LIST OF THE FILMS SCREENED AT SHORT FILM FACTORY
IN DECEMBER 2019
WEEK 1
Title of the film: JOB
Genre: drama
Duration: 22 min.
Country: Republic of North Macedonia
Director: Aleksandar Andonoski
Synopsis: Slowly losing the battle with the waves amidst the open sea, Job evokes sequences from the past which had completely shattered his life – the loss of the unborn child, the alienation of his beloved wife, and loosing oneself. He is helpless, engulfed in despair because of his powerlessness to help his wife and his inability to find consolation and forgive himself.
Title: You Will Survive Doomsday
Genre: Documentary
Duration: 8:16
Country: Canada
Director: Kyle McDougall
Synopsis: Thirty-five years ago, Bruce Beach started construction on the ‘Ark Two’—an underground nuclear fallout shelter that he designed and built himself. The structure is made up of forty-two school buses that were linked together and buried under twelve feet of concrete and earth.
Over the years, the project has attracted the attention of people across the world and has been met with differing opinions—from other ‘preppers’ who celebrate it, to folks who think the whole idea is crazy.
‘You Will Survive Doomsday’ is a short documentary that explores the beliefs and decisions that shaped Bruce’s unconventional journey.
Title of the film: The Forest and the Trees
Genre: Family, Comedy, Animation, Children, Music
Duration: 6 minutes 26 seconds
Country: Canada
Director: Choom Lam
Synopsis: A determined mushroom conquers tumultuous emotions while journeying through a forest.
Title of the film: ULTRA
Genre: Drama
Duration: 15:00
Country: France
Director: Quentin Dufournet et Marc Pubreuil
Synopsis: William has one wish, to treat himself to a quiet evening in front of his television. Unfortunately, the world does not seem determined to leave him in peace.
Title: Joey
Genre: Drama
Duration: 11min 35sec
Country: USA
Director: Allison Davidoff
Synopsis: After an incident a woman suffers from Capgras Delusion, causing her to believe that her fiancé is an imposter. Will their love prevail or will it quickly deteriorate?
Title of the film: Taxi De Niro
Genre: fiction
Duration: 14, 47
Country: Romania
Director: Ionut Lucian Rusu
Synopsis: Taxi de Niro is driven by a friendly driver who never asks himself “You talking to me?” but starts the conversation every single time. He doesn’t mind telling his clients about his mistakes and he is always ready to learn from them. Meanwhile though, new mistakes can appear.
Title of the film: In Bloom
Genre: Coming of age – Drama
Duration: 8 min’
Country: United Kingdom
Director: Maya Armon
Synopsis: A young generation preparing the old one to its tragic death.
Title of the film: The Tigress Masque
Genre: Drama
Duration: 2.00 mins
Country: India
Director: Gowri Neelavar
Synopsis: The Tulu Nadu region of Karnataka is home to a unique dance form known as ‘Pilivesha’ or Tiger masque.The film revolves around a real life female ‘pili vesha’ folk artist,who is consumed by the emotion of dancing. In a completely male dominated art form,her will power and passion, win over her ’fear of failure.’ Based on a poem, the film portrays the world of these artists,through her eyes.
Title of the film: K.I.S.S.
Genre: Dramedy/LGBTQ
Duration: 5:53
Country: United States
Director: Gary O. Bennett
Synopsis: Two friends struggle to communicate about cards, food and something a little more serious.
Title of the film: COSMIONICA
Genre: fantasy
Duration: 00:01:36
Country: Ukraine
Director: Maria Fediuk
Synopsis: A person in red lives there, where it is very difficult to breathe. Therefore, it always wears a special mask.
A person in red with a special mask goes through a large, lifeless desert to reach a high mountain in the wilderness.
This mountain is a special place.
A person in red overcomes a difficult path for removing a mask forever. And at the end of this path she will not be alone.
WEEK 2
Title of the film: A Leaf
Genre: Experimental
Duration: 18’
Country: Egypt
Director: Bishara Shoukry
Synopsis: A hand of a young woman moves on the chest of a man, lying on his bed coughing, the hand rubs the chest with a liquid.
An old woman’s hand pushes a goat’s skin milk bag, on which a child is swinging on it. From a bore in the belly of the bag, drips the milk on the old woman’s hand, and flows from the young one’s palm.
In the morning, when the house gets empty, Salma opens her eyes to the sound of a playful child swinging on the door of her room. When Salma attempts to fathom her, the child flees. Salma follows, yet couldn’t catch… and when Salma tries to trace the child’s footprints, following the same road the child went through, Salma herself disappears, leaving only an image on a water surface, or a reflection on glass.
