Animation Short – Official Selection – May 2022
Saturation | Croatia | 2022 |10’
Director: Lucija Bužančić
Writer: Lucija Bužančić
Producer: Andrijana Vidaček
Synopsis: Something grew out of the cracks and walls and occupied all the empty spaces in a little Mediterranean city. This short film is about the gentrification of a place that has recently become a real archeological site thanks to severe turistification.
Shine | United States | 2022 | 02’
Director: THEODORE DALEY
A short film about looking for those who have left you behind and the hope to shine bright together again someday. Made in honor of my sister, mother and father who all have passed away.
The Clothing | China| 2019 | 07’
Director: Xiangyu Li
Writer: Xiangyu Li
Producer: Xiangyu Li
Synopsis: Because it was born with a heart that changes color, it had to wear clothes to hide that colorful heart. It wasn’t until one day, when it met someone similar to it, that it realized that it wasn’t alone. So it decided to show its truest self on an important day.
The Star Mill | Canada | 2022 | 05’
Director: Daniel Blake
Synopsis: A boy and his pet owlbear learn to appreciate the present, and not worry about the future, while running a windmill that powers the stars at night.
Geisha L.O.V.E. Jordan | 2021 | 08’
Director: Mike V. Derderian
Writer: Mike V. Derderian
Producers: Nadine Taysir Toukan, Tamer AlKarrain
Cast: Rania Kurdi, Hala Odeh, Mike V. Derderian, Tamer AlKarrain, Sally Sweidan
Synopsis: Geisha L.O.V.E. is a day in the life of a graffiti artist and her robot protector / companion set in 2155. The action takes place within the span of 24 hours in Delphipolis, a futuristic city brought about by political upheavals and economic unrest in 2155. Geisha paints slogans for freedom writers in this country, where graffiti is punishable by death. The freedom fighters do not dare venture out into the street. The World Union, a conglomerate of European, Arab and Asian, established NADA to eradicate defiant street art through ruthless robots that do not hesitate to execute graffiti artists on the spot. Geisha L.O.V.E. is a tough, no nonsense woman. A renegade graffiti artist in a dystopian world, where graffiti has become the only way to spread the word; and claim the city. Geisha L.O.V.E and Graffbot take up graffiti assignments that take them to dangerous places. Most of the time they find themselves in abandoned factories, and in other times they have to sneak a quick tag in a crowded street in a city – unnoticed.
LEMON | 2022 | 04’
Director: Yuanyuan Lu
Writer: Yuanyuan Lu
Producer: Yuanyuan Lu
Synopsis: A man is sitting in a narrow living room and reading a book. There is a sofa, a box filled with various stuff and a ceiling lamp in this room. The lamp lightens the room. However, the bulb is broken without warning. The man is shocked and tries to find a new bulb in the box in the darkness. After a search, he finds something that has a similar shape and plugs it into the lamp. However, after the room becomes lightened again, he notices that the thing he finds is actually a lemon but can be used as a bulb somehow. The space lightened by the lemon becomes a lemon tree woods, which becomes the start of his adventure.
Commercial/Ad/TVC – Official Selection – May 2022
The Black Knight | United States | 2021 | 07’
Directors: Chris Aronoff, Annmarie Aronoff
Writers: Chris Aronoff, Annmarie Aronoff
Producers: Chris Aronoff, Annmarie Aronoff
Synopsis: The power of a knight and the elegance of a rider. Both elegant and aggressive, The Black Knight – Diamond DA50 Aircraft, comes alive and launches into the skies for the first time redefining the most spacious, modern, eco-friendly, luxurious, single piston aircraft in the world today.
Roberto Ugolini Florence | Italy | 2022 | 02’
Directors: Marika Ramunno, Dominique Jean Paul Stanisci
Writer: Dominique Jean Paul Stanisci
Producer: Joyful People Company
Cast: Roberto Ugolini, Franco Mazzetti
Synopsis: Roberto Ugolini’s elegant Tuscan craftsmanship since 1995 meets the man who chooses his look with care and attention.
Looking forward to the Asian Games | China | 2022-02-09 | 02’
Director: Hu li huai
Synopsis: In the countdown to the 19th Asian Games in 2022, the film combines traditional Ou Yue culture elements such as dragon boat and opera with modern football, showing the city’s energetic spirit. At the same time, it also demonstrates people’s keen expectation of the Asian Games and their confidence and determination to assist in hosting the Games.
Debut – Official Selection – May 2022
Keep on looking | Argentina | 2022 | 09’
Director: Emanuel Vazquez Santana
Writer: Emanuel Vazquez Santana
Producer: Emanuel Vazquez Santana
Cast: María Eugenia Rigón
Synopsis: Five women with different lives but crossed by the same reality, almost imperceptible to others.
Invasión | 11’ |
Director: Pip Woolley
Writer: Pip Woolley
Producers: Abraham Elton, Pip Woolley
Cast: Iona Champain, Joe Cook
Director of Photography: Finn Boxer
Editors: Pip Woolley, Finn Boxer
Art Director: Sol Pockets
Sound Recordist: Waris Albakri
Gaffer: Karolina Burlikowska
Original Score: Max Winter
Mixing Engineer: Joe Shrimpling
Colourist: Emma Johnson
Production Assistant: Alfie Elms
Post-Production Assistant: Waris Albakri
Synopsis:
We live in a watched world. Whether it’s CCTV, Smartphones, Social Media or simply other people’s expectations, everything we do is governed by what we think others expect and how we expect others will react. We live in a world governed by unspoken social rules. Yet within all of us, there is an unspoken urge to act beyond these boundaries. In some it is strong, in others weak, but no one knows how they would truly react once they know that no one is watching.
