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NOVEMBER 2021 NOMINEES

Animation Short – Official Selection – November 2021

Pottero | United States | 2020 | 10’
Director: Lindsey Martin
Writer: Lindsey Martin
Producer: Lindsey Martin
Synopsis: Pottero is a 10 minute, animated film based on family folklore and issues surrounding mental health, accessible healthcare and social mobility.

GAME | Turkey | 2021 | 05’
Director: Önder MENKEN
Writer: Önder MENKEN
Producer: Önder MENKEN
Synopsis: Dünya üzerinde oynanan oyunların, insanlığın geleceğini karanlıkta bıraktığını anlatan bir hikaye. A story about the games played around the world, leaving the future of humanity in the dark.

The Exortwist | United States | 2021 | 03’
Directors: Loren Baskin Almazan, Laura Koval
Writers: Loren Baskin Almazan, Laura Koval
Producer: Ringling College of Art and Design
Cast: Jordan Haro, Nicole Kurdziel, Sami Martinez
Stnopsis: When a concerned mother notices her daughter exhibiting some strange, healthy behavior she decides to seek out the help from the priest Mr. Holybar.

Sticks and Stones | United States | 2021 | 04’
Directors: Cynthia N White, Alexander S White
Writers: Tara Caimi, William Doan
Producer: Cynthia N White
Cast: William Doan, Leo N Rubenson
Synopsis: A man sorts through the debris of his childhood, seeking help to untangle the differences between his own anxiety and depression, and the impact of toxic masculinity.

A Night at the Cemetery | Greece | 2021 | 12’
Director: Stelios Polychronakis
Writer: Stelios Polychronakis
Producer: Konstantinos Vassilaros
Synopsis: In the Mediterranean island of Crete, Maria heads to the cemetery every Friday to tend her beloved husband’s grave. When the bus that picks her up breaks down, she will be forced to spend the night among the tombstones.

Fallen Angle | France | 2020 | 05’
Director: Yann Lagoutte
Synopsis; An experimental animated metaphor about Stained Glass and Birth

There is exactly enough time | Austria | 2021 | 03’
Director: Oskar Salomonowitz
Writer: Virgil Widrich
Producer: Virgil Widrich
Synopsis: Oskar Salomonowitz, the 12-year-old son of filmmakers Anja Salomonowitz and Virgil Widrich, had drawn 206 frames of a flip book when he died in an accident. Using the remaining blank sheets, his father continued drawing the film.

Commercial/Ad/TVC – Official Selection – November 2021

“Zebra” | United Kingdom | 2021 | 01’
Director: Emanuele Di Bacco
Writer: Emanuele Angeloni
Producer: Emanuele Angeloni

Tale of the American Dream | United States | 03’
Director: Stanislav Puzdriak
Producer: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mrprid/tale-of-the-american-dream-documentary Puzdriak
Synopsis: American Dream is the freedom all immigrants dream about. But does it still exist and did it exist at all? We’re going to find it out.

Debut – Official Selection – November 2021

Thank You for Nothing | United States | 2021 | 13’
Director: Thomas Desimone
Writers: Thomas Desimone, Shannon Smith
Producers: Dani Bauer, Josh Curry, Thomas Desimone, Shannon Smith
Cast: Daniela Lewkowicz
Synopsis: While suffering from a severe anxiety attack, a young woman attempts to escape the hellish landscape of her mind.

Gigantic Fluctuation | Russian Federation | 2021 | 17’
Director: Max Karpylev
Writers: Alexey Kazakov, Tatyana Mitushova, Max Karpylev
Producer: Artem Sviryakov
Cast: Vsevolod Kuznetsov, Vladislav Schevchuk, Pavel Polyakov
Synopsis: The captain of the robotics club doubts he can win the competition. Zhilin, the curator of the club, wants to help the boy believe in himself and invites him on a fishing trip. There he talks about a meeting with a strange man that happened to him in his youth.

ALEXIS | United States | 2021 | 27’
Director: Renata Mellão
Writer: Renata Mellão
Producers: Renata Mellão, Lucio Gallo
Cast: Briana Marin, Erik Marmo, Renata Zhigulina, Brittany Lewis, Jae Kim, Barbara Keegan
Synopsis: A woman finds herself uncontrollably weaving between three parallel lives, and must find out why this is happening and how to stop it before she loses her mind. ALEXIS is an exploration of identity and resilience, and what it means to fully be “oneself”. Alexis, a woman in her 30s, wakes up floating near-naked in a natural pool in the middle of nowhere. She walks in a fog until she comes across an old friend, then a lover, who jolt her memory. But just as she thinks she’s sure of who and where she is, she jumps into an entirely different life. And then she jumps again… As she tries to make sense of these three very different lives with her enigmatic therapist, she’s hounded by strange sounds and images that begin to fracture her sense of self and reality.

Primal Therapy | Finland | 2021 | 20’
Director: Santtu Salminen
Writer: Santtu Salminen
Producer: Elisabeth Maria Keinänen
Cast: Eppu Salminen, Emil Kihlström, Hannes Suominen
Synopsis: A middle-aged man on the verge of a burnout seeks new energy through a very special form of self help therapy.

