Commercial/Ad/TVC – Official Selection – May 2023
Listerine “Ew, your breath stinks” | United States | 2023 | 01’
Director: Hei Lun Chan
Writer: Hei Lun Chan
Producer: Hei Lun Chan
Cast: Kristina Kim, Austin Taylor Simon
Synopsis: It is a spec commercial for Listerine. It is about a guy who has a tied to a bomb and a tape on his mouth. When his girlfriend comes to save him, his breath stinks so much that his girlfriend chooses to risk the time to have him gurgle his mouth with Listerine first before she can walk close to him. So basically, Listerine is the his savior.
Nike “I will do it” | United States | 2023 | 01’
Director: Hei Lun Chan
Writer: Hei Lun Chan
Producer: Hei Lun Chan
Synopsis: It is a spec commercial for Nike. It is about three siblings fighting over a bill. During the fight, we see Nike products being featured through their moves.
Documentary Short – Official Selection – May 2023
The True Summit | United States | 2022 | 30’
Director: Corban Robbe
Writer: Corban Robbe
Producers: Kevin DeVries, Grace Explorations
Cast: Kevin DeVries
Synopsis: This 30-minute documentary follows 14 men and mountaineer Kevin DeVries on a trek to EVEREST BASE CAMP as he prepares to climb in the region after a cardiac arrest. More than a hike in the Himalayas, THE TRUE SUMMIT calls men to the inward journey and the inescapable reality that the change we seek can only be found in a Christ-centered community.
Danny | United States | 2021 | 10’
Director: Nicholas Manting Brewer
Synopsis: Danny had a normal life, but one day everything changed.
Experimental Short – Official Selection – May 2023
Lilītu | Germany | 25’
Director: Denis Herzog
Writer: Denis Herzog
Producer: Denis Herzog
Cast: Jón Gunnar Vopnfjörð Ingólfsson, Guðbjörg Anna Bergsdóttir
Synopsis: The hybrid film Lilītu tells a fictional story of the artist Jón Ragnarsson and documents in an unobtrusive way the Change of Vatnajökull and the consequences of climate change. Jón Ragnarsson lives independently on Vatnajökull, the largest Europe’s glaciers, completely cut off from civilization. Inspired of glacier movement, gloomy atmosphere and its sound, he paints pictures with its help, by tracing the structure of ice. As Jón one day, looking for new motifs, finds a permafrost corpse in a crevasse, he gets into a conflict of conscience. Should he report the found body and risk a large-scale archeological excavation on the glacier? Driven by loneliness, questionable emotional relationship with the corpse and his manichaean state of mind Jón keeps the corpse until he has completely processed it in his art and sunk it in the water glacier.
What If I Fail | India | 2022 | 12’
Director: Kiran Nagdev
Writer: Kiran Nagdev
Producers: Kiran Nagdev, Abhishek Dixit, Achal Manglik
Cast: Himika Bose, Pranjal Trivedi
Synopsis: “What is the meaning of life? How can everyone be so happy all the time? Why do I feel this constant void inside me?”- these are the questions that haunt our protagonist throughout the film. At times even breathing seems like a struggle to her, she knows she needs help but fails to ask for it. As her mind turns into a deep dark sink hole, infested with suicidal thoughts, she decides to give in but life offers her an alternative.
My Mind | Germany | 2023 | 01’
Director: Simon Klinkertz
Producer: Sophia Wilbricht
Cast: Julia Hariri
Synopsis: People with this sensitive perception need longer to process what they have experienced and need a lot of rest and time for themselves. Even if this perception is a challenge in life, for many it is also a gift and helps people to express themselves. Your mind must be yours.
Title Deeds | United Kingdom | 2021 | 08’
Synopsis: Through utilising a multi-layered approach, Title Deeds investigates the complexities of epigenetics and the intergenerational transmission of trauma. Townley’s work presents a decaying ancestral house, which speaks to both family inheritance and the passing on of issues/burdens. The presence of water is weaved throughout and acts somewhat as the main antagonist. Juxtaposing this is the water inside the fishbowl preserving what the artist refers to as “miniature expressions of history” and therefore draws parallels between how the home archives family history alike to that of the seafloor which archives the earth’s memory. With creation dates that span two hundred years, Title Deeds features a vacant house, a doll’s house and a 3D house model. Similarly to how we notice family resemblances, viewers are encouraged to identify a likeness between each variation. Encroaching upon the main footage of the house, the fishbowl is shown up-close, reflecting archival footage. The fish-less bowl acts as a symbol of liberating oneself from their own historical clamp whilst discussing the “ceasefire babies” culture of migration. Also referencing the generation who grew up watching their country’s troubled past on the television, a voice shouts, “mum.. mum, ma, it’s not working.” The absence of form, the ghost of objects alongside fingerprints and worn furniture, aim to visualise the hidden chemical marks that alter gene expression.
