Animation Short – Official Selection – March 2023
Miracasas | Switzerland | 2022 | 14’
Director: Raphaëlle Stolz
Writer: Augusto Zanovello
Producers: Nicolas Burlet, Augsuto Zanovello
Synopsis: In the 30’s, a lost village in South America wishes to perpetuate its strange traditions… The mayor has published an ad in the region: “Seeks corpse to enlarge Miracasas”. Freshly murdered, Ernesto is the lucky one and participates in spite of himself to his carnival burial. The gathered villagers celebrate the event with passion, waiting with greed for the life brought by the death.
TWO SIDE | China | 2022 | 12’
Director: Mingyang Luo
Writer: Mingyang Luo
Producer: Yaocheng Sun
Synopsis: Unable to face the reality of an impulsive act of murder, protagonist Ah Cheng’s personality splits into multiple opposing sides, pitting good against evil in his mind and taking him on a torturous internal journey, until he ultimately chooses the evil.
Guilty Pleasure | Poland | 2021 | 13’
Director: Michał Orzechowski
Writer: Michał Orzechowski
Producer: Piotr Furmankiewicz
Synopsis: At the edge of the forest stood a house inhabited by a married couple and two adult sons. The film begins during their ordinary existence. A ringing alarm clock indicates that it is time to start the show. Father and son Andrew start a theater for the mother. The second son, Stephen is awaiting the arrival of his partner. A girl on a motorcycle pulls up to the cottage. Stefan quickly puts on his suit and jumps out the window. The couple is leaving
PERCEPTION | United States | 2023 | 05’
Director: Brandon Frank Lopez
Producer: Brandon Frank Lopez
Cast: Brandon Frank Lopez
Synopsis: After a blob of residue rejects the ideals of its creator, relationships and connections face uncertainty.
BRAND X | Philippines | 2022 | 17’
Director: Keith Deligero
Writers: Gale Osorio, Michael Mante
Producer: Gale Osorio
Cast: Ryles Cameron
Synopsis: A bottle of shampoo dreams to be purchased by humans and live in a utopia known as Atlas. However, he discovers the truth about this existence and goes on a journey to escape his fate.
Ethel | Switzerland | 2022 | 08’
Director: Beatrice Jäggi
Writers: Beatrice Jäggi, Lina Geissmann
Producer: Lina Geissmann
Synopsis: Ethel discovers boxes with glittering clothes of her late mother, who was a figure skater. In the snowy forest she searches for the idyllic pond where her mother once taught her to skate. She wants to relive those memories, attempts to understand her mother’s passion. On the frozen pond Ethel, however, encounters the Bone Ice Princess, who challenges her to a dangerous dance on thin ice. Will Ethel survive this contest in one piece? A tale of letting go and growing up.
One of Us | United Kingdom | 2022 | 04’
Director: Emma Kelly
Somewhere | Malta | 2023 | 07’
Director: Fabrizio Ellul
Synopsis: Wars, pandemics and the acceleration of climate change have forced a selection of human civilisation to find refuge on the Cuboid – a gigantic structure just outside Earth’s atmosphere – while the rest of humanity is left to survive on a hostile planet. SOMEWHERE follows Vincent – a researcher at the Halo space Research centre – who makes a detour to Planet Earth to retrieve an item. Somewhere is a story about ‘memory’, ‘remembering’ and ‘loss’.
And Then | United States | 2023 | 08’
Director: Gwen gunyung Lee
Synopsis: The film is about a clumsy main character who frequently loses things, but constantly denies her responsibility. When the main character denies her responsibility and makes an excuse, the dominoes that knock over symbolizes her emotion and guilt. In the beginning, the film starts with the tiny domino made of detergent powder after she loses her socks. The dominoes get bigger and bigger when she loses more valuable things. In the end, when she admits everything, the dominoes stop falling.
Cockroaches | 2022 | 10’
Director: Adel Khan Faroog
Writer: Adel Khan Farooq
Producers: Lise Fearnley, Tonje Skar Reiersen
Cast: Marlon Valdés Langeland, Aksel Hennie, Abdulhakim Hassane
Synopsis: In a dystopian city on the verge of collapse after cockroaches have taken over, a brotherhood sends 17-year-old Tim on a mission to blow up the cockroaches’ nest to save his hometown. But a meeting with a stranger makes Tim reconsider his perception of reality. Cockroaches is an animated fable about exclusion and extremism, showing how search for acceptance can have fatal consequences. In a time when the extreme right is once again marching across many European countries, the film aims to send a warning.
Panchita!! | United States | 2023 | 05’
Director: Doug Bello
Producer: Keka Petrich
Synopsis: Panchita is a South American girl living in a poor community with dreams of dancing. This new passion will connect her with the wide world as she transforms her very own surroundings. Panchita! is a TECHO project to bring awareness to their cause.
Children Short – Official Selection – March 2023
Diving Deep | Denmark | 2023 | 21’
Director: Malene Begtrup
Writer: Malene Begtrup
Producer: Helena Lagoni Isbye
Cast: Julie Frendrup Skovborg, Christine Albeck Børge, Karl Peter Kjær Houlind
Synopsis: Kaia is 12 years old and has lost her father in a diving accident. While her mother tries to keep the family together, Kaia lies and sneaks away from the support group to go on diving adventures in the local swimming pool. Beneath the surface, Kaia searches for her father in a magical world under water, while trying to understand death without fear.
Candlelight | United Kingdom | 2022 | 07’
Director: Scott Newton
Writer: Scott Newton
Producer: Richard Gordon
Synopsis: In a dusty attic, a tall dinner candle springs to life. As the playful and curious candle explores, learning to hop, skip and dance, it discovers a second candle. The two play and dance their way through the attic, falling in love. However, a shocking discovery is made when both candles realise that the heat from their combined flames, whenever they touch, causes them to rapidly melt. Splitting up, the two must decide whether life without the other can still be magical, or if they want to sacrifice everything for love.
Panchita!! | United States | 2023 | 05’
Director: Doug Bello
Producer: Keka Petrich
Synopsis: Panchita is a South American girl living in a poor community with dreams of dancing. This new passion will connect her with the wide world as she transforms her very own surroundings. Panchita! is a TECHO project to bring awareness to their cause.