Documentary Short – Official Selection – May 2022
Cet été | Belgium | 2022 | 22’
Director: Victoria Kadjou Jadot
VWriters: ictoria Kadjou Jadot, Steeven Jacquemin
Cast: Ethelle Lagonzeth Lardued, Mélusine Loveniers
Synopsis: Voici l’histoire d’un été chaud, d’une magie douce, d’une promenade solitaire: une petite parenthèse. This is the story of a hot summer, of a soft magic,of a solitary walk: a small parenthesis.
We Went Out | Canada | 2022 | 12’
Director: Ian Kamau
Writer: Ian Kamau
Producers: Dian Marie Bridge, Pip Bradford
Cast: Ian Kamau, Danilo McCallum, Paul Sackichand, Mia-Skye Sagara
Synopsis: We Went Out is a short film based in Toronto that explores coming of age in the in-between spaces of a city. In the spring of 2021 Rosina Kazi called to ask if I would contribute to a project she was curating as part of the 2021 Luminato Festival. The project would become a five-part docu-music series called Guided by Starlight—Exploring Toronto’s Musical Galaxy. The concept focused on neighbourhoods then pivoted to venues because of the music venue closures happening in the city due to Covid restrictions and lockdowns. I told Rose, a long-time friend, that many of those venues did not treat hip hop or young Black and Brown people well in the times when we performed in them regularly. The venues my close friends and I spent the most time in where in-between and informal spaces: sidewalks, stairwells, benches. We had few formal places to be on our own. I made We Went Out, a short film featuring my close friends and members of the downtown hip hop community in the 90’s and 00’s, to pay homage to the people who became adults in those in-between spaces. It is a mapping project. We have wonderful and significant memories in places that are not often valued, that didn’t value us, but are an important part of Toronto’s cultural landscape.
I’ve learned to leave with… | France | 2021 | 10’
Director: Desalos Isabelle
Writer: Desalos Isabelle
Producer: Desalos Isabelle
Synopsis: One night, whereas they programmed to sleep in the caravan, a 10 years old girl is abused by her 17 years old cousin. The young girl tells us her feelings.
Tapu te Ranga Marae | New Zealand | 2020 | 29’
Director: Vanessa Patea
Writer: Vanessa Patea, Ruth Korver
Producer: Ruth Korver
Synopsis: Tapu Te Ranga Marae in Wellington, the largest and tallest wooden building in New Zealand made of recycled materials was devastated in a blaze in June 2019. The documentary gives us the rich history of the Marae and introduces us to Kaumatua Bruce Stewart in the last years of his life. Through him and the voices of his family, we learn about ‘living Māori’ in an extraordinary Marae, built by a community of gang members, wayward youth, volunteers and the larger family who shared in Bruce’s vision.
The Artist Greg Ramsden | United Kingdom | 2022 | 07’
Director: Jamie Hull Greenwood
Producers: Jamie Hull Greenwood, Kjetil Skarstein, Greg Ramsden
Cast: Greg Ramsden
Synopsis: A documentary micro short, looking at the process and motivations of British artist Greg Ramsden after a series of interviews with director and producer Jamie Hull Greenwood. Greg Ramsden achieved a first class degree in Painting & Printmaking from Sheffield University under the tuition of the realist painter George Shaw, a Turner prize finalist in 2011. Following Greg’s time in higher education he became an artist assistant to the international sculptor Heather Jansch. After which his painting career was jump started with him winning the Lionel Aggett Award at the South West Academy of Art in 2009. Greg continues to build on previous achievements including having work hung in the royal academy amongst other prestigious venues and he was elected a director of the south west academy of art in 2015. He is known for his incredible landscape and seascape paintings that often have a huge emotive effect on observers and art lovers a like. Narrated by Greg himself from his south west studio for HGL in April 2022.
When They’re Gone |United States | 2021 | 19’
Director: Kristen Hwang
Producer: Kristen Hwang
Cast: Clay Ford, Dan Stefflar, Alex White, Charleen Carroll, Wayne Scott, Alexia Chapman, Jack Kruger, Zach Grabbe
Synopsis: WHEN THEY’RE GONE is a documentary short, examining humanity’s fragile dependence on nature. Despite our best efforts to control and shape our surroundings, we learn through the film’s characters that disrupting nature’s carefully designed ecosystems carries weighty consequences. In doing so, it casts a spotlight on industrial agriculture’s reliance on honey bees for hire in order to produce crops. The film’s four characters struggle to transport enough healthy bees to California’s Central Valley to pollinate the almond orchards–the mecca of migratory pollinators. Each character represents a small piece of an industry that brings nearly every bee and beekeeper in the country together to feed the world, their bees equal parts necessary and disposable.
Experimental Short – Official Selection – May 2022
See the Sea with me | Hong Kong | 2021 | 05’
Director: June Siu Ling Wong
Writer: June Siu Ling Wong
Producer: June Siu Ling Wong
Synopsis: In Hong Kong there is a mountain near a prison. Many press photographers had to climb and abseil to reach the mountain because it was the only place to capture the images of the pro-democracy activists who were charged under the national security law over their organisation and participation in a primary election in 2020. Activists tried very hard to show messages towards the cameras before they got on the vehicle as they know Hongkongers need to see the hope.
This life and the other | Colombia | 2022 | 10’
Director: Luis Rojas
Writer: Luis Rojas
Producer: Luis Rojas
Cast: Natalia Castrillón, Sergio Castrillón
Synopsis: Natalia and Sergio have listened to music since they were in their mother’s womb, this has strengthened their relationship as siblings, this piece is a declaration of love in a poetic way where we reflect on the meaning of family and how the places we visit make us grow.