Radio Telescope | United States | 2023 | 17’
Director: Tanner Beard
Writer: Tanner Beard
Producers: Ashley Eberbach, Tomik Mansoori, Alix Van Aernam
Cast: Russell Quinn, Alexandra Chando, Jude Friedman
Synopsis: Set in 1984, a former NASA Scientist and his young son make a discovery in his make-shift laboratory located in the garage.
Mini Short – Official Selection – May 2023
Best Day Ever | United Kingdom | 2022 | 01’
Director: Matt Partridge
Writer: Matt Partridge
Synopsis: An animated short about those simple childhood memories that ensured you had the BEST DAY EVER.
Turtle? | China | 2020 | 02’
Synopsis: A pseudo-reporting montage based on a true story about an unidentified object. All footages were taken from the Internet.
DUEL | France | 2023 | 03’
Directors: Florent Sabatier, Marie Coustaury
Writers: Florent Sabatier, Marie Coustaury, Loic Bartolini
Producer: Florent Sabatier
Cast: Marie Coustaury, Loic Bartolini, Julien Pestel
Synopsis: 1758. Insulted, Geneviève claims a duel to defend herself. But, it is a man that comes to defend the honour of a woman. This is the way it is done, end of discussion.
Break up 2.0 | Russian Federation | 2022 | 04’
Director: Elena Golysheva
Writer: Elena Golysheva
Producer: Elena Golysheva
Synopsis: Heroine has living through the break up and loosing herself into alcohol, social media and dating app. Realising how lonely is she indeed and run out from modern painkillers she went for friends support but instead she has found the sad but sober truth.
Life of Moth | Poland | 2023 | 03’
Directors: Bruno Piotr Bednarski, Małgorzata Michalina Gryko
Writers: Bruno Piotr Bednarski, Małgorzata Michalina Gryko
Producers: Bruno Piotr Bednarski, Małgorzata Michalina Gryko
Cast: Małgorzata Michalina Gryko, Małgorzara Michalina Gryko
Synopsis: A Moth visits a doctor to tell him about his life problems.
Music Video – Official Selection – May 2023
Float Away | Canada | 2023 | 04’
Director: Douglas Cook
Writer: Ellie Heath
Producer: Douglas Cook
Synopsis: “Float Away” pairs moving, personal lyrics with dark, atmospheric cinematography and stop-motion animation to express the feelings of isolation and hopelessness that come with mental health issues like anxiety, depression and addiction. The song and the visuals started out as separate projects, but work together to show how even the smallest steps can start the journey out of despair and into wholeness. Ellie: “The song came to me on a very anxiety ridden night. As I started playing those opening chords, I felt so protected.”
We see a mole-like creature trapped by fear in a deep underground burrow, longing to find the strength and courage to move forward. Acceptance, mindfulness, and finding breath bring the ability to look into the darkness. To find the light in it. To let go and float away, returning rested and prepared for the inevitable. Doug: “It was cathartic for me to tell this visual story during lockdown. When I heard Ellie’s song, I knew we were telling the same story.”
Echoes and Signals: Roots | Russian Federation | 2023 | 06’
Director: Alexander Perfilyev
Writer: Tatiana Treglazova
Producers: Alexander Perfilyev, Tatiana Treglazova, Fedor Kivokurtsev
Cast: Fedor Kivokurtsev, Dimitry Peretz, Igor Rogachev, Irina Kotelnikova, Alexandra Shcherbinina
Synopsis: It is a story about one’s never ending pursuit to give the world an ultimate cure for any disease, suffering & death. It’s about our sick society, incapable to receive such a miraculous gift. An incomprehensible power of love, humbleness, spiritual strength and purity.