Debut – Official Selection – March 2023
Yuvalo | Israel | 2022 | 06’
Director: Adi Nagar
Writer: Adi Nagar
Producer: Adi Nagar
Cast: Noam Avisror, Shahar Mor Haim, Vered Daniel Amir, Miriam Mimi Gotsdiner
Synopsis: After a violent incident, a young woman calls the police on her brother who suffers from manic depression, hoping they can finally provide a solution.
The Well | Azerbaijan | 2022 | 15’
Director: Rufat Ray
Writer: Rufat Ray
Producers: Irada Baghirzade, Fariz Ahmedov
Cast: Parviz Mammadrzayev, Shamil Suleyman
Synopsis: An arduous journey of a human searching for water in a withered, dead land leads him to revelations through the chains of his ambitions and inner struggle.
Documentary Short – Official Selection – March 2023
Changing Tides | Hungary | 2022 | 14’
Directors: Flóra Seres, Péter Tari
Producer: Gabor Bessenyei
Cast: Mat Sairi
Synopsis: Mr. Sairi spent his entire life in Timbulsloko, on the island of Java. He grew up and started a family here, the ocean is indispensable in his life, as it means his livelihood as a fisherman. He’s happy here. Despite the circumstances. The Timbulsloko region is in a constant struggle with the ocean. As a result of decades of groundwater extraction, sea level rise, and changes in weather patterns, the area was flooded, and the village and its residents were forced to adapt. Both to environmental destruction and climate change.
Mommies | Greece | 2022 | 26’
Directors: Elvira Krithari, Maria Sidiropoulou
Producer: Thunderbird Productions
Synopsis: The film MOMMIES combines the narratives around motherhood of two women who do not know each other, nor are they related in any way. However, they are the two poles of the same genetic process, one as the donor and the other as the recipient of the primary cell of life. After four failed IVF attempts, Joanna becomes a single parent of triplets. She decides to tell them the truth about the way they came into this world. Rosa became and egg donor five times. She doesn’t know how many of them developed into full grown children, but this thought doesn’t scare her. She decided to make some easy cash by giving away a piece of herself. Dozens of eggs and three children later, Rosa and Ioanna give their own answers about origins, roots, fathers and the concept of truth, to questions that most of us didn’t know we had.
The Heart of Baikal | Russian Federation | 2022 | 25’
Director: Arina Kosmina
Writer: Olga Kosmina
Producers: Olga Kosmina, Nikita Pavlutskiy
Synopsis: Shaman, Priest, UAZ Driver and Grandmother Valya are residents of the village of Khuzhir, the only settlement on the island of Olkhon in the middle of Lake Baikal. The characters of the film talk about their lives and the problems they face while living in a special place. The main character is Lake Baikal, which gives people the strength and faith to cope with all difficulties.
Bare Metal | United States | 2022 | 10’
Directors: Brandon Robert Gries, Ryan Freng, John Shoemaker
Writers: Brandon Robert Gries, John Shoemaker, Ryan Freng
Producer: Brandon Robert Gries
Cast: David Gottfried, Ali Ruckteschler, Nancy Novak, Dean Nelson, Christian Belady, Joe Kava, Philip K Bell, Kevin Dempsey, Charles Johnson, Stacy Smedley, Rosemary Barnes, Tabitha Stine, Brent Constantz, Colin Wessells, Kevin Brown, Christie Gamble, Brigette Douglass, Amy Marks, Johnson Agogbua, Ken Cowen, Tom Schott, Craig McKesson, Kay Firth-Butterfield, Chris Downie, Tony Grayson, Matt Koerner, Scott Hannah, Karim Shaikh, Joe Reele, Matt Robinson, Teri Klug, Kyle Self, Jessica Maderos
Synopsis: Microsoft, Google, META, and AWS are some of the biggest single-power consumers in the world. Along with other digital infrastructure companies’ consumption, they make up 2.4% of the world’s energy use. This film details the digital infrastructure industry’s work to reduce their carbon footprint in an effort to lower carbon emissions and help save the world.
BAAR | United States | 2022 | 15’
Director: Dev Walker
Producer: 1836 Agency
Synopsis: After battling a life-threatening disease, a young man with down syndrome proves that challenges are meant to be overcome and that there’s no obstacle big enough to steal his joy. His determination is inspirational. His kindness is golden. His name is Joey Baar.
Dawgz | Switzerland | 2022 | 21’
Director: Erynn Pather
Writer: Erynn Pather
Producer: Volko Kamensky
Cast: Krystian
Synopsis: In order to dodge his problems in Switzerland, Krystian has withdrawn to southern Spain. There he lives with his dog on the fringes of society. With the support of his school friend, a filmmaker, he decides to face up to his past and takes a momentous decision.
Pole Dance | France | 2022 | 18’
Director: Mathieu Lee
Writer: Mathieu Lee
Producer: Mathieu Lee
Cast: Haruna Matsunami
Synopsis: Haruna lives in Tokyo, she built her life with pole dance, her so singular and impressive way of dancing leaves nobody indifferent. In 2019, Haruna wins the World Pole Championship.
Experimental Short – Official Selection – March 2023
Warren | Italy | 2022 | 19’
Director: Gemma Lynch
Synopsis: The director explores experimental techniques to share the experience of growing up with domestic violence through her family album.
The Duality of Ecstasy | Netherlands | 2022 | 03’
Director: Keith Tedesco
Writer: Keith Tedesco
Producer: Keith Tedesco
Cast: Ruth Borg
Synopsis: A short film in the style of a visual tone poem about the duality of the feeling of ecstasy.
Zone Unknown | United Kingdom | 2023 | 03’
Directors: Alessi Heitman-Rice, Zack Langsdon
Cast: Abi Osu, Kwan Tang, Eve Hoffman, Agathe Charbon, Roxy Woods, Chris Thomas, Jamie Cobb
Synopsis: Inspired by their passion for cycling after taking up the sport to help their mental health during the lockdown, Co-directors Zack Langsdon and Alessi Heitman-Rice present Zone Unknown. Zone Unknown is a short abstract film that aims to open up people’s perception of cycling from an elitist endurance sport to instead a form of mental therapy. We hear intimate anecdotes from real people on how getting on a bike has been hugely beneficial and therapeutic in their lives, how it has led them back from dark places, how it can be a form of meditation and escapism within the hectic lives they lead. Cycling is simply a relationship between the rider and the bike, on the open road or static, it can transport you to a better mental state and it’s out there for everyone.