Fire In The Lake | United States | 2022 | 14’
Director: Eleni Mylonas
Writer: Eleni Mylonas
Producers: Eleni Mylonas, Stefanos Bertakis
Cast: Eleni Mylonas
Synopsis: “I walked down to the sea shore to take a swim on an August afternoon and I saw strange objects floating on the surface. I dipped my hand in and brought up a handful of burned wood shards. A thick black pulp was covering the sea as far as the eye could see. It was an alien apocalyptic sight. I photographed and video recorded the scene and I gathered several sacks of black pulp, pine cones, sticks and several other incinerated objects. I brought this material back to my studio and I created a mandala as a monument to the losses suffered from the wild fires, now a familiar worldwide event. The classification of the objects composing the installation is reminiscent of a museum display or perhaps of a burial ground of fallen soldiers. The work was completed during the performance for the camera coming full circle with the ominous destruction of the mandala itself.” The film opens with a Sanskrit hymn from Rig Veda sang by Eleni Mylonas to the God Ganesh, who blesses all new beginnings. The chant towards the end, N’at, is an ode to Mohamed sang in Farsi by a traditional Afghan singer, recorded by UNESCO in the 1960s. The title comes from the oracle of Hexagram #49 of the I Ching Fire in the lake: The image of Revolution. Necessary action: Transformation.
The tale of “Herring Villas” | Russian Federation | 2022 | 08’
Director: Maxett Pribylov
Writer: Maxett
Producers: Alexander Dudin, Maxett
Cast: Elena Korneeva, Yaroslav Zenin, Alexandr Bekleshov, Mavey Novikov
Synopsis: Our project is a statement against the propaganda of homophobia. It is a mirror reflecting the absurdity of this phenomenon. The main “heroine” with her “secret salad” is a metaphor describing an ignorant entity in an aristocratic shell. In addition to latent homosexuality, the film raises the topic of internal homophobia, which, in our opinion, deserves special attention.
What is Homophobia? Is it ignorance or a desire to justify your own complexes? The feeling of hopeless nonsense, often hidden in a beautiful shell, doesn’t leave me. A lot of homophobic posts over the past year from “aristocratic, intelligent people” inspired me to create a ridiculous collective image of an “all-knowing lady.” This “heroine”, contrary to real scientific evidence about the normality of same-sex love, builds her science based on the “method of peering into neighbors.” She is like a metaphor of ignorance, which has difficulties with gender identification. The creation of the image was also influenced by the study of the personal profiles of people leaving homophobic comments on social networks. They look like normal people posting photos with children and grandchildren. But at the same time, they are not at all shy about writing rude comments with obscene language.
Symphony of you | Poland | 2021 | 02’
Director: Zofia Polecka
Writer: Zofia Polecka
Mini Short – Official Selection – May 2022
Defy the Odds 3:00 | United States | 2022 | 04’
Director: Corry Wiens
Writer: Corry Wiens
Producer: Gavin Buckland
Cast: Bradford Haynes
Synopsis: Amateur race car driver, Bill Lester, is faced with a decision that will upend the stable office life he’s trapped in. Based on the true story of Bill Lester, the first black NASCAR driver to win a race in NASCAR’s Grand-Am series.
NOCTURNAL QUESTION | France | 2022 | 03’
Director: Romane MASSARD
Writer: Romane MASSARD
Producer: Joséphine ONADO
Cast: Juliette AVER, Clarisse LHONI-BOTTE
Synopsis: As many people, Laura thinks too much. At bedtime, she asks her girlfriend “If you had one day left to live, what would you do? “. Laura, Penelope, two different perspectives on the ideal last day. And you, what would you do?
Thaipusam – trance for the son of Shiva | Malaysia | 2021 | 04’
Director: Joo Peter
Producer: CineMates and Cosmic Beachcomber
Synopsis: Full moon end of January – in a huge cave cathedral near Kuala Lumpur the Hindu festival Thaipusam is celebrated, many devotees falling in trance for Lord Murugan for purification and empowerment. The short film gives a sensual and hypnotic insight into the event with its rituals, spirituality and deeply touching community spirit, attended by all family from the youngest to the oldest.
Music Video – Official Selection – May 2022
Tero Risti – Insta Ida | Germany | 2022 | 06’
Director: Stefan Nacke
Writer: Stefan Nacke
Producer: Stefan Nacke
Cast: Insta Ida
Synopsis: Likes, likes, likes… Introducing the star of this Music Video: Insta Ida from techno producer Tero Risti’s eponymous title. Thanks to video artist Stefan Nacke’s tremendous work, we get to see Ida’s dedication to her online followers grow into a suffocating obsession for likes. Though Ida was born from outstanding, bold, 3D images, she ends up stuck in a 2D interface made of her own self-absorption. How far will she go in her attempt to transcend this virtual prison? What about us? How far would we go?
Losing Sleep | Norway | 01’
Director: Filip Koren
Producer: Pawel Tryzna
Jana Turcin lagala | Poland | 2022 | 07’
Director: Tomasz Pasula
Writer: Łukasz Klimczyk
Producer: Dorota Cieplicka
Cast: Joanna Fuczko, Viktoriia Korol, Justyna Borys, Łukasz Skrzypek Dołęga, Grzegorz Zawiliński, Michał Skrycki
Wake Me Up | United States | 04’
Director: Jensen Noen
Writer: Jensen Noen
Producer: Phoenix Vaughn
Synopsis: Anti-war project
KORIN F – Avec amour | France | 2022 | 04’
Director: Cédric Legrand
Writers: Cédric Legrand, Max Grayt
Producer: Elsa Philippe
Cast: Joseph Rozé, Marguerite Dedeyan
Synopsis: In the halls of a university, a telepathic television makes people disappear mysteriously. Like a mermaid, it uses the fantasies of its prey to attract and absorb them into the screen. Breathing her last, the television releases a wave of love that no one can resist. The video, points the irresistible attraction we have for the screens. In this love story, fantasies are revealed in a virtual world, they are fulfilled without restraint, without fear of being judged by the other. But who do we ultimately want? The machine or the person behind it?