Narrative Short – Official Selection – May 2023
Code of Silence | Germany | 2022 | 18’
Director: Leonard Mink
Writer: Clara Scheiner
Producer: Leonard Mink
Cast: Thomas Bartling, Nils Kreutinger, Anke Sevenich, Frank Voß, Nora Kühnlein, Marc Boutter, Freda Schott, Simone Appel, Sebastian Dorn, Thomas Hessdörfer
Synopsis: In 2016, the Berlin police shot Hussam H. for unexplained reasons; the case has never been solved. Inspired by this incident, “Code of Silence” sheds light on esprit de corps using the example of a German police duo, facing the decision of whether they feel morally committed to the truth or to loyalty. While pursuing a suspect, police officer Thomas loses his service weapon in a scuffle with the fleeing suspect. His partner, and long-standing friend, Grebe sees no other way than to shoot at the suspect and kill him. Thomas is not entirely convinced that Grebe’s actions were right, and now has to decide whether his moral obligation is to truth or to loyalty.
Scorching Summer | China | 2023 | 30’
Director: An Jun
Writer: An Jun
Producer: An Jun
Synopsis: The middle-aged father Zhao Liang wanted to take care of the mentally handicapped eldest daughter for a lifetime, but family pressure and life accidents forced him to make a difficult and extreme decision-take the eldest daughter to die together, so that his wife and youngest daughter can live without burden. But on the day when everything was ready, he suddenly found something unexpected.
Cornucopia | Austria | 2022 | 08’
Directors: Ani Antonova, Dimiter Ovtcharov
Writers: Ani Antonova, Dimiter Ovtcharov
Producers: Ani Antonova Hristova, Svetla Tzotzorkova, Svetoslav Ovcharov
Synopsis: A man wanders in constant search and pursuit, driven by the longing for a magical cornucopia. His vicissitudes are brought to life on an ancient vase’s surface.
Expectations and Other Products | Lithuania | 2023 | 15’
Director: Dali Rust
Writer: Liudas Parulskis
Producer: Jurga Dikciuviene Kaye
Cast: Egle Mikulionyte
Synopsis: A kiosk vendor stands in an empty market daydreaming and meeting strangers. “Commodities with souls, like people, are physical, although they don’t speak, they feel pain. Traders as intermediaries, goods pass through hands, constantly changing, like colored clouds” – A.I. blares from the radio.
Look Away | 2023 | 11’
Director: Yizhi Shi
Producer: Yuan Yang
Synopsis: A story about a 6-year-old girl Lele, who covers the cracks in her family with drawings…
ASHES, The myth of the heron and the 62 lakes | Canada | 2023 | 10’
Director: Charles-Antoine Thériault
Writer: Charles-Antoine Thériault
Producer: Graham GS
Synopsis: Over time, nature wilfully and circumstantially adapts to its environment, but when the cyclical clash between evolution and cataclysm occurs, nature’s fight to reclaim its place often leaves scars that endure for many seasons. “Ashes” recounts the tale of a Heron and the 62 Lakes under his watchful eye, of the creation of these watery masses that now encompass the region of Saint-Hippolyte – a tragic tale of self-sacrifice that has become an eternal legend.
Our Males and Females | Jordan | 2022 | 11’
Director: Ahmad Alyaseer
Writers: Ahmad Alyaseer, Rana Alyaseer
Producer: Mais Salman
Cast: Kamel El Basha, Shafiqa Al Tal
Synopsis: A father and mother are faced with the painful task of washing and shrouding their deceased transgender daughter. Shrouding is an Islamic religious practice that is deemed obligatory to carry out upon death. But when no one agrees to wash her and shame falls onto the family, how far is the father willing to go to make sure his “son” is washed?
Radio Telescope | United States | 2023 | 17’
Director: Tanner Beard
Writer: Tanner Beard
Producers: Ashley Eberbach, Tomik Mansoori, Alix Van Aernam
Cast: Russell Quinn, Alexandra Chando, Jude Friedman
Synopsis: Set in 1984, a former NASA Scientist and his young son make a discovery in his make-shift laboratory located in the garage.
No/Low Budget – Official Selection – May 2023
Morpho | 2023 | 05’
Director: Soslan Chehoev
Producer: Natalia Skliarova
Synopsis: The film is a monologue on behalf of a young girl in whose life violence has appeared in a global sense, bringing death and loss, destroying friendship, love, care and leaving only memories and life in a new harsh reality. The narrative focuses on reality, flowing into flashbacks that delve into the atmosphere and the lost past in the company of friends. There are many metaphors involved in the film that resonate with contemporary events in the world.