Cusp | United Kingdom | 2023 | 05’
Director: Jessie Currie
Writer: Jessie Currie
Producers: Stephen Jasper Clarke, Tom Stubbs
Cast: Jessie Currie
Synopsis: Cusp’, a short film poem freezing time, capturing a moment of being and connection between two different female ages. A lyrical glimpse into childhood intuition and adult inhibition. A young girl fearlessly plunges through a waterfall, a woman racked with nerves fights to find her resolve to perform. The grace and inert wisdom of the young can lead and inspire.
FLYBY KATHY | Portugal | 2023 | 12’
Director: Pedro Bastos
Producer: Rodrigo Areias
Synopsis: In 1981, English actress Kathy Harcourt mysteriously disappeared from the United States. 40 years later, this story unfolds, from an old 35mm copy of the last film Kathy Harcourt stared in. This film retraces this brief episode of the golden age of adult cinema.
Knife, Chocolate | Islamic Republic of Iran | 2022 | 17’
Director: Hooshmand Varaei
Writer: Hooshmand Varaei
Producers: Latifeh Eine Jafari, Dr.Houshang Varaei, MOJENO Film School
Cast: Hamid Pishghadam
Synopsis: Mahsa Amini is not just the name of a person. Mahsa Amini does not belong to only one country. Mahsa Amini is said to be a group of women who are victims of violence and bigotry, regardless of color, race and nationality, scattered in all continents of the world. As an independent and concerned filmmaker and a women’s rights activist, I had the duty to narrate the dark and tragic life of Mahsa Aminis who are chained by prejudice, violence and ignorance, by making this film. This movie is the life story of two of these women. Women who might be your next-door neighbors right now. Can’t you hear them? Women looking for life and freedom!
The Fisherman and The Fish | United States | 2021 | 18’
Directors: Aleksandr Krapivkin, Olya Mikhaylova
Writers: Aleksandr Krapivkin, Olya Mikhaylova, Robert Chandler
Producers: Aleksandr Krapivkin, Olya Mikhaylova
Cast: Bonita Jackson, Casey Wortmann, Zepe, Olya Mikhaylova, Aleksandr Krapivkin, Stephen John Davis
Synopsis: Contemporary staged interpretation of iconic renown fairy tale led by a female theater company in Brooklyn. This is a magical story of an impoverished family surviving the tragedy of unearthed greed. Kindness. Loyalty. And unconditional love. Will they stand the temptation of granted wants and wishes?
Fashion Short – Official Selection – March 2023
“Lament” (“Lamentation”) | Poland | 2022 | 03’
Director: Monika Mrońska
Writer: Monika Mrońska
Producer: Monika Mrońska
Cast: Laura Bończak, Martyna Chałat, Lidia Chmura, Małgorzata Lipczyńska, Julia Tytan Jakubowska
Synopsis: “Lamentation”, a fashion project (all clothes are designed by the director), is a story about grief, sadness and loss of our world/ Earth that we humans, don’t respect. In our selfishness we completely exploited our environment and nature, leaving nothing in return. Our planet is destroyed and we can only lament because of it. The models in the film appear as moths – according to the Slavs – a symbol of souls wandering on the ground. The dancers played the role of mourners/ weepers who despair over what is left of our world. The film tells about the different stages of mourning that we must go through in order to come to terms with the loss. It tells about regret, anger, longing, fear … But “Lament” is also a story about the coming of the new. A new, better world that we are all waiting for.
Forever Bound | Italy | 2022 | 08’
Director: Rob Bell
Writers: Elisa Messi, Vittoria Aganoor Pompilj
Producer: 1190 Productions
Cast: Marina Meinero, Lorena Sheriff, Jan Tononi
Synopsis: For Forever Bound, we wanted to explore the theme of fate’s adversarial role in a relationship, how destiny, if you believe in such a thing, plays an important role in how our lives turn out. It’s an exciting challenge solving the puzzle of how we are able to communicate such a personal, and yet universally experienced, stage in life. Our aim is that through both action and costume we will be able to artistically portray the inception of a separating thought, consequent tensions, and ultimately the final relief and acceptance of such a painful truth.
Felina | Spain | 08’
Director: Andreu Corberà
Writer: Andreu Corberà
Producer: MIRACOR FILMS
Cast: FERRXN, PAM DEMIA, GLAMNISS
Synopsis: The clown, the bearded woman and the animal trainer. These three members of the Felina circus are going through a rough patch related to their alter-egos. The Clown is sad because her boyfriend has left her and throws pies in her face at all the shows. The Bearded Woman cries because her boyfriend has found a girl with a better beard and the Animal Trainer is suffering from depression after being confined to a small caravan that takes her nowhere.
GHOSTING | Italy | 2023 | 02’
Director: Fabrizio Albertini
Writer: Fabrizio Albertini
Producer: Gabriele Rossi
Mini Short – Official Selection – March 2023
Rebirth | United States | 2020 | 02’
Director: Deniz Akyurek
Writer: Deniz Akyurek
Cast: Emmy Mulvena
Synopsis: A demon girl is reborn on Earth.
Zone Unknown | United Kingdom | 2023 | 03’
Directors: Alessi Heitman-Rice, Zack Langsdon
Cast: Abi Osu, Kwan Tang, Eve Hoffman, Agathe Charbon, Roxy Woods, Chris Thomas, Jamie Cobb
Synopsis: Inspired by their passion for cycling after taking up the sport to help their mental health during the lockdown, Co-directors Zack Langsdon and Alessi Heitman-Rice present Zone Unknown. Zone Unknown is a short abstract film that aims to open up people’s perception of cycling from an elitist endurance sport to instead a form of mental therapy. We hear intimate anecdotes from real people on how getting on a bike has been hugely beneficial and therapeutic in their lives, how it has led them back from dark places, how it can be a form of meditation and escapism within the hectic lives they lead. Cycling is simply a relationship between the rider and the bike, on the open road or static, it can transport you to a better mental state and it’s out there for everyone.
Wednesday’s Child | United States | 2022 | 01’
Director: Katreeva Phillips
Writer: Katreeva Phillips
Cast: Alexandra Fazzari, Kori Michelle
Synopsis: This trailer was made for the 2022 thriller short film “Wednesday’s Child”.