“Nikdy Nikdo Nic” (Never Ever Nobody) – Anna Vaverková | Czech Republic | 2021 | 04’
Director: Amalie Kovarova
Writer: Anna Vaverkova
Producer: Old&Rich Production
Cast: Anna Vaverkova
Synopsis: Zero-budget music video shot during covid19 pandemic in Berlin.
“We’re Gonna Come Back” music video | United States | 2021 | 01’
Director: Janine Molinari
Writer: Don (song writer) Alden
Producer: Brittany Portman
Cast: Analise Scarpaci
Synopsis: “When Broadway went dark in 2020 it dimmed the hearts of thousands of people who not only depend on it for their livelihood but for artistic expression. Among us were young actors, singers, and dancers, some making their debut on the Broadway stage. “We’re Gonna Come Back” gives hope, resilience, and expression to all whose lives and hearts were affected this past year. But especially to the youth of Broadway, who are the future of theater here and everywhere. “
Janine Molinari
Narrative Short – Official Selection – May 2022
Peaks | Australia | 30’
Director: Navzad Dabu
Writers: Navzad Dabu, Dina Grinberg
Producers: Dina Grinberg, Yianni Andrikidis
Cast: Charles Alexander, Dina Grinberg, Damon Manns
Synopsis: Two friends spend a day of boredom in a bizarre and barren landscape. After one friend plays a macabre prank on the other, pent up insecurities are released in peculiar and damaging ways.
Getting him Back | Germany | 2020 | 29’
Director: Bico LaFrey
Writer: Bico LaFrey
Producer: Bico LaFrey
Cast: Bico LaFrey, Simon Schuller, Suzanne Combüchen, Michael R. Scholze
Synopsis: In this dry-humored tragicomedy twenty-something Emmi is desperately trying to win her boyfriend back, turning to somewhat unorthodox methods that throw her into hilariously absurd situations. The film presents us with quirky characters, an unusual love triangle and a surprising finale.
Hush | Norway | 2022 | 25’
Director: Emilie Beck
Writer: Pål Espen Mulder Kilstad, Emilie Beck
Producer: Eirik Fosse
Cast: Stig Henrik Hoff, Ranghild Mønnæs Arnestad, Conrad Ørland Wathne, Oliver Normann Hibbard
Synopsis: In public 12-year-old Martin seems like a normal smiling boy, but at home he faces uncertainty, and at times a harsh reality. With an alcoholic father, and a mother who barely manages to handle the situation, Martin is forced to do what it takes to keep the family together. Hush is a short about loyalty, fear and about growing up way too fast.
Fractal | United States | 11’
Director: Kiarra Goldberg
Writer: Keaton Morris-Stan
Producer: Phoebe Dunn
Cast: Keaton Morris-Stan, Austin Michael Young, Eddie Carroll
Synopsis: Grace experiences a miscarriage after a first date leads to an accidental pregnancy. Fractal follows the story of her struggle across three different realities; memory, present-day, and a dream of what could have been. How do you mourn the loss of something that you never had?
Lock Notes | Italy | 2021 | 07’
Director: Nicola Schito
Writers: Nicola Schito, Emanuele Greco
Cast: Federica Simonelli
Synopsis: Lock Notes, an intimate fiction with touches of documentary, takes place during the Covid-19 Global Pandemic. The protagonist, a young girl, is confined to her home in Milan, like the rest of humanity. She begins to write down her thoughts, talking to the city she can only see through the windows. The monologue soon turns into an inner journey that will lead the girl to find hope for the future, rediscovering the power of imagination.
The Black Hole | United States | 2021 | 10’
Director: Ethan Edward
Writer: Ethan Edward
Producers: Ethan Edward, John Mitchell Executive Producer, Vincent LaFonte Executive Producer
Cast: Elbert Watson, Osiris Sadique, Gabriel Tafari
Synopsis: An observation of communication. What truly divides us? Miscommunication. Humans exist with what we each define as our own version of “the truth.” We hear but are we truly listening?
Cognition | United Kingdom | 2020 | 25’
Director: Ravi Ajit Chopra
Writers: Ravi Ajit Chopra, Gavin McClenaghan
Producers: Ravi Ajit Chopra (Executive Producer / Producer), Colin Goudie (Executivve Producer), Michael Wood (Executivve Producer), Michael R Demmerle (Executive Producer), Zhe Zhang (Executive Producer), John Lesand (Executive Producer), Zein Kurdi (Executive Producer), Rob van den Bragt
Cast: Andrew Scott, Jeremy Irvine, Wolf Kahler, Lucy Russell
Synopsis: ‘Cognition’ stars Bafta Winner Andrew Scott (Fleabag) & Jeremy Irvine (Green Lantern, Warhorse) in this emotionally engaging father & son story.
This is an Independent short film, we worked incredible hard to put every relationship and partnership in place. The film made it onto the long list for the Academy’s Live Action Short Film category at the Oscars in 2021. The story follows a son’s (Jeremy Irvine) psychological journey as he confronts his past trauma to reconnect with the father he loves (Andrew Scott). Film also covers contemporary themes about mind control & state control. Described by leading U.K Film Critic ‘Mark Kermode’ as ‘A Remarkable Achievement’. Please view Film on Vimeo in 2K Mode for best results, Thanks. Our Film is 23 mins of drama time without titles and credits.
SEA OF REGRET | China | 2022 | 19’
Director: YU WANG
Writer: YU WANG
Producer: YANG LIU
Cast: ZHI FU ZHANG
Synopsis: Smuggling gang took a deal, the situation is full of, undercover police and the younger brother who trusts the eldest brother, where are they going?