Documentary Short – Official Selection – November 2021

The Advocate | Switzerland | 2021 | 12’
Directors: UNHCR, David Alexander
Producer: Warda AlJawahiry
Synopsis: Asylum-seekers face increasing violence at the borders as they try to enter Europe. One human rights lawyer in Serbia advocates on their behalf.

Lost Time | United Kingdom | 2021 | 13’
Director: Jack Montgomery Baxter Chapman
Producers: Jack Montgomery Baxter Chapman, Marco Eisenbarth
Cast: John Adams
Synopsis: When his wife dies, a 92 year old’s saving grace is the brotherhood of his local bowls club, which is forced to close during the pandemic

DRNISKI PRSUT | Australia | 2021 | 27’
Director: Tony Marin
Synopsis: Against the backdrop of a medieval Croatian village unfolds the story of Drniski Prsut, a world renowned prosciutto produced from locally raised and fed stock and cured using a centuries old recipe. Drniski Prsut tells the history of this picturesque town through its people and their relationship to this famed delicacy; from the unique micro-climate which provides the drying conditions essential for its legendary aroma, to the political and cultural influences which have shaped its flavour and reputation.

Mini Short – Official Selection – November 2021

Whiteout | Luxembourg | 2021 | 04’
Director: Fabien Spaus
Writer: Alexandra Kurt
Producer: Christophe Schammel
Cast: Fabio Godinho, Louise Gras
Synopsis: After a tragic stroke of fate, Stella wages an emotional battle with the past.

Giselle | United States | 2021 | 02’
Director: EMMANUEL SHIU
Writer: EMMANUEL SHIU
Synopsis: I never had closure with my mother, I literally did not have a chance to say goodbye. So this short film became my closure , a way for me to say my last goodbye. I am so glad to be able to share this with you all and for anyone who’s lost someone , this is for you.

The Cut | Canada | 2021 | 03’
Director: Andrea Marcelino
Writer: Andrea Marcelino
Producers: Andrea Marcelino, Katie Meyer, Joanne McConnell
Cast: Nyda Kwasowsky , Sydney Nicole Herauf
Synopsis: The Cut visually explores the emotional intricacies of ending a relationship through dance and physical movement. Experimenting with the use of materials, space, and sound, the film is told through a sensorial visual lens. The discordant sound design intentionally creates prickling tension between the two characters. Artist and dancer Nyda Kwasowsky and actor Sydney Nicole Herauf collaboratively play the two characters. The film also features an art piece contribution by Katie Kotler, also known as Chanteclair, namely a deconstructed symbolic altar to their friendship. The project brings together creative female collaborators with the aim of exploring artistic skills in tackling the unspoken subject of cutting relational ties.

The Devil’s Avocado | Italy | 2021 | 03’
Director: Edoardo De Luca
Writer: Riccardo Galla
Cast: Tommaso Dugato, Riccardo Galla, Rebecca Ferron
Synopsis: Do you know how many kilometers your avocados have to travel to reach your table? Your environmental impact while buying them? Or even how much water is needed for an avocado toast? We realized that we tend to take care of problems as long as they are covered by medias; then we forget them. This movie looks at a crucial ethical problem that’s close to us all, in a comical way.

The Human Child | Russian Federation | 2021 | 04’
Director: Lika Nadir
Synopsis: Our life balances between internal freedom and belonging to others. The inner measure of truth never lies, like the human body. Try to live your life so as to penetrate through it the truth for those who will come to this world after you.

When the Bough Breaks | Canada | 2021 | 02’
Director: DC Brandon
Writer: DC Brandon
Cast: Taresa H
Synopsis: A love letter from daughter to father as she spreads her wings and leaves home.

Return / Revive | Germany | 2021 | 02’
Director: Lasse Buchhop
Writer: Lasse Buchhop
Producer: Lasse Buchhop
Cast: Varusa Misidjan, Siniša Lujic
Synopsis: A couple finds themselves lost in the woods after a car crash called society. Together they gain the strength to finally see each other again.

Be certain | Germany | 2021 | 01’
Director: Lasse Buchhop
Writers: Lasse Buchhop, Lara Nadler, Leif Kolbow
Producer: Lasse Buchhop
Cast: Kim Biebow, Adrian “Pano” Maier, Carlotta Bauer, Nadja Laura Mijthab, Ariane Reisenweber, Simeon Dill
Synopsis: No matter who you are, what situation you´re in or your plans for the future, when it comes to pregnancy, you want to be certain. With this independent work we want to spotlight situations that are often ignored by the clichés of advertisement.

Pumpkin Boy | United States | 2021 | 02’
Director: Trent Shy
Writer: Trent Shy
Cast: Nick Shy, Jack Shy, Timo Shy
Synopsis: This Halloween… he’s born.

Music Video – Official Selection – November 2021

Ma va a finire che | Italy | 2021 | 05’
Director: Raffaele Matrone
Writer: Raffaele Matrone
Producers: Alessandro Raimondo, Raffaele Matrone
Synopsis: Ma va a finire che – Il Disordine delle Cose A couple who travels the roads of life and in one day lives a lifelong love.