ROBOTS STOLE THE MORNING | Canada | 03’
Director: Oliver New
Writer: Oliver New
Producer: Oliver New
Music Video – Official Selection – March 2023
Promises | Lithuania | 2022 | 04’
Director: Lukas Rutkauskas
Writer: Lukas Rutkauskas
Producers: DOMINYKA BERULYTĖ, AISTĖ NAVECKAITĖ
Synopsis: “The song mocks pseudo-artists who talk more than work, have little experience but want everything here and now. It also speaks to those who like to publicly praise their own work,” — says the Frontman and song author of “ba.” Benas Aleksandravičius. The video for “Pažadai” starts with a quote: “the walls were shaking, the dogs were barking, the children were crying.” This is an excerpt from a news report that aired on Lithuanian television in the summer of this year, just after the end of “ba.” concert in Vingis park in Vilnius, Lithuania. The idea of making the video for the single was cherished in a bar in Vilnius. The director Aboveground, who lives and works in London, gave his word to make one by the end of the year. To ensure that these promises are not just empty words, as sung in the new single, he kept his word. “We associate empty promises with rubbish, so the main video location was on the landfills,” briefly explains the director whose creative style originated in New York. When asked about the experience of filming, “ba.” frontman said he would remember it for a long time: “Being there broke any smell record. It was definitely the most challenging part of the filming,” says Benas who wears head-to-toe white in the video to contrast with the environment of the dump.
All the pretty little horses | Andorra | 2022 | 05’
Director: David Moreno
Writer: David Moreno
Producer: David Moreno
Cast: Lua Roca Meneses, Boris Chrestia, Olivia Lara Martinez
Synopsis: In a village in the Pyrenees, sometime in the 1940s. A teenage girl in a dirty, ruffled dress, sings a lullaby to her son. They live in a very humble stone hut and only a small fireplace protects them from the cold. She remembers the horrible events that brought her to this situation and once and for all decides to end their suffering.
Lovers’ Roulette | United States | 2023 | 08’
Director: Lauren Hoover
Writers: Stephen Lind, Lauren Hoover
Producers: Stephen Lind, Lauren Hoover, Brie Blount
Cast: Stephen Lind, Irving Green
Synopsis: “Lovers’ Roulette,” an experimental horror-themed short, follows the Lonely Man (Stephen Lind) as he cautiously navigates through the lust-driven lair whose patrons find themselves lost and unable to “Getaway.”
Narrative Short – Official Selection – March 2023
Nobody | Austria | 2022 | 17’
Director: Jakob Marvin Pietsch
Writer: Jakob Marvin Pietsch
Producers: Jakob Marvin Pietsch, Matthias Papst
Cast: Harwin Kravitz, Simon Dietersdorfer
Synopsis: A boy makes a unsuccessful living and is persuaded by two criminals to rob a gas station. He has to flee and hides in a small shed. There he discovers a human head that seems to have grown out of the wall and who can predict sports betting, promising the boy wealth. In exchange he wants to be freed.
Moth | Belgium | 2021 | 24’
Director: Jérémy Maucour
Writer: Jérémy Maucour
Producer: Lou-Théa Papaloizos
Cast: Lazare Gousseau, Janine Godinas, Serge Swysen, Stéphane Bissot, Laurent Caron
Synopsis: In a quiet suburbia, a strange presence troubles the tranquility of the neighborhood.
Dress Up | United Kingdom | 2021 | 09’
Director: Sara Chia-Jewell
Writer: Sara Chia-Jewell
Producer: Jessica Newark
Cast: Tim Downie, Sara Chia-Jewell, Sally Miller
Synopsis: A mixed-race woman applies for a job as a costume wearer, only to find nothing fits.
CHIN UP, DUDE ! | Austria | 30’
Director: Florian Moses Bayer
Writers: Florian Moses Bayer, Marie Luise Lehner
Producer: Caroline Liebhart
Cast: Laurin Saied, Felix Oitzinger, Antonia Baumgartner, Suse Lichtenberger, Thomas Mraz, Christian Strasser
Synopsis: Gery makes the leap from the youth soccer team to the testosterone-overloaded combat team. He is pushed from all sides into desired futures – he tries to match all of them without knowing what he actually wants himself.
FIORE | Italy | 2022 | 11’
Director: Alberto Mattea
Writers: Alberto Mattea, Jacopo Matricciani
Producer: Chiara Maria Pezzati
Cast: Alberto Morella, Alberto Mattea, Matteo Chiappa, Ludovico Della Valle, Matteo Resegotti, Piero Massa, Lorenzo Celona
Synopsis: At the end of a brilliant career across the most prominent courts of late Medieval Italy, legendary master at arms, Fiore dei Liberi, reminisces about some key episodes of his action packed life and teaches a skeptical young scribe a valuable lesson on survival while supervising the creation of his renowned “Fior di Battaglia” (The Flower of Battle) treatise on combat, which is studied worldwide today.
Black Black Night | Lithuania | 2022 | 25’
Director: Laura Udra
Writer: Laura Udra
Producer: Natalija Butylkina
Cast: Dainius Gavenonis, Viktorija Zobielaite
Synopsis: A middle-aged man Artūras and an eccentric teen Ilona are two strangers meeting at night. Together they seek to find an escape from personal loneliness.
Recommended Actions During an Earthquake | Republic of Korea | 2022 | 01’
Director: Hyunjung Kim
Writer: Hyunjung Kim
Producer: Yeieun Song
Cast: TaeHa An, Jaei Lee
Synopsis: ChangShik dreams to become a writer. His ex Sohyun comes to visit him with her Guppy ‘Gu Bum’ after getting a rental fraud; and Chang Shik does not understand Sohyun. And an earthquake hits the city on the night Sohyun left him.
Hating Beckett | United States | 2022 | 18’
Director: Matthew Gossin
Writer: John Yearley
Producers: Anthony Pearce, John Yearley
Cast: John Pirruccello, Mark Boyett, Julie Millett
Synopsis: A couple’s post-theater dinner date turns confrontational as the pair discuss the merits of Samuel Beckett’s Rough for Theatre II. Things escalate to the point of disclosed trauma, bitter recriminations and hurled bread rolls — and it becomes clear they have a few issues to work out.
Lullaby of Misfortune | Canada | 2022 | 18’
Director: Philippe Cormier
Writer: Philippe Cormier
Producer: Philippe Cormier
Cast: Marilou Morin, Karl Farah, Sara Karel Chiasson
Synopsis: 1995. Lysanne has just abandoned her biological parent’s research. At the same time, her sleep is disturbed by insomnia which turns out to be more dangerous than she thinks.