And once the picture has restored life, and the belly gets enlarged with a life, the image leaves its place to another, and a life renounces its path to another… and a leaf falls, one of thousands that fall, daily, without being felt by anyone.
Title of the film: Godspeed
Genre: Family Drama (Animation)
Duration: 2 min 25 sec
Country: USA
Director: Sunny Wai Yan Chan
Synopsis: “Godspeed” is a story about a mother saying goodbye to her son at the airport. The son wants a hug, but the non-expressive mother is reluctant to do so. The seemingly small conflict between the two is amplified by the close-ups of their faces, visualizing the weight of struggle each of them is experiencing.
Title of the film: In Infinite Time
Genre: Short Fiction/Drama
Duration: 16 minutes 41 seconds
Country: Turkey
Director: Emre Doğan
Synopsis: In Eastern Anatolia, there is a belief that it continued to be prevalent until the 80s: If the children who were born after the last child born healthy were not alive or miscarry happened, the last child’s foot was etched by a piece of iron. A little girl who her mother and father went to city for birth learns that belief from the neighbors that came for the to support her Grandfather Sufyan and Grandmother Nazen. The Little Girl tries to cauterize her feet when she home alone although she struggles for a long time, cannot be successful, survive accidents that may cause serious consequences and catch his grandmother during his last attempt. When she sleeps with her grandparents at night, she gets good news about her mother and newborn sister. After that she don’t give these good news to her grandparents because she starts to be jeaolus her newborn sister.
Title of the film: Prophecy of the Encounter 2019
Genre: Artfilm/Fiction
Duration: 14 minutes and 12 seconds
Country: USA
Director: Ati Maier
Synopsis:
This Film is inspired by the Creation Story of the Lakota Nation and is partly audible on the sound track, narrated by a Lakota Elder. According to the tale, a star is coming in close orbit with earth and warms it. The Space-Rider manifests on earth out of a solar eclipse as their star ancestor. The Lakota Horse Nation who lives on the Pine Ridge Reservation in SD, believe they came from the Pleiades star cluster. The Encounter with the Space-Rider initiates the return to their ancient spiritual ways and at last back to the stars…” a star will take us home”.
Title of the film: Your Smile
Genre: Drama, Youth
Duration: 25min 34sec
Country: China
Director: Haochen Yang
Synopsis: Boyang, a retro high school teenager in Beijing, is experiencing the rebellious phase of his youth. He refuses to change himself by having a cellphone to fit in the community. He is alienated by other people and he is unwilling to open up his mind. One day, he captures an unforgettable smile on a young girl’s face through his 35mm film camera. He decides to approach that smile. After the struggling of changing himself, Boyang finally shows his long-lost smile on his face.
Title of the film: Wee King of Nowhere
Genre: Drama, coming-of-age, magic realism
Duration: 21 minutes 43 seconds
Country: UK
Director: Peter Magát
Synopsis: Taken under the wing of a vagrant poet, a runaway boy comes to terms with his abusive past and finds the road back to trust and love.
WEEK 3
Title : Spermaceti
Genre : animated short
Duration : 11:35
Country : Belgium
Director : Jacky De Groen
Producer : Sarah D’hanens
Synopsis : Sailors kill time under a blistering sun, awaiting a sign of their prey. A young mind turns inwards as it traces the wood grain. After bloodshed, a strong arm offers a moment of shelter. A boy gets his first tattoo. Spermaceti evokes the transitional space-time of a young man who finds himself on the threshold of an initiation. As we fluctuate between the underwater and the above, boundaries become slippery.
Title of the film: Mita’s Diary
Genre: Drama
Duration: 10 min 12 seconds
Country: China
Director: Shero Zhang
Synopsis: With a father who is addicted to gambling and a mother who makes a living with her body, Mita escapes into her art. The sleazy friends of her father and the backroom of her mother’s brothel are all re-imagined on paper. Mita’s inspiration leads her into the street changing her course forever.
Title: Tlaloc Sacrificium
Genre: Horror
Duration: 11 minutes 50 seconds.
Country: United Kingdom
Director: Ivan Lo Conte
Synopsis: Jack, a 40 years old estate agent, has failed at starting his own family. He now wants to steal the happiness of parenthood from Jessy and Rob, a young newlywed couple.