Love to lose | Sweden | 2021 | 04’
Director: Paul Jerndal
Writer: Paul Jerndal
Cast: Sandro Cavazza, Georgia Ku
Synopsis: Swedish singer-songwriter Sandro Cavazza teamed up with Los Angeles-based British singer-songwriter Georgia Ku to release a new song “Love To Lose”. The accompanying music video is directed by the Swedish film director Paul Jerndal. The award-winning creator with a passion for emotional story telling came up with a bold idea for the video. I wanted to create a concept of authenticity, to enhance the emotional vibe in a simple but real dialogue. Let´s do this like drama conversation with a metaphorical twist – the colors. Every conflict has more than one perspective and the contrasting colors is our way to give the audience a reality check – your own perspective might feel 100% clear and obvious but is it maybe because you tend to only see your side, your color, of it? Hopefully the video can contribute, so people start reflecting a bit more about the perspective of others.

Night Wolf | 2021 | 07’
Director: Joseph Robert Redl
Writer: Joseph Robert Redl
Producer: Michael Joel
Synopsis: Adrian gives in to desire for a single night, only to confront the repercussions as the day breaks.

Narrative Short – Official Selection – November 2021

From Here to Here | Bulgaria | 2021 | 16’
Director: Georgi Martev
Writers: Georgi Martev, Nikola Milenkov
Producers: Georgi Martev, Nikola Milenkov, with the support of National Cultural Fund
Cast: Dimitar Nikolov, Valentin Tanev, Kitodar Todorov, Tigran Torosyan, Pavlin Petrunov, Stefka Yanorova
Synopsis: In the midst of his crumbling reality, Yavor, the youngest inhabitant of a small Bulgarian village, dreams of another world – a world of possibilities.

The Wheel | Turkey | 2021 | 14’
Director: Metîn EWR
Writer: Metin EWR
Producer: Zal prodüksiyon
Cast: Emin Güngörmüş
Synopsis: In Diyarbakir, which was the “Emergency State Region” in the 1990s, some newspapers were not allowed into the region although they were legal. Çerx witnesses the conditions under which these newspapers, which are secretly distributed to the readers by children like Bawer and Hebun, who are in the distributor group, and what the distributors encounter.

The Leap | Lebanon | 2021 | 09’
Director: Mounir Al Serawan
Writer: Mounir Al Serawan
Producer: Yasmine El Jurdi
Cast: Ryan Stefan
Synopsis: In an Arab society where everyone is seeking to become a doctor or a lawyer, RAED is willing to stand against the traditions of the society to follow his passion for Classical Ballet dancing. “The Leap” is a short film inspired by a true story. It’s the story of every human of the pressure we experience, the struggles we face, and our silence that we let go of through nature and art. It’s the story of how we escape outer battles through our inner strengths, spiritual beliefs, and inner peace. The film reflects every artist’s struggle to freely create their art beyond the restrictions of the stereotypical Arab norms and traditions. How can we escape the social barriers to find our way to freedom? Does anyone know who we truly are from the inside or are we just mirror reflections?

Trigger | United Kingdom | 2021 | 10’
Director: Renzo Vasquez
Writer: Renzo Vasquez
Producers: Paul Coward, Adriana Rouanet, Milan Krsljanin, Amy-Jo Bryant
Cast: Mia Lacostena, Kit Reeve, Jamie Hawes
Synopsis: It’s a rainy night out in East London, Claire and Hannah hail a black cab and climb in. The driver, Mick, navigates through the wet streets of the city, glancing back in his rear-view mirror at the girls in his cab. They sit in uncomfortable silence. There is a strange mood in the air. Claire glances down and spots a bag neither of them had noticed when they climbed in and is shocked to discover what’s inside. The girls argue about what to do with the contents in hushed terms, anxious to keep their find a secret from the driver. He attempts to make casual conversation until registering something’s not right. Hannah doesn’t agree with Claire’s suggestion to go to the police. Claire is focused on karma, Hannah on luck. “Who do you think goes round with a bag like this?” Hannah quips. “A nice person?”. The cab draws to an abrupt halt, but the journey accelerates as Mick confronts the girls and we find out just how far they are willing to go to achieve their own goals. The question is… how far is too far?

Veral | United States | 2022 | 19’
Director: Erin Lane Harper
Writer: Erin Lane Harper
Producer: Adam Benn
Cast: Eric Gilde, Isabel Lysiak
Synopsis: Haze, “big-city” newspaperman, searches the High Plains for a “country-flavor” story for the Post. The urban/rural divide is palpable the moment he arrives. Is understanding possible between city slickers and this reclusive community? His search leads him to the Veral “Wax” Museum, presided over by solitary teen Alicia. The basement houses the town’s mummified dead, preserved through her forebears’ formula, dating from the Homestead Act. Alone in this stark tomb, Alicia seeks to transfigure the irrevocable law of life and death while Haze’s deadline hangs in the balance.

Eunuch | Mexico | 2021 | 08’
Director: Félix Gómez Amaya
Writer: Félix Gómez Amaya
Producers: Miren Arnoldi, Andrea Ibarra
Cast: Iktan Salvador, Marives Villalobos
Synopsis: A young orphan wakes up in the middle of the night after wetting his bed. He’ll spend the rest of the day attempting to amend his supposed sin.

Outside The Consulting Room | China | 2021 | 08’
Director: Fangming Liu
Writer: Fangming Liu
Producer: Fanling Han
Cast: Jingting Li, Wanlushan Zhao
Synopsis: Li Qi’s father was a doctor who died fighting the Covid-19. After the epidemic, Li Qi takes her sick mother to the hospital where her father had worked and accidentally gets a box of his father’s relics. She has a conversation with the person sitting next to her outside the consulting room.