No/Low Budget – Official Selection – March 2023
LAND OF THE IMMUNE | Greece | 2021 | 28’
Director: MYRTO TRABL
Writer: MYRTO TRABL
Cast: MYRTO TRABL, KONSTANTINOS ANDRIKOULAS, CHRISTOS LEPOURAS
Synopsis: May 2020. Belgium is devastated by the pandemic and a young journalist is determined to take action. Noticing other countries are counting much lower victim rates, she travels to Greece in order to research the secret to people’s immunity. Land of the Immune brings together characters helplessly prejudiced against each other -but true romantics at heart.
Things that have to be done | Germany | 14’
Director: Tatiana Calasans
Writer: Tatiana Calasans
Producer: Tatiana Calasans
Cast: Binta Sophie Kamagate, Yezenia Leon Mezu, Ali Ahmed, Kofi Franklin Bio, Lioba Jarju
Synopsis: A hot summer day in Hamburg. The young black activist Ella tries to motivate friends to go to a rally. Not an easy task when the temperature in Hamburg is over 25 degrees and everyone is busy with other important things.
F.A.R. East | France | 2021 | 10’
Director: Les DelphineS
Writer: Delphine Poudou
Producer: Les DelphineS
Cast: Hervé David, Blandine Guerrand, Pascale Mompez, Sandrine Guisier, Patricia Samuel, Caroline Rabaliatti, Thibault Duval
Synopsis: Every one, at FAR East, finds his particular place. And all the new visitors are so welcome…
Series (Web/TV) – Official Selection – March 2023
Psychics/Экстрасенсы | Russian Federation | 28’
Director: Roman Bataev
Synopsis: Three Loser Psychics attract the attention of journalist Anna, who decides to make a revealing film with their participation. In the course of the investigation, Anna not only begins to feel sympathy for the charismatic trinity, but also begins to doubt that their activities are an absolute fake.
Nana En Action: An Armenian Cooking Series | France | 2022 | 10’
Director: Nina Tamar Spring
Cast: Sona Manusak Vartanesyan
Synopsis: In 2019, I began documenting my Armenian grandmother’s recipes. At the time, Sona Vartanesyan was 90 years old and living in Villemomble, a suburb outside of Paris. I felt an urgency to document her cooking, an integral part of my connection to Armenian culture, and one that risked disappearing if not recorded. Sona and her husband Yetvart, both Armenian from the Greek neighborhood of Fener in Istanbul, moved to France in 1976. Through cooking recipes she learned from her mother in Istanbul, Nana is transmitting invaluable knowledge and a side of history that continues to be consciously denied, and gradually forgotten.
Short Dance/Musical – Official Selection – March 2023
Herbarium | Poland | 2021 | 14’
Director: Iwona Pasińska
Writer: Iwona Pasińska
Producer: Polish Dance Theatre
Cast: Evelyn Blue, Kacper Bożek, Julia Hałka, Paulina Jaksim, Patryk Jarczok, Jerzy Kaźmierczak, Zbigniew Kocięba, Katarzyna Kulmińska, Dominik Kupka, Daniel Michna, JinWoo Namkung, Pau Perez-Pique, Katarzyna Rzetelska, Zofia Tomczyk, Sandra Szatan, Amily Wong-Andryańczyk
Synopsis: ZIELNIK/HERBARIUM is the fifth choreographic film directed by Iwona Pasinska. It is a fairy-tale episode, told with tenderness, gushing with the intense colours of flowers and élan vital. Choreography composed to a suite by Edward Grieg and presented by the artists-dancers of the Polish Dance Theatre takes the audience into the world of flora. It allows to explore a day in the life of a plant from the moment it blooms to the end, drowned in warm nostalgia. We invite you to immerse yourself in the beautiful world of flowers and leaves, in the greens, reds and purples transitioning to the greys and browns of the autumn. And all this told with movement to the rhythm of the dynamic sounds of the suite Peer Gynt op. 1 performed by Trondheim Symfoniorkester & Opera.
Discarded | United States | 2023 | 09’
Director: Ilana Goldman
Cast: Ilana Goldman
Synopsis: A solo dancer (wearing a dress made from the plastic trash she generated over four months) embodies simultaneously both a woman and planet Earth reckoning with the impact of humans on the environment. Through her dancing body, we see Earth’s resiliency and ability to adapt to accommodate outside forces, but also its vulnerability when fighting certain sustained assaults. *Shot on location at Glacier National Park as Artists-in-Residence.
Satisfaction Guaranteed | United Kingdom | 2022 | 15’
Director: David Buchanan
Writer: David Buchanan
Producer: Oriane Pick
Cast: Lucy Young
Synopsis: Amy dreams of being a musical star on the West End stage – but when her boss threatens to fire her from her day job, she must push her performance to a whole new level.
Oh My Night | Netherlands | 2022 | 25’
Director: Isis Mihrimah Cabolet
Writers: Isis Mihrimah Cabolet, Merel Baldé
Producer: Janneke Doolaard
Cast: Merel Baldé
Synopsis: Short pop musical about a kaleidoscopic journey through the night. Inspired by the closure of nightlife as a result of Covid lockdowns. Human (Merel Baldé) is stuck in life. Challenged by her alter ego Blue, she steps out of her house. After a makeover by a trio of sassy vampires she ends up in a nightclub that brings her out of balance, yet also makes her shine. To the sounds of contemporary pop mixed with deep house and disco, lust is born and relationships burst, people drink, dance, kiss, sing, scream, shower. Enlightened, she continues her path once back on the street again; the morning is sunny and her dance is an ode to the kaleidoscopic journey through the night that has lifted her up and brought her back to life.
Short Comedy – Official Selection – March 2023
Fortissimo | France | 2023 | 15’
Director: Victor Cesca
Writer: Victor Cesca
Producers: Amiel Tenenbaum, Simon Pénochet, Vincent Malaisé, Victor Sissesky
Cast: Pierre-Léon Luneau, Arnaud Dezitter, Gayané Gharagyozyan
Synopsis: Guy, a pianist passionate about his music, sees his life turned upside down when the church where he officiates takes in a mysterious little girl. A true piano virtuoso, the child prodigy will soon steal the show. A duel of egos then begins.