Monkey-Love, Please Hold | Canada | 2021 | 24’
Director: Greg Fox
Writer: Greg Fox
Producer: Van Wickiam
Cast: Dan Mousseau, Hannah Galway, Hayden Finkleshtain
Synopsis: An offbeat dark comedy that follows the life of the reclusive, heartbroken and karaoke loving Ben. When he receives an unsolicited package from a mysterious delivery man, his stale dreary life is turned upside down, taking him on a wild ride that brings a new love into his life.
No/Low Budget– Official Selection – May 2022
TUNNEL VISION | Japan | 2022 | 25’
Director: Hisato Nagatake
Writer: Koji Karatsu
Producer: Keitaro Tsugaoka
Cast: Kazuma Yamane, Saki Miyashita
Synopsis: A father and daughter live in a fictional village deep in the mountains of Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. Through an old village custom, the father hurts his daughter. The daughter is closed-minded, and the father lives with a sense of guilt toward his daughter. In order to challenge their dreams outside of the village, they join hands and their hearts become one. Will they be able to go out of the tunnel, the only way out of the village, and into the outside world? This is a story of their challenge and growth.
Panhandle | Malaysia | 2022 | 11’
Director: Ikram Haizammuri
Writer: Ikram Haizammuri
Cast: Ady Mohamad, Faiz Md Noor
Synopsis: An accidental encounter between the two strangers at the car park turn to something more absurd, as one refused to give some amount of cash to the stranger that he just met.
I Made The Ruins | United States | 2022 | 08’
Directors: Sar Cohen, Ricardo Bouyett
Producer: Bouy Films
Cast: Sar Cohen
Synopsis: I Made The Ruins is a dance short that explores the desolation of one’s discomfort in their body. Plagued with body dysmorphia, the dancer in the short finds reverie in the ruins they’ve taken shelter in.
The Artist Greg Ramsden | United Kingdom | 2022 | 07’
Director: Jamie Hull Greenwood
Producers: Jamie Hull Greenwood, Kjetil Skarstein, Greg Ramsden
Cast: Greg Ramsden
Synopsis: A documentary micro short, looking at the process and motivations of British artist Greg Ramsden after a series of interviews with director and producer Jamie Hull Greenwood. Greg Ramsden achieved a first class degree in Painting & Printmaking from Sheffield University under the tuition of the realist painter George Shaw, a Turner prize finalist in 2011. Following Greg’s time in higher education he became an artist assistant to the international sculptor Heather Jansch. After which his painting career was jump started with him winning the Lionel Aggett Award at the South West Academy of Art in 2009. Greg continues to build on previous achievements including having work hung in the royal academy amongst other prestigious venues and he was elected a director of the south west academy of art in 2015. He is known for his incredible landscape and seascape paintings that often have a huge emotive effect on observers and art lovers a like. Narrated by Greg himself from his south west studio for HGL in April 2022.
Short Comedy – Official Selection – May 2022
Good intentions | Russian Federation | 2021 | 14’
Director: Anton Sergeevich Dolganov
Writer: Mariya Yakutina
Producer: Anton Sergeevich Dolganov
Cast: Yuri Konnov, Vladimir Muhtarov, Violetta Shulakova, Lybov Tuvilina, Kirill Bokov, Polina Chetaeva
A young and successful architect and his family go on vacation to his small homeland to rest with his childhood friend and his family. They go to the nearest beach. However the day of pleasant nostalgia changes into competition “who’ cooler”
Bring Home The Bacon | United States | 2022 | 10’
Director: Eric M Schlesinger
Writers: Quinn Chambers, Eric Schlesinger
Producer: Eric Schlesinger
Cast: Jude Prost, Stuart Blue, Enzo Ocon, Eric Schlesinger
Synopsis: A getaway driver has an hour to kill before he has to go and pickup his crew.
Short Dance/Musical – Official Selection – May 2022
Mascara | Argentina | 2022 | 04’
Directors: Luli Brindisi, Alesso
Producers: Luli Brindisi, Alesso
Cast: Eluney Salazar, Bianca Cherutti, Julia Astigueta, Fiorella Gimenez, Agustina Zelko, Lucia Bilbao, Catalina Vicz, Juli Lombardi
Synopsis: A woman rebelling against her seemingly perfect life. An urgent need to escape. A transformation led by her alter egos: those women who co-exist inside of her and who guide her along a path of liberation.
A Feast That Never Comes | United States | 2022 | 17’
Director: Maria Juranic
Writer: Sven Britt
Producers: Rachel Morgan, Sven Britt, Maria Juranic
Cast: John Raffles Durbin, Kayla Farrish, Nico Li, Paul Vickers
Synopsis: Four characters inhabit cycles within cycles of contentment, discontentment, inertia, movement, desire, and betrayal. A story emerges—told through the marriage of music (Ex-Fiancée) and dance (ChrisMastersDance)—functioning as a set of nesting dolls, inviting you to uncover as many layers as you wish. Directed by Maria Juranic.
RAFT | Hungary | 2022 | 21’
Directors: Till Jenewein, Gergo Tornyi
Writers: Till Jenewein, Gergo Tornyi
Producer: Till Jenewein
Cast: Till Jenewein, Gergo Tornyi, Julija Pecnikar, Katalin Bito, Franziska Doffin, Alja Branc, Marie Barat, Hanna Csata, Laura Songoro, Zoltan Balla
Synopsis: RAFT is a dance film that experiments with the sensation of movement within motion capture and how the texture of visuality can merge into a Sensation in the audience. Performed by contemporary dancers, the scenery unfolds like in a post-apocalyptic theatre of concrete, rubbish and decay which is brought back to life. The dancers emerge in a Sisyphos-like tragedy of the neverending spiral of birth and death, to create and to destroy, to be and to move on. All this is wrapped by music which is playing on the verge between Techno and looped instrumental patterns, with all sounds being recorded in the space of the scenery itself. Thus the music is not only serving as a driving, underlying force but functions as another layer of texture. An important concept of the Film was to stay true to the originality of the space, its sounds, objects and recordings in order to transmit the reality of the performed situation.