The Black Veil | Qatar | 2020 | 17’
Director: A.J. Al-Thani
Writer: A.J. Al-Thani
Producer: Vibhav Gautam
Cast: Sana Al Habib, Ahmed Al-Nowfal Al-Tamimi
Synopsis: Reem, a young Iraqi woman, escapes her home in the middle of the night. She lives in Mosul after being forced to marry an ISIS soldier. Reem finds help in a taxi driver named Ahmed to help her escape Mosul and find her family again.

HABITAT | Spain | 2021 | 11’
Director: JAIME A. CALACHI
Writer: JAVIER HUESA
Cast: BALBINO LACOSTA, ITZIAR CASTRO, CANDELA LIU
Synopsis: In a dead-end room lives a slave of the system, addicted to the computer mouse and a reality show that never ends. Obsessed with an illusion, his dream is to go to the paradise that he has seen in a TV commercial…with just a flick of a finger.

Clover | United States | 2021 | 13’
Director: Jonathan D’Rozario
Writer: Jonathan D’Rozario
Producers: Jonathan D’Rozario, William Chiriboga
Cast: Jonathan D’Rozario, Emile Ravenet
Synopsis: Jon has something important he needs to say to Sam. He just isn’t quite sure what that is yet. As he reminisces, daydreams, and contemplates the possibilities, Jon will have to find the to truth of how he feels, and the words to say it.

Temple | United Kingdom | 2021 | 18’
Director: Nick Virk
Writer: Nick Virk
Producers: Neeraj Churi, Nick Virk
Cast: Gavi Singh Chera, Kush Khanna
Synopsis: Rehal’s love for Arul is unreciprocated, but Arul believes they can still be friends. One morning over breakfast, the two discuss finding acceptance as brown queer Londoners. They share a cultural understanding of being ostracised by the white heteronormativity of British society, and yet there is a fundamental difference between them. Rehal’s gender non-conformity leads to a conflict between their non-binary authentic self and a pressure to conform – a situation that Arul as a cis man, fails to understand. They desire to be understood by each other, but in trying to accept each other, their co-dependency leads to toxicity that inevitably erupts. Words are exchanged, some kind, some hurtful. The two realize that in order to heal and grow, they must move away from one another, but in doing so, they seek to lose the one person who might understand them. They learn that acceptance comes from within, not each other.

Everything Will Be Fine | Belgium | 2021 | 21’
Director: Joachim Dejonghe
Writers: Joachim Dejonghe, Jean Ryckebosch
Producer: Pieter De Saeger
Cast: Joke Devynck, Isabelle Van Hecke, Els Deceukelier, Jessa Wildemeersch, Vera Van Dooren
Synopsis :A single mum, trying to make ends meet, is faced with a dilemma due to very peculiar job cuts at work.

When Autumn Leaves | Israel | 2020 | 20’
Director: Rachel Gawie
Writer: Iris Lia Sofer
Producers: Iris Lia Sofer, Matias Jimenez Nayblat, Rachel Gawie
Cast: Iris Lia Sofer, Noga Hanuka, Matias Jimenez Nayblat, Ifat Maor, Michal Atlas, Shlomi Golan, Pazit Yaron Minkowski
Synopsis: A relationship is formed between Olive, A medical clown at Tel Hashomer hospital, And Talia, 13, a rebel teenager who is newly admitted to the Oncology department. She accompanies Talia from the first day of her hospitalization to her departure from the hospital. The girl’s main target is to Find a groom for the clown and that helps her to deal with her treatments. The bond is tightened between the clown and the girl and her family, and along with that, the doctor who is treating the girl who initially did not like that the clown is around, starts to look at the her in a different way.

Bullmastiff | Ukraine | 2020 | 25’
Director: Anastasiia Bukovska
Writers: Klaus Ivanov, Vlad Ned, Anastasiia Bukovska, Volodymyr Gromov
Producers: Anastasiia Bukovska, Danylo Kaptiukh, Maxim Usyk
Cast: Evgenii Lamakh, Nina Antonova, Oleksii Gorbunov, Marc Raymond Wilkins
Synopsis: Mitya is a war veteran trying to get back to normal. Suddenly, he meets Roy, a lost bullmastiff who becomes quite fond of him. At first, the relations are difficult, but eventually, Roy will be the one to help Mitya cope with his difficult past.

No/Low Budget – Official Selection – November 2021

Last breath | France | 2021 | 21’
Director: Alan Scaviner
Writer: Alan Scaviner
Producer: Corto Lassus dit Layus
Synopsis: Two lonesome kids met one day on a parklot. Together they will leave their childhood abandonned city.

Asile | Finland | 2021 | 06’
Director: Kristian Pekkala
Writer: Kristian Pekkala
Producer: Kristian Pekkala
Cast: Chloé Lillas, Aleksi Nurminen
Synopsis: Young French woman running away, finds a refugee in a unexpected place. This short film was written and shot as a part of 48h film challenge

Bye Bye Buddy | United States | 2021 | 15’
Director: Dylan Trupiano
Writers: Nir Liebenthal, Noah Edward Morse, Jeremy Roth-Rose, Dylan Trupiano
Producers: Nir Liebenthal, Noah Morse, Dylan Trupiano, Jeremy Roth-Rose
Cast: Noah Morse, Jeremy Roth-Rose, Robert Capron, Nir Liebenthal, Sarah Shtern
Synopsis: A group of friends convene in the desert for an annual ceremony ranking the performances of each friend over the last year.