Intern | United States | 2022 | 17’
Director: Elena Viklova
Writer: Elena Viklova
Producers: Elena Viklova, Sofia Terpou, Sean Kohnen
Cast: Isaac Jay, Greg Smith, Arianna Papalexopoulos, Richard Riehle
Synopsis: A former “summa cum laude” graduate, now one out of many interns, must undergo a peculiar interview process to get his first job.
Be My Baby | United Kingdom | 2022 | 13’
Director: Marie-Andrée Lemaire
Writer: Marie-Andrée Lemaire
Producer: Marie-Andrée Lemaire
Cast: Sue Hart
Synopsis: After her daughter leaves home for university, the emptiness Suzanne feels leads her into an unlikely friendship.
The Father, The Son and The Rav Kalmenson | France | 2023 | 15’
Director: Dayan D. Oualid
Writer: Dayan D. Oualid
Producers: Jonathan Hazan, Dayan D. Oualid
Cast: Marc Allal, Henri Liebman, Jarod Tseror, Tal Reuveny
Synopsis: Yoel, 30, is what was called in the 90s a “Lubavitch”, an Orthodox Jew. Every Saturday morning, he goes, accompanied by his 6-year-old son, to honor Shabbat in the synagogue in his neighborhood, a primary school set up for the occasion. That day, the rabbi of the community of devotees, Rav Kalmenson, an impressive man with his charisma and his long beard, will challenge Yoel by announcing to him that his son “is lighting up”.
Wild Music | Canada | 2022 | 21’
Director: Jaymz Bee
Writer: Jaymz Bee
Producers: Michele Silva-Neto, Kerri King, Lorenzo DiGianfelice, Paul Barbour
Cast: Jaymz Bee, Karen Ross, Vezi Tayyeb, Mariana Hutten, Irene Torres
Synopsis: A music producer gets a second chance in the music industry, thanks to some wealthy seniors and two girls who teach him to stop fearing technology!
Short Drama – Official Selection – March 2023
Laalipop | India | 2023 | 23’
Director: Avinash Ramdas Pingale
Writer: Avinash Ramdas Pingale
Producer: Avinash Ramdas Pingale
Cast: Vitthal Nagnath Kale, Sharvi Rahul Pawar, Arjun Patil, Siddheshwar Zadbuke
Synopsis: A tale of father who is single parent of a sweet daughter and his state of mind about the known unknown people around him. This makes him more insecure and more protective towards her daughter.
Lullaby of Misfortune | Canada | 2022 | 18’
Director: Philippe Cormier
Writer: Philippe Cormier
Producer: Philippe Cormier
Cast: Marilou Morin, Karl Farah, Sara Karel Chiasson
Synopsis: 1995. Lysanne has just abandoned her biological parent’s research. At the same time, her sleep is disturbed by insomnia which turns out to be more dangerous than she thinks.
KAYAMAI (in English – “TURPITUDE”) | India | 2022 | 17’
Director: Radhakrishnan Gopal
Writer: Radhakrishnan Gopal
Producer: Radhakrishnan Gopal
Cast: Dev Payakkal, Janaki Antony, ATTUL RAS, Arunachalam Vel
Synopsis: A Group of so called INTELECT NAXALS, who are plotting a huge rally against the GOVERNMENT’S (LITHIUM) project to protect the soil from environmental impact. A corrupted MINISTER (POLITICIAN) setting up the team of COPS to stop the protest, because he has a personal benefit in the project, if it is signed between the GOVERNMENT and one Multinational Company. So, what is next and the end? Somehow only the mankind is responsible for all environmental impact, ultimately mother nature suffers taking the brunt of all destruction.
Tutti ne hanno paura | Italy | 2022 | 11’
Director: Norman Colombo
Writer: Norman Colombo
Cast: Edoardo Severgnini, Marina De Juli, Maurizio Panfilo
Synopsis: A young man discusses with his mother whether to subject his terminally ill grandfather to euthanasia, the woman refuses. Later the woman goes to her father to bring him the drugs and this in the grip of delirium and pain … attacks her.
Barkochba | Hungary | 2022 | 14’
Director: Hunor Demeter
Writer: Máté Szabó
Producer: Attila Csáky
Synopsis: In his newest book, esteemed author, Kornél Tánczos presents an intimate journey to his readers. What might seem like your everyday crime story, soon transforms into the merging of reality and fiction, where you’ll find the main character getting lost on his spiraling journey of finding the truth. Will he discover what he always wished for? If so, what kind of sacrifices does he need to make? These are the questions this book seeks answers for, and perhaps so do the readers, who might find their own kinds of truth in between the lines.
I AM POEM | United States | 2022 | 15’
Director: Maite Bonilla
Writers: Maite Bonilla
Producer: Yudelka Heyer
Cast: Sebastian Osegueda, Miriam Pinedo, Rossmery Almonte, Samuel Maria Gomez
Synopsis: Carlito, a sensitive but courageous young boy comes to terms with his gender identity and defies his heartless mother in hopes of her acceptance.
A Ton of Ice Cream | The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia | 2022 | 19’
Director: Sandra Gjorgieva
Writers: Sandra Gjorgieva, Jakov Poposki
Producer: Ilija Tiricovski
Cast: Jelena Jovanova, Bodan Kirandziski
Synopsis: Vedran, a 15-year-old boy, takes part in a car accident. He makes amends to the wrong people by bringing them a ton of ice cream, which melts along with his hope for redemption.
Men of silence | Sweden | 2023 | 15’
Director: Bo Pärletun
Writer: Bo Pärletun
Producer: Helene Granqvist
Cast: Rikard Lekander, Rita Hjelm, Adja Krook, Pontus Olgrim, Sandro Khafor
Synopsis: Alex has just received funding for his first feature film. During the kick-off party for the movie, the film’s writer Mika reveals that one of the actors in the main cast Nikolai, has sexually assaulted her. Confused about what to do, Alex asks his boss Dennis for help. But Dennis is a close friend of Nikolai, and Alex finds himself alone in a struggle to end the culture of silence.
Made of Flesh | France | 2022 | 15’
Directors: Florence Rochat, Séréna Robin
Writers: Florence Rochat, Séréna Robin
Producers: Jonathan Hazan, Laurent Denis
Cast: Mara Taquin, Denis Eyriey, Laïka Blanc-Francard, Sanda Codreanu
Synopsis: With a touch of blush and a few drops of lip gloss, Lucie is getting ready to start her training day to become a hostess at a motor show. A lifelong car enthusiast, she has the secret hope of being noticed by the prestigious EBBE brand. However, she is unaware that the training has only one true goal: to make her and the other 15 girls into premium women.