Fredag Ovenpå | Denmark | 2023 | 05’
Director: Tim Shaughnessy Hansen
Writer: Tim Shaughnessy Hansen
Cast: David Hark
Synopsis: “Fredag Ovenpå” is a dramatic short film that tells the story of a young man with social anxiety. He is a lonely, introverted person who longs for human connection but finds it difficult to interact with people. One Friday night, while spending his evening alone, he hears his neighbors upstairs throwing a party. Instead of joining the party, he decides to imagine himself as part of it from the safety of his own apartment. He dances, plays imaginary beer pong, and listens to the sounds of the party above. However, when the guests upstairs are leaving for the city, he watches them walk down the stairs and gathers his courage to step outside. His social anxiety takes over, and he is only able to exchange a few words with the partygoers before quickly retreating back to his apartment. As he reflects on the missed opportunity, he breaks down in tears, feeling the weight of his social anxiety and the loneliness it has caused him. “Fredag Ovenpå” is a moving exploration of the challenges of social anxiety and the struggle to overcome it in order to find connection and fulfillment.
Title Deeds | United Kingdom | 2021 | 08’
Synopsis: Through utilising a multi-layered approach, Title Deeds investigates the complexities of epigenetics and the intergenerational transmission of trauma. Townley’s work presents a decaying ancestral house, which speaks to both family inheritance and the passing on of issues/burdens. The presence of water is weaved throughout and acts somewhat as the main antagonist. Juxtaposing this is the water inside the fishbowl preserving what the artist refers to as “miniature expressions of history” and therefore draws parallels between how the home archives family history alike to that of the seafloor which archives the earth’s memory. With creation dates that span two hundred years, Title Deeds features a vacant house, a doll’s house and a 3D house model. Similarly to how we notice family resemblances, viewers are encouraged to identify a likeness between each variation. Encroaching upon the main footage of the house, the fishbowl is shown up-close, reflecting archival footage. The fish-less bowl acts as a symbol of liberating oneself from their own historical clamp whilst discussing the “ceasefire babies” culture of migration. Also referencing the generation who grew up watching their country’s troubled past on the television, a voice shouts, “mum.. mum, ma, it’s not working.” The absence of form, the ghost of objects alongside fingerprints and worn furniture, aim to visualise the hidden chemical marks that alter gene expression.
Short Comedy – Official Selection – May 2023
The Transport | Germany | 2023 | 04’
Director: Paul Rosescu
Writer: Paul Rosescu
Producers: Viktor Flemmer, Paul Rosescu, Masatoshi Ueno
Cast: Viktor Flemmer, Paul Cless, Masatoshi Ueno
Synopsis: An illegal pharmaceutical smuggler is being confronted by German customer service about his late delivery. Topics: Culture-Clash between the Germans and the Immigrant-Germans at its finest. Music: Sonata No. 22 in F Major, Op. 54 – II. Allegretto by Daniel Veesey The music is in the Creative Commons – Public Domain use.
We Are Toys | Italy | 2023 | 05’
Directors: Guido Ponzini, Mattia Bergonzi
Writers: Guido Ponzini
Producers: Guido Ponzini, Mattia Bergonzi
Synopsis: What if your “toys” could talk? This animated short film aims to reflect through comedy our society’s approach towards sex toys and sex in general. Several sex toys take part in an interview, and we can follow them through some critical moments of their work. We Are Toys is a project done by Djantalmen (Guido Ponzini) and The Beard Hunter / Weak Inc. (Mattia Bergonzi).
Expectations and Other Products | Lithuania | 2023 | 15’
Director: Dali Rust
Writer: Liudas Parulskis
Producer: Jurga Dikciuviene Kaye
Cast: Egle Mikulionyte
Synopsis: A kiosk vendor stands in an empty market daydreaming and meeting strangers. “Commodities with souls, like people, are physical, although they don’t speak, they feel pain. Traders as intermediaries, goods pass through hands, constantly changing, like colored clouds” – A.I. blares from the radio.
Second Chance | Russian Federation | 2022 | 18’
Director: Victoria Lapushkina
Writer: Victoria Lapushkina
Producers: Victoria Lapushkina, Denis Smagin, Danaya Maksimova
Cast: Evgeniy Klimkin, Elena Starodvorskaya, Michael Muhtasipov, Dmitriy Ovchinnikov
Synopsis: An actor who wakes up in a morgue skips auditions for the role of a lifetime. Given a second chance to become famous, he has to get creative to get out of the hospital and get on the set.