Gemma’s War | United Kingdom | 2021 | 19’
Director: Julian Austwick
Writer: Anthony Etherington
Producer: Anthony Etherington
Cast: Fiona Dunn, Wil Neale
Synopsis: Gemma ‘Lucky’ Jameson, a Lance-Bombardier in The Royal Artillery, has recently left the army but is struggling to adjust to civilian life. Haunted by memories of her last tour of duty in Afghanistan, Gemma grieves for those she knew who were killed or seriously wounded. Determined to put on a brave face she suffers in silence but her husband, Paul, knows that all is not well and tries to persuade her to seek help…And then a call from an old buddy changes everything.

My Best Friend Caroline | United States | 2021 | 05’
Director: Sarah Corean
Writer: Sarah Corean
Producers: Ethan Marler, Sarah Corean
Cast: Hannah McCarthy, Chloe VanDeGraaf
Synopsis: A troubled pre-teen is interviewed about her relationship to a classmate at school.

NAIL POLISH | Italy | 2021 | 15’
Director: Giacomo Tazzini
Writer: Giacomo Tazzini
Producer: Giacomo Tazzini
Cast: ANDRZEJ PAWLIKOWSKI, ROMAN PAWLIKOWSKI
Synopsis: Poland. A young writer is researching for the new book he’s working on. The boy is wearing a purple nail polish. The anticipated return of his brother will force him to face the identity society has given him – and the one he thinks actually belongs to him. A twisted, ambiguous journey through the concepts of definition and meaning. – Sinossi in italiano: Polonia. Un giovane scrittore di cui non conosciamo il nome è intento a fare ricerche per il nuovo libro a cui sta lavorando. Il ragazzo indossa uno smalto viola. Il ritorno anticipato del fratello (il cui nome ci è ugualmente sconosciuto) lo costringerà ad un doloroso scontro con l’identità che si è visto assegnare dal mondo in cui vive – e con quella che crede si addica meglio a lui stesso. Un viaggio oscuro e ambiguo attraverso i concetti di definizione e significato.

Here Is Where the Monsters Live | United States | 2021 | 19’
Directors: Chance Fuerstinger, April Matson
Writer: Chance Fuerstinger
Producers: Chance Fuerstinger, April Matson
Cast: Chance Fuerstinger, David Jack Lathrop, Elaine Diner, Katie Preston, Scott Grady, Kerith Telestai, Jen Potcher, Dylan Wood, Lance Thompson
Synopsis: Oliver tries to live through a dark episode of depression; however, memories – both joyful and sorrowful – keep pushing their way to the forefront of his mind.

Umendo | South Africa | 2021 | 29’
Director: Mmathabo Bopape
Writer: Lunga Mazi Molema
Producer: Nobulali Kama
Cast: Seladi Ramusi, Luxolo Ndabeni, Landiwe Dlamini, Claudia Phantshi, Bakephi Dlamini
Synopsis: Umendo is a story of a young teenager (19) forced into marriage against her will. This story follows an old tradition that is still practiced in the rural areas, where indlavini (A group of young men) forcefully take a young lady whom one of the young men fancy and marry her against her will, then a week later he goes to the girls house to pay Ilobola and the parents agree. This takes place in small village segregated by mountains in KZN, where during December holidays the Indlavini seat and watch the girl’s movement (one whom they have decided upon) in order for them to capture her. They capture Sibongile but she refuses to conform to tradition and fights with everything she has, she manage to esscape and leaves with nothing to go and pursue her dream of becoming a doctor in Gauteng where no one knows her.

Green and Growing Things | United States | 2020 | 14’
Director: Hope Wager
Writer: Hope Wager
Producer: Dana Reilly
Cast: Milly Rangel, Beth Puorro, Kate Metz, Madison Olivo
Synopsis: When a young woman meets a mysterious stranger living in an abandoned cabin a dark secret is brought to the surface. Will she finally confront the past or run away — again?

Short Comedy – Official Selection – November 2021

The Hotel | Russian Federation | 2021 | 16’
Director: Olga Fomina
Writer: Olga Fomina
Producers: Olga Fomina, Masha Yakubova
Cast: Daria Rumiantseva, Sergei Epishev
Synopsis: A couple comes to the hotel on a date, but instead of a romantic evening, they drink alcohol and delve into the memories.

The Magic of Seduction | France | 2021 | 05’
Director: JBJ
Writer: JBJ
Producer: JBJ
Cast: Léa Biron, Valérian Moutawe, Christine Lutete, JBJ
Synopsis: In a café, a young man hatches a plan centered on a magic trick to seduce a waitress. But in magic, illusion is queen…

Primal Therapy | Finland | 2021 | 20’
Director: Santtu Salminen
Writer: Santtu Salminen
Producer: Elisabeth Maria Keinänen
Cast: Eppu Salminen, Emil Kihlström, Hannes Suominen
Synopsis: A middle-aged man on the verge of a burnout seeks new energy through a very special form of self help therapy.