An Ending, A Beginning | United Kingdom | 2021 | 04’
Director: Daniel Bott
Writer: Daniel Bott
Producer: James Knowles
Cast: Laura Walsh
Synopsis: An exploration of the universal feelings of entrapment & isolation felt across the world during the Covid-19 pandemic. Set amidst a sunrise on the day the Uk lockdown restrictions were finally lifted, the film is told through the form of contemporary dance in a single shot. Produced during Covid-19. Featuring music from Emmy Award Winning composer Dustin O’halloran (Ammonite, Lion, Puzzle)
Short Drama – Official Selection – May 2022
The Magician | United Kingdom | 2021 | 16’
Director: Sarah-jane Potts
Writer: Sarah-jane Potts
Producer: Joseph Millson
Cast: Sarah-jane Potts, Bob Barrett
Synopsis: A desperate woman’s life is forever changed by an unexpected encounter with kindness.
Quaranteen | Romania | 2021 | 13’
Director: Florin Babei
Writer: Florin Babei
Producers: Liviu Andrei Pojoni, Alexandra Marinescu, Codrut Slatculescu
Cast: Bogdan Iancu, Medeea Marinescu, Maruca Baiasu, Vlad Furtuna, Cristian Robe, Nicolae Urs
Synopsis: Matei is a carefree teenager who is having fun, breaking the rules of the pandemic. His world turns upside down, when he finds out about the death of his grandfather, whom he infected with COVID-19
Brothers | Germany | 2022 | 17’
Director: Pete Schilling
Producer: Tim Ohly
Cast: Philipp Christopher, Alexander Martschewski, Carlo Kitzlinger, Josepha Walter
Synopsis: While two brothers are on a journey towards a mountain lake, they meet a stranger who helps them rediscover their desire to live. NOAH HUNT, and his brother TOM, are hiking through the mountains. Their destination is a breathtaking mountain lake. Noah is not a fan of hiking and overall not really thrilled to be on this journey with his brother. On the next day, they get up early to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately, they are surprised by rain and manage to find shelter in a cave. Tom starts making a small fire. Noah takes off his wet coat and reveals bandages on his wrists, he keeps on complaining about the trip. Tom loses it and asks his brother why he had to do this to himself? Noah finally opens up. We learn that he tried to kill himself just before they left and that this is the reason they are on this journey. Tom is trying to save him, he doesn’t want to leave his brother’s site because he is scared, that he’ll do it again. On the next morning, the rain is gone and the sun is shining. After a short while, they see another hiker (Klaus) standing in the middle of the way, lost, waving his phone trying to get a signal. Tom wants to help him. They learn that Klaus, who is a little clumsy but very friendly, is from Germany and on his way to a mountain hut. They show him the way there. At the hut, they meet Marie, a very friendly waitress. For a moment the despair is forgotten. and they all enjoy themselves over a German beer and a meal. Back on their journey, we see two tents just before dawn. Tom awakens abruptly looking for Noah. He is gone.
Short Fantasy/Sci-Fi – Official Selection – May 2022
Noctuidae | Germany | 2021 | 24’
Director: Alexandra (Ali) Mauritz
Writer: Alexandra (Ali) Mauritz
Producer: Alexandra (Ali) Mauritz
Cast: Elisabeth Frank, Hendrik Massute
Synopsis: A lonely seamstress receives a strange request: to sew a cloak made only from the wings of moths. A work of delicate beauty is painstakingly crafted, and with it a fragile bond between two lost souls. But as soon as the work is finished, her client disappears. Searching for him, she discovers his secret. The cloak holds his final hope to escape a hostile world of lights. Is it possible to reach the freedom of moonlight? Or is her client a lunatic, crazy enough to jump to his death for a fantasy? The seamstress finds no peace. She answers the call of his dream and sews a new cloak – for herself.
PARADOX | Greece | 2021 | 32’
Director: Vasileios Billy Blioumis
Writer: Lefteris Paraskevas
Producer: Eleni makri
Cast: Panagiotis Bougiouris, Evelina Papoulia, Stella Fiskatori, Aristotelis Zaharakis, Panos Soupiadis
Synopsis: The life of Kostas , a single dad, is set to change completely when the disappearance of his son will alter everything…
Short Horror – Official Selection – May 2022
Hello | Malta | 2022 | 12’
Director: Ruben Zahra
Writer: Ruben Zahra, Trevor Zahra
Producer: Ruben Zahra
Cast: Michael Sciortino, Angele Galea, Kassidy Calleja
Synopsis: A mute girl nurtures a special relationship with her grandfather through ordinary sounds that transcend their connection beyond reality.
City of Revenants | United States | 17’
Director: Andy Ramirez
Writer: Andy Ramirez
Cast: Themo Melikidze, Michael Gillis, Jose Grafals, Alex Emanuel
Synopsis: After surviving an vicious epidemic that turns civilians into rabid flesh eaters, two estranged brothers reunite and question each others loyalty as they recount the measures they took to stay alive.
DOORS | United States | 2022 | 05’
Director: Dennis Cahlo
Writers: Dennis Cahlo, Bethany Watson
Producers: Dennis Cahlo, Bethany Watson
Cast: Bethany Watson
Synopsis: A woman is terrorized in her home by an unseen force.
The Cell | United States | 2022 | 12’
Director: Daryn Snijdewind
Writer: Daryn Snijdewind
Producers: Daryn Snijdewind, Elena Naze, Xzaviah Jamel Stone Sr.
Cast: Linran (Leslie) Zhang
Synopsis: The Cell is an allegorical short film in which a young woman must escape her voyeuristic prison.