Short Dance/Musical – Official Selection – May 2023
Born in crisis | Germany | 2023 | 08’
Director: Leo Jasper Spannagel
Writer: Leo Jasper Spannagel
Producer: Leo Jasper Spannagel
Cast: Nathalie Unger, Annika Utzelman, Lena Kirchner
Synopsis: In an artistic way, the film tells the story of three young people who all deal with the worries and powerlessness of the crises in different ways, sometimes fighting against it, trying to push the worries away or withdrawing as if paralyzed. Their strength and endurance seem to be at an end, but together they gain a realization: they are not alone, other people feel the same way and together there is hope.
ASHES, The myth of the heron and the 62 lakes | Canada | 2023 | 10’
Director: Charles-Antoine Thériault
Writer: Charles-Antoine Thériault
Producer: Graham GS
Synopsis: Over time, nature wilfully and circumstantially adapts to its environment, but when the cyclical clash between evolution and cataclysm occurs, nature’s fight to reclaim its place often leaves scars that endure for many seasons. “Ashes” recounts the tale of a Heron and the 62 Lakes under his watchful eye, of the creation of these watery masses that now encompass the region of Saint-Hippolyte – a tragic tale of self-sacrifice that has become an eternal legend.
Short Drama – Official Selection – May 2023
The Mushroom | United States | 2023 | 15’
Director: Nicholas B Keil
Writer: Nicholas B Keil
Producers: Nicholas B Keil, Sam Cowan, Gabriel Galvez, Teresa Mae Lafferty
Cast: Alex Sarigeorgiou, Miguel K. Reis, Gabriel Torres, Teresa Mae Lafferty
Synopsis: Told in a looping-narrative, a couple topples through a surreal free-fall where foraged mushrooms hold the macabre connection between life and death.
THE SKY BETWEEN US | Germany | 2022 | 22’
Director: Louisa Grötsch
Writer: Louisa Grötsch
Producers: Louisa Grötsch, Helena Neureuther, Michelle Illhardt, Simon Bogocz
Cast: Stefan Murr, Markus Brandl, Kathrin von Steinburg
Synopsis: Hannes and Micha are brothers and actually inseparable. But then Micha causes a car accident in which his brother’s wife dies. Hannes blames his brother for his wife’s death and throws him out of the church on the day of the funeral. Days pass and the two men cannot deal with their grief. Until they finally meet again at the scene of the accident.
Collectables | Denmark | 16’
Director: Jonas Frost
Writer: Jonathan Overgaard Munk
Producers: Astrid Gott Schmidt, Emil Johnsen
Cast: Clara-Aviaya Helsted Hvid, Jonas Bjerril, Sarah Madsen, Aksel Vedsegaard, Salvador Selaya Steensig, Dagmar Palsbro
Synopsis: During one fatal weekend life changes forever for young Alberte. From pure happiness when she finally loses here virginity to her big crush, August – to complete horror, when she finds out that August secretly have taken pictures of her and mistakenly shared it on the all-consuming internet.
IYOV | Georgia | 2022 | 14’
Directors: Sergey Spirin, Andrei Beresnev
Writer: Sergey Spirin
Producers: Andrei Beresnev, Galina Beresneva
Cast: Elena Grabovskaya
Synopsis: The film follows the story of a man who loses his beloved and everything else he holds dear, prompting him to question the meaning of life. The internal conflict leads him into depression, where the only way out seems to be suicide. The author of this film, Sergey, lost a close relative to suicide. This film is a message to the past, for him
Our Males and Females | Jordan | 2022 | 11’
Director: Ahmad Alyaseer
Writers: Ahmad Alyaseer, Rana Alyaseer
Producer: Mais Salman
Cast: Kamel El Basha, Shafiqa Al Tal
Synopsis: A father and mother are faced with the painful task of washing and shrouding their deceased transgender daughter. Shrouding is an Islamic religious practice that is deemed obligatory to carry out upon death. But when no one agrees to wash her and shame falls onto the family, how far is the father willing to go to make sure his “son” is washed?