Short Dance/Musical – Official Selection – November 2021

Eat the Rainbow | United States | 2019 | 20’
Director :Brian Benson
Writers: Brian Benson, H.P. Mendoza
Producers: Brian Benson, Michael Oberst
Cast: Cousin Wonderlette, H.P. Mendoza, Lady Bear, April Kidwell, Dolores Huerta, Jason Brock, Robert Caruso
Synopsis: EAT THE RAINBOW is a musical fable about an odd yet kind man named Bayani who moves into a conservative suburban neighborhood and disrupts the otherwise comfortable homogeny. He doesn’t look or act like anyone else which causes fear and panic and eventually a demand for him to leave the neighborhood. Cousin Wonderlette befriends Bayani and together they take on the opposition led by manipulative and unscrupulous realtor Lobelia Gerber.

VOID | Australia | 2020 | 15’
Director: Claire Marshall
Producer: Claire Marshall
Cast: Erin O’Rourke
Synopsis: VOID: Winding upwards, gazing downwards, slinking, sinking, vaulting, halting, a solitary figure, dancer Erin O’Rourke journeys through an old labyrinthine staircase as a metaphor of her psyche. Moments of déjà vu and multiple selves emerge in a dance film that conjures ideas of psychological entrapment of women trans-historically.

Rumi’s Rumba | United States | 2017 | 20’
Director: George Kostopoulos
Writer: George Kostopoulos
Producer: Ramfis Myrthil
Cast: Greg Amici, Nicole Rainteau, Chase Newhart, Susan Cohen DeStefano
Synopsis: Professor Johnson, a college poetry professor, lectures his students on a poem by Rumi. When class finishes, one of the students, Olivia, approaches the professor with a question about the poem. This leads into a romantic fantasy musical sequence. Conflict arises soon after when Dean Cox and his secretary, Miss Flannigan, accuse Professor Johnson of exploiting Olivia.

All Cosmologies | Portugal | 2021 | 24’
Director: Vasco Mendes
Writer: Alexandre Monteiro
Producer: Alexandre Monteiro
Cast: Carolina Amaral
Synopsis: 2020: suddenly The Weatherman disappears misteriously. 28 years later his niece Valentina embarks on a journey to find what happened, and in the meantime she draws a picture about the state of the world.

Short Drama – Official Selection – November 2021

When Autumn Leaves | Israel | 2020 | 20’
Director: Rachel Gawie
Writer: Iris Lia Sofer
Producers: Iris Lia Sofer, Matias Jimenez Nayblat, Rachel Gawie
Cast: Iris Lia Sofer, Noga Hanuka, Matias Jimenez Nayblat, Ifat Maor, Michal Atlas, Shlomi Golan, Pazit Yaron Minkowski
Synopsis: A relationship is formed between Olive, A medical clown at Tel Hashomer hospital, And Talia, 13, a rebel teenager who is newly admitted to the Oncology department. She accompanies Talia from the first day of her hospitalization to her departure from the hospital. The girl’s main target is to Find a groom for the clown and that helps her to deal with her treatments. The bond is tightened between the clown and the girl and her family, and along with that, the doctor who is treating the girl who initially did not like that the clown is around, starts to look at the her in a different way.

The Color of the Wind | France | 2019 | 20’
Director: Lionel RIGAL
Writer: Lionel RIGAL
Producers: Lionel RIGAL, Guillaume LETELLIER
Cast: Bérengère GERMAIN, Rudolph SUMAC, Arnaud LETOURNEUR
Synopsis: It has been several nights already, She can’t sleep anymore. It’s a strange sensation, She’s not tired. One night, she decides to go out. It is in a small bar that She meets a man. The wind is blowing

First Day | United States | 2021 | 11’
Director: Arya Moghaddam
Writers: Arya Moghaddam, Brennan Gilpatrick
Producer: Joanna Koss

Year 44 | United States | 2021 | 14’
Director: Tom Fenaille
Writer: Tom Fenaille
Producer: Tom Fenaille
Cast: Maria Cury, Elliot Worth
Synopsis: In a dystopian future, a young man sits at a beach commemorating his dead mother’s birthday when his peace is disturbed by a stranger.

The Piano in the Old Front Room | United Kingdom | 2020 | 33’
Director: Reuben Vick
Writer: Reuben Vick
Producers: Niall Donegan, Reuben Vick
Cast: Tim Larkfield, Grahame Edwards
Synopsis: A piano tuner is called to a mysterious old house, where he meets an elderly man with a very unusual story to tell about the nature of sound. A short mystery drama.

She | Portugal | 2021 | 18’
Director: Anastasia Raykova
Writer: Gulnara Sapargalieva, Angela Franklyn
Producers: David Royzengurt, Anastasia Raykova, Anastasia Everall
Cast: Paulo Rocha, Anastasia Everall, Luisinha Guanilho, João Maria Dias
Synopsis: Kate, a carefree young woman, is nervous about spending her first weekend away with her new lover and his kids. On their way to his beachside holiday home, he receives a text from his troubled ex-wife, threatening suicide. Thinking it’s just another cry for attention, he ignores it. Later that night he receives the call he was dreading. Kate suddenly finds herself embroiled in a complex family situation that she’s not ready for, trying to find a way to comfort a grieving family that she hasn’t yet found her place in.