The Effigy of Mary Seer | United Kingdom | 2021 | 05’
Director: Ross Jameson
Writer: Ross Jameson
Producer: Liz Underwood
Cast: Suki Fox, Sarah Dawson
Synopsis: A young girl finds an old doll in the remnants of a bonfire. She has no idea how it got there, or where it came from. But when she discovers that she can see through the doll’s eye, she will uncover the terrifying truth.
Old Time Radio | United States | 2020 | 06’
Director: Joel B Harlow
Writer: Joel B Harlow
Producer: Joel B Harlow
Cast: Marti Matulis, Paul Giamitti
Synopsis: Intended as the introduction to a horror anthology. Riktus Grim, decaying away in a wretched squawler, awaits his only solace: a new tale from his Old Time Radio (voiced by Paul Giamatti). What wretchedly delightful tale will his host present to him this evening? As Riktus’s lobotomized servant, Vincent, bumbles in… the Host speaks! It’s time to prepare for a new terror!
Student Short – Official Selection – May 2022
Finding Vega | United States | 2022 | 23’
Director: Xuetong Joey Zhao
Writer: Xuetong Joey Zhao
Producer: Jacqueline Wang
Cast: Harmonie He
Synopsis: A coming of age story of a 12-year-old Asian girl who has a passionate love for the starry sky while living in a Chinatown single-room-occupancy family with her vegetative state mother. While eagerly wanting to realize her self-worth, she experiences a collision of reality and realizes what is important.
Dealing with my eggs | Belgium | 2021 | 18’
Director: Margot Houget
Writer: Margot Houget
Producer: Margot Houget
Cast: Aurélie Dessain, Anne-Marie Polster, Gémi Diallo, Daniel Sieteiglesias
Synopsis: In Brussels, a student decides to give her eggs in exchange of 2000 euros. At the same time, a 40-year-old woman is about to receive eggs from a donor to become pregnant.
Draw Now | United Kingdom | 2022 | 12’
Director: Kun Sun
Writer: Kun Sun
Producer: Jules Thin
Cast: Luke Bessette, Bradley Peake
Synopsis: Draw Now is an endearing tale of a teenage boy as he traverses the difficult terrain of puberty and sexuality. He is consistently conflicted inside and keeps his anxiety and issues bottled up inside. With no support system in place, he finds hope in the most unique circumstances.
Candied Lips | United States | 2022 | 08’
Director: Hina Effie Ogino
Writer: Chase Markoff
Producer: Chase Markoff
Cast: Chase Markoff, Oliva Knowles
Synopsis: For blue-haired Steve, it’s just another day working at his mom’s candy store in Montauk. That is, until the girl of his dreams suddenly walks in. Her name is Strawberry; she has red highlights and an edgy sense of style. She doesn’t seem like one for small talk as she walks up to the counter and bluntly asks Steve for skittles, but Steve is visibly rattled by her uniqueness. Strawberry then pulls out a disposable camera and takes a photo of him. She leaves, Steve regrets his flustered reaction, and retreats into self pity. For consolation, he opens up a pack of sour skittles and pours it in his mouth. They are too sour! He reaches for a bottle of strawberry soda and drinks that next. As he drinks the soda, he has a lightbulb moment. He begins decorating the store in a strawberry theme design, in hopes of getting the girl’s attention. He switches all the candy to red, hangs up huge strawberry cutouts, adorns the walls with strawberry cutouts, and even hangs a large strawberry pinata from the ceiling. As the end of the day approaches, Steve loses hope of Strawberry coming back. He is turning the sign to “close” when Strawberry walks in. Steve is ecstatic that she has come back. She is amazed to see the store decorated with strawberries and asks if he still has that sour pack of skittles. He abashedly admits that he ate the skittles, but offers her different candies. The two talk for some time until Steve musters up the courage to ask her if she would like to go watch the sunset with him and eat some special candies. Strawberry is flattered and agrees to the date. They go watch the beautiful Montauk sunset. They are laughing, having fun and being playful with one another, sticking candies on each other’s faces. Steve makes his move and leans in, but Strawberry has an idea. She grabs two big candy red lips, they each put them on, and their wax lips meet in a kiss.
COLORBALL | China | 2022 | 30’
Director: Tianyao Tan
Writers: Tianyao Tan
Producers: Tianyao Tan, Yawen Deng
Cast: Tianyao Tan, Tetsuya Matsushima, Meng Yuan
Synopsis: Tan, an international student who came to Japan to study because of her love of movies, has worked hard to get into the school of her choice. However, due to the worldwide outbreak of new coronavirus, she reduced her contact with the outside world and began to live alone at home. Under these circumstances, the script she had prepared for so long was not taken as well as she had hoped, and her life abroad became doubly lonely, leaving her in a state of confusion and perplexity. She wanted to make a better film, but was unable to achieve breakthroughs because she was stuck in a bottleneck and self-doubt. Thus, Tan began to reexamine her relationship to filmmaking and herself in her daily life, and began to explore the diversity between herself and her work, including digital and film.
Spiral | Republic of Korea | 2022 | 18’
Director: Hyun Yoon
Writer: Hyun Yoon
Producer: Hyun Yoon
Cast: Do yul Kim, Ho Won Na, In Ji Jeong
Synopsis: The son breaks up with his girlfriend. After that, he drinks with his friend who is flirting him. But he trys to ignore his emotion. Next day, The son goes to his father’s house. he discovers a picture in which his father and father’s friend touch each other physically. And he starts to put together their life.
Bohe With the Sea | China | 2021 | 28’
Director: Zhusheng Huang
Producer: Zhusheng Huang
Synopsis: The documentary short film Bohe With the Sea depicts life in Bohe, a small fishing town located on the southern coast of Guangdong Province in China. Through the perspectives of elders, men, and children, it gently tells the daily life and collective memory of three generations in this small town, as well as their connection with the sea.