Vordi | Armenia | 2023 | 25’
Director: Maria Batova
Writers: Maria Batova, Kirill Kuznetsov
Producer: Maria Batova
Cast: Vahe Vayan, Edgar Sargysyan, Margo Sargysyan
Synopsis: The person who committed the murder wanders in the labyrinths of his memory and recreates a picture of the day of the crime in order to explain the reason for his act.
Irreverence | Ireland | 2022 | 15’
Director: Siún O Connor
Writer: Siún O Connor
Producer: Maggie Ryan
Cast: Sorcha Cusack, Clare Monnelly
Synopsis: Due to her unorthodox lifestyle, widowed Bridget (70) has a very strained relationship with her daughter Annie (30). These women are poles apart. Bridget is deeply religious, when it suits her. She is adamant that her granddaughter Queenie must be baptised. Annie shows no outward signs of religiosity. She is not interested in christening the child and the more Bridget pushes, the further Annie recoils. Bridget feels she has no option but to take matters into her own hands. But how will she get time alone with the baby when relations are so strained? Aware that Annie has a prior engagement, Bridget orchestrates things so that Annie is backed into a corner and must ask her to mind the baby. While in her charge, Bridget will do as she sees fit. Bridget has arranged the baptism with the local priest Fr. Michael. But something stops Bridget in her tracks. Will she go through with the unthinkable act?
Just A Piece of Cake | United States | 2022 | 04’
Director: Kevin R Romeo
Writers: Matthew James Bakken, Kevin R Romeo
Producer: Kevin R Romeo
Cast: Mike Pixley, Sarah McDaid
Synopsis: A short film on the subtleties of grief and death.
Just A Piece of Cake features a man reflecting on the death of his father, at dusk on the family farm, after everyone has long departed the funeral service. The film explores the relationship between emotions and physical artifacts, and how we imbue meaning to inanimate objects due to their psychological significance. In the end, it’s just a piece of cake.
One evening | Ukraine | 2023 | 08’
Director: Eugen Avines
Writer: Eugen Avines
Producer: Eugen Avines
Cast: Lika Gavchuk, Yevhen Hunia, Maksym Maliutenko-Yankovskyi, Maksym Iliukhin, Sofia Miroshnichenko, Leonid Gonchar
Lullaby of Misfortune | Canada | 2022 | 18’
Director: Philippe Cormier
Writer: Philippe Cormier
Producer: Philippe Cormier
Cast: Marilou Morin, Karl Farah, Sara Karel Chiasson
Synopsis: 1995. Lysanne has just abandoned her biological parent’s research. At the same time, her sleep is disturbed by insomnia which turns out to be more dangerous than she thinks.
Hating Beckett | United States | 2022 | 18’
Director: Matthew Gossin
Writer: John Yearley
Producers: Anthony Pearce, John Yearley
Cast: John Pirruccello, Mark Boyett, Julie Millett
Synopsis: A couple’s post-theater dinner date turns confrontational as the pair discuss the merits of Samuel Beckett’s Rough for Theatre II. Things escalate to the point of disclosed trauma, bitter recriminations and hurled bread rolls — and it becomes clear they have a few issues to work out.
Short Fantasy/Sci-Fi– Official Selection – March 2023
Sky Above | United Kingdom | 2022 | 03’
Director: Anda Teglas
Writer: Anda Teglas
Producer: This Is Insomnia
Cast: Bogdan Pascal, Tudor Asaftei
Synopsis: ‘Sky Above’ is a short sci fi film about possibilities – if humanity were to encounter an alien civizilisation right here, on our home planet, how would that encounter be? Would you dare to go look at it up close? Would it be mesmerising, scary….peaceful? Would we even give things time to unfold? The narrative follows one of the many possibilities this encounter might take, through the eyes of a girl who decides to leave everything behind and go check it out.
Cockroaches | 2022 | 10’
Director: Adel Khan Faroog
Writer: Adel Khan Farooq
Producers: Lise Fearnley, Tonje Skar Reiersen
Cast: Marlon Valdés Langeland, Aksel Hennie, Abdulhakim Hassane
Synopsis: In a dystopian city on the verge of collapse after cockroaches have taken over, a brotherhood sends 17-year-old Tim on a mission to blow up the cockroaches’ nest to save his hometown. But a meeting with a stranger makes Tim reconsider his perception of reality. Cockroaches is an animated fable about exclusion and extremism, showing how search for acceptance can have fatal consequences. In a time when the extreme right is once again marching across many European countries, the film aims to send a warning.
Hindsight | United Kingdom | 2022 | 06’
Director: Dimitri Papazachariou
Writer: Dimitri Papazachariou
Producer: Dimitri Papazachariou
Cast: Jane Lu, Michael Jinks
Synopsis: A world where relationships can be seen before they even take place. Is it better to love and lost or never to have loved at all?
Short Thriller/Mystery – Official Selection – March 2023
3.15am | India | 2022 | 14’
Director: Amit Raj Verma
Writer: Amit Raj Verma
Producers: Pradip Amin, Amit Patel
Cast: Shafi Moin, Suman Patel, Amit Ghosh
Synopsis: Every night at 3.15 a.m., a thud sound of shovel from under the bed begins to haunt a man. Perplexed with the sound and other happenings around him, he suspects that his wife is haunting him. But night after night the happenings intensify until he decides to deal with the situation. On the final night he waits for 3:15 a.m., fully prepared to face the scare but gets appalled to see something trying to pop out of the ground this time. He unravels the mystery of 3.15 a.m. but the truth stays beyond and longer.
Sunday Roast | Sweden | 2022 | 15’
Director: Olof Berghe
Writer: Olof Berghe
Producer: Olof Berghe
Cast: Sten Ljunggren, Tuva Jagell, Therése Jacobsen
Synopsis: Holger lives alone in his apartment. When 60 years younger Anna moves into the same stairwell, he invites her to a Sunday dinner. What first appears to be a nice dinner is gradually changing into something else. Sunday Roast is about mental disorders and revolves around the conflict between curiosity, obligation and danger.
SONAR | United Kingdom | 2022 | 07’
Director: James Hughes
Writer: Eleonora Mignoli
Producer: James Hughes
Cast: Amy Marie Campbell, Jack Brett Anderson
Synopsis: A swimmer detects an unusual sound late at night and she decides to investigate.