Lola | France | 2021 | 10’
Director: Vincent Casiro
Writer: Vincent Casiro
Cast: Loreyna Colombo, Nina Delrieu
Synopsis: After a ramdom conversation with her boss, a strange night begins for Lola.

Everything Will Be Fine | Belgium | 2021 | 21’
Director: Joachim Dejonghe
Writers: Joachim Dejonghe, Jean Ryckebosch
Producer: Pieter De Saeger
Cast: Joke Devynck, Isabelle Van Hecke, Els Deceukelier, Jessa Wildemeersch, Vera Van Dooren
Synopsis :A single mum, trying to make ends meet, is faced with a dilemma due to very peculiar job cuts at work.

The Black Veil | Qatar | 2020 | 17’
Director: A.J. Al-Thani
Writer: A.J. Al-Thani
Producer: Vibhav Gautam
Cast: Sana Al Habib, Ahmed Al-Nowfal Al-Tamimi
Synopsis: Reem, a young Iraqi woman, escapes her home in the middle of the night. She lives in Mosul after being forced to marry an ISIS soldier. Reem finds help in a taxi driver named Ahmed to help her escape Mosul and find her family again.

TALA’VISION | Germany | 2020 | 28’
Director: Murad Abu Eisheh
Writers: Murad Abu Eisheh
Producers: Philipp Maurice Raube, Gabriel Waldvogel, Esther Busch, Jude Kawwa
Cast: Ziad Bakri, Aesha Balasem
Synopsis: Trapped in a war ridden reality, with the hope of one day playing in the neighborhood’s football field, 8 year old Tala finds solace and freedom in a forbidden television. However, the secret TV becomes a matter of life and death.

Short Fantasy/Sci-Fi– Official Selection – November 2021

El Camino | Mexico | 2021 | 15’
Directors: Fernando Campos, Jaime Jasso
Writers: Berenice Alvarez, Fernando Campos
Producers: Fernando Campos, Jaime Jasso, Fausto Cantú
Cast: Gustavo Sánchez Parra, Yam Acevedo, Israel Islas
Synopsis: “In order to sustain his family a troubled pilot accepts one last crooked deal to transport a dangerous cargo inside his spaceship.”

Mergen | Kazakhstan | 2021 | 27’
Director: Raiymbek Alzhanov
Writer: Raiymbek Alzhanov
Producer: Banu Ramazanova
Cast: Alikhan Abi, Temirkhan Tursungaliyev, Aynur Akhmetzhanova, Shirai Maksat, Erkebulan Suleimenov
Synopsis: On the strife-torn Central Asian steppe, the boy Mergen must defend his family in the place of his absent father. He will do so with courage, cunning, and above all, a mystical gift from his grandmother. An exciting historical thriller enriched with ancient magic.

HABITAT | Spain | 2021 | 11’
Director: JAIME A. CALACHI
Writer: JAVIER HUESA
Cast: BALBINO LACOSTA, ITZIAR CASTRO, CANDELA LIU
Synopsis: In a dead-end room lives a slave of the system, addicted to the computer mouse and a reality show that never ends. Obsessed with an illusion, his dream is to go to the paradise that he has seen in a TV commercial…with just a flick of a finger.

EOS | Japan | 2021 | 03’
Director: Matteo Crinelli
Writer: Matteo Crinelli
Producer: Matteo Crinelli
Cast: Kaguyah Mandalia
Synopsis: A short journey through the memories and the reality of a girl, becoming something more than.

JUNE | New Zealand | 2021 | 15’
Director: Dwayne Cameron
Writer: Dwayne Cameron
Producers: Dwayne Cameron, Sarah James
Cast: Dwayne Cameron, Sarah James
Synopsis: June is a story about the fragility of life; the primal forces that drive and control us and the mystery of hope and new beginnings. Willow and David receive a serious diagnosis from their doctor and attempt to deal with the mundane as their world disintegrates in the following 24 hours. This one day in June for the couple holds raw despair, unleashing carnal natures but a transcendent occurrence offers them the hope of new life.

Shadow Players | Germany | 2021 | 20’
Director: Mel Piper
Writer: Mel Piper
Producer: Mel Piper
Synopsis: Polaris is trapped in an underwater cocoon and the ocean around her is dead. So falling in love with this story traveller is a really bad idea. And he refuses to travel on, tired of all the sad endings out there. Alas Polaris’ story is ending, too. Cracks begin to break across the story traveller’s skin like they tear across the hull of the cocoon. He will die if he stays. To safe his life she comes up with the beginning of a new story, one into which only he can travel. All he has to do is follow the shadow lynx into the forest.

Khora | Turkey | 2021 | 16’
Director: Nalan Abbasoğlu
Writer: Nalan Abbasoğlu
Producer: Nureddin Buğra Aközek
Cast: Piraye Vera Göztaş, Aslı Gönül, Pınar Fontini
Synopsis: One day in Khora is the period when two people realize what is happening to them when their boundaries become permeable. One exists in the eyes of the other, the other lives in the one who she wants to be. Two people are different faces of the object in the cycle in which the boundaries with life are broken along with what happened to a woman during her adulthood. The thin line between love and hate has become the emptiness of existence, and this is where rebirth begins. Is true love possible for a person who has to lose herself until she finds it?