Title of the film: Repeat
Genre: Student Animated Music Video
Duration: 3 minutes
Country: UK
Director: Steven Haggie
Synopsis: This animation represents the spiral into depression, isolation,
routine and the need to escape. It examines modern society, particularly
with regard to the unanticipated consequences of new technologies.
Title of the film: THE MEET UP
Genre: COMEDY/DRAMA
Duration: 9MINS
Country: USA
Director: ALEX MERIDY
Synopsis: Tanya lost herself after loosing her mother. She lived a hermit life for a long time. Until she decided to try and break out of her shell with a little help from a friend.
Title of the film: Rebellious Essence / Uporni duh
Genre: animation
Duration: 5 min
Country: Slovenia
Director: Ana Čigon
Synopsis: A cat walks into the Office of the Ministry for Cat Affairs and requests for a passport. All goes pretty well until the female and male cat clerks demand to know the cat’s sex.
Title of the film: Contracorriente (Against The Stream)
Genre: Drama / Family Drama
Duration: 12:55 minutes
Country: Mexico / USA
Director: Carlos Asse
Synopsis: An ode to the mother figure in a family that portrays the confrontation of two brothers on how they think it’s best to keep their ill mom safe.
Title of the film: On AIR
Genre: Dystopic
Duration: 19’59
Country: France
Director: Marceau Brossard
Synopsis: 1:30pm. The Daily News on a big tv channel are going live. Everything goes smoothly, until a hacker takes over the whole set.
Title of the film: UNTITLED (Sans Titre)
Genre: Comedy of manners
Duration: 24:04
Country: France
Director: Clément de Dadelsen
Synopsis: Jules is about to publish his first novel but cannot find the right title with his publisher. He therefore decides to go to Lisbon to convince the greatest title writer to find him one for free. The old man finally accepts but offers him a very strange deal…
WEEK 4
Title of the film: Ballad
Genre: Drama
Duration: 11:15
Country: Romania
Director: Bianca Mina
Synopsis: Burdened by his raging subconscious, Kirk, a grungy rock star, is about to kill himself when Mark, his biggest fan, finds him. As Kirk is getting ready to pull the trigger, Mark tries to convince him to see a future.
Title: Cachito Mío
Director(s): Elizabeth Marlo
Country of Origin: Mexico
Duration: 6’
Synopsis and/or Logline: Vicky has the winning ticket of the National Lottery, however, it doesn’t belong to her. She will have to deal between taking it or returning it to its real owner, her boss.
Title of the film: ON EXILE, elsewhere within here
Genre: Experimental documentary film
Duration: 27 minutes
Country: USA/Portugal
Director: José Carlos Teixeira
Cinematography: Nicholas Wynia
Synopsis: As a quiet and poetic meditation, “On Exile, elsewhere within here” presents the moving testimonies of Muslim refugees from Syria and Somalia, resettled in the North America. This short documentary film creates intimate psychological portraits, carving space for empathy and intersubjectivity. At the intersection of art and politics, “On Exile” reflects on the overall refugee experience, expanding on issues of migration, displacement, and otherness. Concerned with the ethics of ethnographic encounter, the film asks: how to represent without patronizing or speaking on the behalf of others? As opposed to a dominant discourse which often denies refugees personal and political agency, this film attempts to restore their voices.
Title: Check In
Genre: Thriller/Horror
Duration: 20 minutes
Country: Greece
Director: Konstantinos Stragalinos
Synopsis: Harris Mavros, 16 years old, is addicted to social media and digital media of communication. His mother is very worried about his situation and asks his teacher to help him. However, the unlucky young person has taken a non-return road with uncontrollable consequences for everyone.
Title of the film: Happy Birthday Dad
Genre: Drama
Duration: 14:12
Country: Mexico
Director: Bruno Fregosi
Synopsis: The impulses loose control when Laura finds some photos that remind her of the abuses she suffered by her Dad.
Title: Alberca (The Pool)
Genre: Fiction Drama
Duration: 17:45
Country Mexico
Director: Paola Villa
Synopsis: Karla is on her mid-30’s who just got divorced, she meets Fernando a younger man on the swimming pool of the apartments where she lives. She’s still mourning her loss, as their friendship grows, this space becomes a refuge for both of them, from here they’ll both move to a new stage of their lives.
Title of the film: The Scapegoat
Genre: Dark comedy
Duration: 12 min 43 sec
Country: Finland
Director: Iiro Holopainen
Synopsis: A darkly comedic monologue film about a self-isolated, most peculiar woman to whom a curious cinematographer comes to pay a visit.