Stop-Motion/Time-Lapse – Official Selection – March 2023
Under A Shooting Contrail | United States | 2022 | 07’
Director: Rika Nakayama
Synopsis: A little stop-motion puppet leaves his studio and explores the outside world. He experiences the vast, dynamic, and unpredictable world of nature through a lens of a stop-motion puppet.
No Wrong Turns | United States | 2022 | 03’
Director: Aiden Vetterlein
Synopsis: “No wrong turns” conveys through visual metaphors, that are vacant of human depiction, the very human experience of avoiding and confronting decisions. The film uses automobiles as the vehicle of this message. This is the 2022 BFA student thesis film of Pacific Northwest College of Art alumni Aiden Vetterlein.
Student Short – Official Selection – March 2023
Shards | Hungary | 2022 | 12’
Director: Tibor Albert Kapás
Synopsis: The hungarian state system of social founds is often unable to help those in need, letting many fall through the cracks, having to deal with poverty and old age on their own. This is why the work of NGOs’, such as the From Streets to Homes Association serve as an important supplement to the Hungarian welfare system. Within this organization, the work of social workers is especially important, as they are the ones helping manage the everyday lives of those in need, often going past their personal and emotional limits during their workweek. Viktoria Molnar is one of these social workers. By following her, we get an understanding of how difficult this type of work is. At the same time, we inevitably get emotionally invested in the lives of Viki’s clients, just like she does. In every person’s life there are splinters that leave scars. The title, Shards, refers both to the lives of the people in the film and to the structure of the film, as we get small glimpses into the everyday lives of others through Viki’s work.
Wave Land | France | 2021 | 15’
Director: Ugo Aubry
Writer: Vincent Hartmann
Producer: Jean Loir
Cast: Maxime Ardant, Emma Gagnadoux
Synopsis: At the heart of a restless skatepark, Elio, a young 15-year-old designer, is captivated by the atmosphere of the place. It’s when he meets Gwen, a young skateboarder with a strong temperament, that Elio tries desperately to learn the hard rules of this arena where violence and competition reign…
Everything’s Fine with Fizzy | Hong Kong | 2022 | 09’
Director: Vincent Cheung
Writer: Vincent Cheung
Producer: Vincent Cheung
Cast: Dominic Locastro, Dorothy Vince Chow, Joyce Fung, Merritt Pamela, Shadow Wong, Tommy Wong, Timothy Choi, Sheena Chan
Synopsis: A girl Fizzy is suffering from Hidden Depression; Meanwhile, her friend Karla slowly discovers about her mental illness and tries to help.
Errands | United States | 2022 | 04’
Director: Parker Cmeyla
Writer: Parker Cmeyla
Producer: Parker Cmeyla
Synopsis: A simple dad out to lunch, before his last errand.
All Too Human | Bulgaria | 2022 | 12’
Director: Ralitsa Svetoslavova Stavreva
Writer: Ralitsa Svetoslavova Stavreva
Synopsis: A story about being a human. A tragic accident brings two people together who have no clue of their past.
Cats Don’t Sleep at Night | United States | 2022 | 15’
Director: Beibei Xu
Synopsis: A young women is trying to see some light at the end of the tunnel at the low point of her life, while her cat and boyfriend has been somewhat emotionally distant.
Good Morning I Love You | United States | 2022 | 24’
Director: Scott Magid
Writer: Scott Magid
Producers: Amy Teboul, Josie Bleakley
Cast: Will Malloy, Hillel Rosenshine
Synopsis: Noah meets a man online and dreams of connection.
Diving Deep | Denmark | 2023 | 21’
Director: Malene Begtrup
Writer: Malene Begtrup
Producer: Helena Lagoni Isbye
Cast: Julie Frendrup Skovborg, Christine Albeck Børge, Karl Peter Kjær Houlind
Synopsis: Kaia is 12 years old and has lost her father in a diving accident. While her mother tries to keep the family together, Kaia lies and sneaks away from the support group to go on diving adventures in the local swimming pool. Beneath the surface, Kaia searches for her father in a magical world under water, while trying to understand death without fear.
Not funny evening | Israel | 2021 | 09’
Director: Yana Riahi
Writers: Yana Riahi, Omer Rosenblum
Producer: Omer Rosenblum
Cast: Daniela Dalin, Matanel Laiany
Synopsis: Daniela and Matanel , a life partners, are fighting at the car about something that Matanel said at the party at friends house. They are so angry, that they almost splitting up, till Daniela remembers why she actually loves him.
JAWAI | United Kingdom | 2022 | 14’
Director: Katya Ignatiev
Writer: Katya Ignatiev
Producer: Vajaram Dewasi Verana
Synopsis: Hidden away in a corner of Rajasthan resides an ancient tribe. A community that cherishes their customs of mythology, history and ancestral heritage tying in with their traditional lifetime occupation as shepherds. These humble, semi-nomadic people have lived in Jawai for hundreds of years, but the untold secret about this specific community is that here they share their land with leopards…
Crows | Israel | 2023 | 17’
Director: Laron Shwartzman
Writer: Laron Shwartzman
Producer: Laron Shwartzman
Cast: Eldad Ben Tora, David Bar Ilan, Omri Rechter, Michael Regev
Synopsis: Dror, a high school teacher in a small neighborhood, finds himself managing a fight club together with one of his students, Yonatan.
No Hearts in Stock | Israel | 2022 | 26’
Director: Shahar Shabtay
Writer: Shahar Shabtay
Producer: Shahar Shabtay
Cast: Noam Lugasy, Maayan Rahima, Yossi Ariel
Synopsis: A young woman tries to manage when everything in her world is on the verge of death, and all she wants is to live.
Foxtrot | Greece | 08’
Director: Nikos Pavlineris
Writer: Nikos Pavlineris
Cast: Elia Verganelaki
Synopsis: Kostas asks Elli for a date, after returning to Athens ten years later.Will he talk to her?
The Bird of Paradise | United States | 2022 | 19’
Director: David Painter
Writer: David Painter
Producer: Devon Weigers
Cast: Karis Peterson, Shawn Heitman, Jake DiRe, Julie Lehrer, Samantha Peters, Nitya Kalidindi, Kate Kaemmerling, Alston Phu
Synopsis: A colorful exploration into a lost girl’s journey to self-acceptance as she learns to find her wings.