Stop-Motion/Time-Lapse – Official Selection – November 2021

The Secret of Mr. Nostoc | France | 2021 | 11’
Directors: Patrice Seiler, Maxime Marion
Writer: Patrice Seiler
Producer: Patrice Seiler
Cast: Jean-Marie Pexoto, Céline Lehmann, Cyril Mazzotti
Synopsis: Mr. Nostoc lives in an hectic city. Not stressed or pressed by time, he goes to work, and always has a new surprise under his hat. When night comes, he goes into his attic and stays there for hours. Working on his secret.

The Land Over There | South Africa | 2021 | 09’
Director: Angel Mey
Writer: Angel Mey
Synopsis: After the 6th extinction has ravaged the island of Madagascar, Lemon the lemur is the last of his kind. He spends his days alone, searching for food, treasure, and signs of life on the island. Until one day, he discovers something that changes everything. He embarks on an adventure that tells a tale of bravery, loss, versatility, and hope.

Student Short – Official Selection – November 2021

Markings | United Kingdom | 2021 | 07’
Director: Jake Kuhn
Writer: Jake Kuhn
Producer: Robbie Brees
Cast: Dixie Egerickx, Shakira Rahman, Os Leanse
Synopsis: A teacher is disturbed by one of his student’s essays and sets out to discover whether its dark subject matter is pulled from imagination or experience.

The Fisherman | France | 2021 | 05’
Director: FRANCOIS BALANANT
Writer: FRANCOIS BALANANT
Producer: FRANCOIS BALANANT
Synopsis: An old fisherman and his two small children live by the shore. They will undergo a terrible storm which will submerge their house and swallow everything up, but there is still a way to find their memories …

Mancala | United Kingdom | 2021 | 24’
Director: Abraham Dein
Writer: Abraham Dein
Producers: Abraham Dein, Jameson White
Cast: Otilia Royer, Christian Leith, Gillian Broderick, Martha Tipper
Synopsis: Two housemates by themselves over lockdown must open their minds to the personal philosophies of the other as their friendship develops. Shot in Bristol in September 2020 during Covid-19 restrictions, it stars young and talented French actress Otilia Royer, as well as Christian Leith, an English actor making his screen debut. www.imdb.com/title/tt13473522/

Love | Kazakhstan | 2021 | 08’
Director: Malika Maxat
Writer: Malika Maxat
Synopsis: A girl with mental problems is trying to figure out the reality and remember her love.

A name written in water | Italy | 2021 | 14’
Director: Simone Consoli
Writer: Simone Consoli
Producer: Simone Consoli
Cast: Federica Ferro, Nicolò Mantovani, Noemi Bertoldi, Alessio Cioni
Synopsis: Greta is passing away and this is the best day of her life.

Toli | Russian Federation | 2021 | 21’
Director: Diana Mashanova
Writer: Diana Mashanova
Synopsis: Anya is a teenage girl who is just beginning to realize herself as an adult. Elena is a single mother who tries to feel like a woman again. Sergey, a man who has warm feelings for Elena, invades the life of this Buryat family. Raised according to oriental traditions, Elena shows her care for her daughter through control over her mind and body. The girl, on the other hand, just wants to enter into a dialogue with her mother, but after Sergei came into their life, it became even more difficult to get the mother’s attention. Using Sergey’s appearances as an excuse, Anya increasingly runs away from home. After Sergei first appeared in the family’s house, Anya regards this as a threat to her personal space and established family structure. The girl once again runs away from home and at a party, looking into her mother’s eyes, she asks the guy to cum inside. Anya seeks the attention of her mother, but the consequences of that trick are not so easy to resolve. In order to finally tie her mother to herself, Anya decides to bring them closer together with a common trauma. Anya goes to the hospital where her mother works as a gynecologist and signs up for an abortion.

The Storm | China | 2021 | 10’
Director: Milo Ma
Writer: Milo Ma
Producer: Qingnan Yang
Cast: Xinyue Lu, Jianwei Gao, Jie Zhou, Yayi Yu
Synopsis: Xi is a SCID patient who has no immune system and can only live in an isolation room. Xi has never been willing to accept the unknown factors in her life. Through a broken radio, Xi gradually realized that her dependent brother and her doctor had concealed one of the biggest unknown incidents from herself.

Monkey Business | United Kingdom | 2021 | 03’
Director: Kate Varley
Synopsis: A new takeaway has opened, but it’s a jungle out there, and hoodwinking is a risky business…

Coffee & Cigarettes | Germany | 2021 | 15’
Director: Johannes Prondzinsky
Writers: Johannes Prondzinsky, Peter Kotthaus
Producer: Julius Jendrezok
Cast: Peter Kotthaus, Clara Braun, Martin Moeller
Synopsis: 1972 in a small town amid the prairie. The old-established village policeman Bruno sniffs a chance to solve a big case when an obscure estate agent enters the bar. Fully determined to convict the stranger Bruno gets wound up in the case. However, no one really trusts him…

Without You | Republic of Korea | 2021 | 17’
Director: Jae-woo Park
Writer: Jae-woo Park
Producer: Jae-woo Park
Cast: Min-young Choi, Kyeong-Chae Lee
Synopsis: Boy and girl who loved each other. They go on last trip to places of their memories.

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