Distant | Mexico | 2022 | 11’
Directors: Esteban Enoc Medellín Treviño
Writers: Esteban Enoc Medellín Treviño, Ángel Felipe Prince Covarrubias
Producers: Esteban Enoc Medellín Treviño, Ángel Felipe Prince Covarrubias
Cast: Ángel Felipe Prince Covarrubias, Alejandro Prince Carrillo, Valeria López Cano
Synopsis: In the middle of the city, jazz and the memories of his teenage years, Ángel thinks about his troubled past, his father’s absence and his unexpected return.
Mandy’s Boy | United States | 2022 | 14’
Director: Danny Souza
Writer: Danny Souza
Producers: Danny Souza, Justin Tager
Cast: Connor Tuohy, Valeria DiBabbo, Ralph Hughes
Synopsis: A troubled young man sees a desperate prostitute as his vehicle to salvation…
Girl in the Water | Taiwan | 2021 | 08’
Director: Shi-Rou Huang
Writer: Shi-Rou Huang
Producer: Shi-Rou Huang
Synopsis: Short Synopsis Contemplation of torn walls and scars reminds the heroine of the ups and downs of love. The film depicts femininity and female internal time-consciousness through the convalescence of a woman’s broken heart, which is based on my personal experiences. Long Synopsis Contemplation of torn walls and scars reminds the heroine of the ups and downs of love. The story is based on my personal experience, recreating the unique perspectives and inner sense of time that women have shown in the process of heartbreak and self-healing. A total of about 1,500 paintings have been drawn frame by frame by watercolors and pastels.
Men Like You | Sweden | 2022 | 16’
Director: Peter Nitschke
Writer: Peter Nitschke
Producer: Stockholms Filmskola
Cast: Susanne Gunnersen, Ola Wallinder
Synopsis: A lone wheelchair bound woman gets a new assistant from the home service who forces her into a violent settlement with the past. After many years of oppression, she finally refuses to be a victim and makes a drastic and fatal decision.
They Called Him God | United States | 2022 | 13’
Director: Drew Hartley
Writer: Drew Hartley
Producer: Zach Florida
Cast: Zach Florida, Callie Bussell
Synopsis: (Internet Sound Mix)
LEMON | 2022 | 04’
Director: Yuanyuan Lu
Writer: Yuanyuan Lu
Producer: Yuanyuan Lu
Synopsis: A man is sitting in a narrow living room and reading a book. There is a sofa, a box filled with various stuff and a ceiling lamp in this room. The lamp lightens the room. However, the bulb is broken without warning. The man is shocked and tries to find a new bulb in the box in the darkness. After a search, he finds something that has a similar shape and plugs it into the lamp. However, after the room becomes lightened again, he notices that the thing he finds is actually a lemon but can be used as a bulb somehow. The space lightened by the lemon becomes a lemon tree woods, which becomes the start of his adventure.
When They’re Gone | United States | 2021 | 19’
Director: Kristen Hwang
Producer: Kristen Hwang
Cast: Clay Ford, Dan Stefflar, Alex White, Charleen Carroll, Wayne Scott, Alexia Chapman, Jack Kruger, Zach Grabbe
Synopsis: WHEN THEY’RE GONE is a documentary short, examining humanity’s fragile dependence on nature. Despite our best efforts to control and shape our surroundings, we learn through the film’s characters that disrupting nature’s carefully designed ecosystems carries weighty consequences. In doing so, it casts a spotlight on industrial agriculture’s reliance on honey bees for hire in order to produce crops. The film’s four characters struggle to transport enough healthy bees to California’s Central Valley to pollinate the almond orchards–the mecca of migratory pollinators. Each character represents a small piece of an industry that brings nearly every bee and beekeeper in the country together to feed the world, their bees equal parts necessary and disposable.
Trapped | United States | 2022 | 15’
Director: Alam Virk
Writer: Alam Virk
Producer: Alam Virk
Cast: Daniel Kenner
Synopsis: CHARLIE, HAVING MUSTERED UP THE COURAGE TO QUIT HIS JOB AND PURSUE HIS DREAM OF BECOMING A WRITER, MUST NOW CONTEND WITH HIS FAMILY BULLYING HIM TO GO BACK ON HIS DECISION. IF THE REAL LIFE PEOPLE WERE NOT ENOUGH, THE TECHNOLOGICAL ENTITIES TAKE ON A NEW LIFE, PRESENTING THEIR OWN CASE FOR HIM TO STAY IN THE OLD CYCLE. JUST WHEN HE THINKS HE HAS SHUT EVERYBODY UP AND CAN SIT DOWN TO ENJOY HIS NIGHTLY PROGRAMMING BEFORE BED, HIS OLD PAL, THE TELEVISION, HYPNOTIZES HIM, LURING HIM DEEPER INTO THE DARKNESS OF THE OLD CYCLE.
Short Thriller/Mystery – Official Selection – May 2022
The Hunted | United States | 2021 | 7’
Director: Annie Bradford
Writer: Annie Bradford
Producer: Evan Kaufmann
Cast: Emma Perez-Trevino
Synopsis: In 1910’s Texas, two migrant women cross paths with a white rancher, and get a taste of Anglo on Mexican violence in this tale that takes place during the Mexican Revolution
When The Wind Blows | United States | 2022 | 12’
Director: Benjamin Mason
Writer: Benjamin Mason, Caleb Akers
Cast: Adam Dent, Matt Webb
Synopsis: From director Benjamin Mason of Filmanatix comes a short film When The Wind Blows, a suspenseful thriller about a man (Adam Dent) accustomed to a life of petty crimes who accepts questionable orders from an unknown caller.
