, Eric Darnel
Producer: Daphne Lewis
Cast: Steve Aaron, Daphne Lewis, Joseph Corcoran
Synopsis: In the sleepy town of Fogg County. Florida a local sheriff investigates a missing persons report.
Fine Wine | United States | 2019 | 11’
Director: Maria Shamkalian
Writer: Maria Shamkalian
Producers: Maria Shamkalian, Nicholas Shamkalian, Andre Saballette, Ani Smith, John Woods, Lawrence R. Greenberg
Cast: Lauren Kellett, Yolanda Brunner, Kat Michelle Files, Ron Morrison, Matt Tamburri, Denyse Ellington, Nikki Corinne Thomas, Vincent Tumeo, Keith Rogers, Carol Ann Meyer, Julie Stackhouse, Raffaello Perfetto, Nicholas Shamkalian
Synopsis: Fine Wine is a Musical Short Film about the youth of one’s spirit at any age. Nicole, a retirement home nurse, takes a journey down the memory lane of her patrons and starts seeing them as young again. She immerses into the magical world of their past and learns that while bodies might change, passion within lives forever.
Redemption Stage | United States | 2019 | 07’
Director: Seokwhan Stephen Jang
Writer: Seokwhan Stephen Jang
Producer: Seokwhan Stephen Jang
Cast: Micah Yim, Kaylee Lam, Aldrin Pacquiao, Justin Ito
Synopsis: This film tells the story of a young man named Aiden Min, who must find his purpose and drive despite the events that unfold in front of him. He must find his redemption through both a metaphorical and physical “stage”, thus the name, “Redemption Stage.”
Afterglow | Costa Rica | 2019 | 05’
Director: Ariana Bolaños Guevara
Writer: Ariana Bolaños Guevara
Producer: Jose Rodriguez
Synopsis: A pessimistic teenager girl re-encounters with an old friend. This re-encounter result in a life changing experience for her.