Short Fantasy/Sci-Fi – Official Selection – May 2023
TAKE ME TO YOUR INFLUENCER | United Kingdom | 2022 | 05’
Directors: Tom Lincoln, Greer Dale-Foulkes
Writer: Nina Addams
Producers: Tom Lincoln, Greer Dale-Foulkes, Nina Addams
Cast: Nancy Farino, Natalie Beran, Paul Willcocks
Synopsis: The fate of the planet is in the hands of its most popular teenage girl.
Radio Telescope | United States | 2023 | 17’
Director: Tanner Beard
Writer: Tanner Beard
Producers: Ashley Eberbach, Tomik Mansoori, Alix Van Aernam
Cast: Russell Quinn, Alexandra Chando, Jude Friedman
Synopsis: Set in 1984, a former NASA Scientist and his young son make a discovery in his make-shift laboratory located in the garage.
Short Horror – Official Selection – May 2023
Still Life | United States | 2023 | 14’
Director: Mila Vilaplana
Writer: Jackson Brown
Producer: David Pierre-Paul
Cast: Seth Dunlap, James David West, Henry Haggard, Dara Wiggins, Kayla Mickelsen, Jakcson Brown, Jesse Wilson Smith, Kelly Kidder
Synopsis: A detective slowly unravels as a serial killer taunts him with depictions of his gruesome crimes.
Alongside | Canada | 2023 | 03’
Director: River Park
Writer: River Park
Producer: River Park
Cast: Kaz Islam, Gabriel Romero
Synopsis: It’s a dark night as a jolly blues tune of the 1930s plays a car drives down a road in the middle of wide sprawling fields. A young boy is sitting in the car. The boy’s father is silently driving, looking tired from the almost endless drive. Board, the boy looks out the window. From the distance he sees something rusting in the bushes.
Student Short – Official Selection – May 2023
Close your eyes | Poland | 2022 | 11’
Director: Tomasz Korzeniowski
Writer: Tomasz Korzeniowski
Producer: Maciej Ślesicki
Cast: Hania Jasińska
Synopsis: Hania, a musically gifted girl, gets carried away by sounds and sets off on a magical journey through Warsaw’s Old Town.
A short film about growing up | Poland | 2023 | 13’
Director: Filip Rembikowski
Synopsis: Tomek, without any announcement, comes back from his studies abroad to visit his childhood home. However, the current environment that he meets there doesn’t resemble the warm home environment of his memory. During a nostalgic journey through old memories he simultaneously struggles with the difficulty of his beginning adulthood. Tomek’s story is a look into a new, young generation’s emotions and a study of universal fear adulthood.
Rats, birds | Poland | 2022 | 06’
Director: Adam Unierzyski
Producers: Maciej Ślesicki, Warszawska Szkoła Filmowa
Synopsis: There’s a war going on. Mother with daughter they hide in a bomb shelter, in these difficult conditions they look for a place for themselves
Morgenblau | Germany | 2023 | 28’
Director: Louis Leininger
Writer: Louis Maria Leininger
Producers: Louis Ostheimer, Chervin Asgari Farahani
Cast: Annalisa Weyel, Paulina Muzulini, Sydney Gessler, Anton Janecke, Moritz Rauch, Lisa Lechner
Synopsis: A young woman’s recurring dream, which points to a transformative event in the mountains, leads her to embark on a journey to herself. Finally she needs to decide if she faces her demonds.
Intoxication | Germany | 2023 | 20’
Director: Agnes Alves Olivo
Writer: Agnes Alves Olivo
Producer: Agnes Alves Olivo
Cast: Rebecca Jemima, Luis Moll, Miguel Abrantes Ostrowski, Anja Becker, Jörg Zick
Synopsis: Lena Adler and Adam Schwarz just met at a university party. Lena is a party drug dealer who tries to support her mother and herself financially while dealing with an alcoholic father. Adam, son of a rich businessman, has a big ego and a drinking problem. They flirt, but they have nothing in common… except that this night will forever change their lifes. After Lena leaves the party she is randomly controlled and arrested by the police. Adam drives home after a fight. Absurdly drunk, he causes a car accident that kills a young woman. In this night they both have to deal with their family, the law and their guilty conscience. A short film about Germany’s drug policy and alcohol culture.
BrownWhite | Israel | 10’
Director: Ruchama Ehrenhalt
Producer: Ruchama Ehrenhalt
Synopsis: From the perspective of Israeli biracial kids, BrownWhite explores how skin color influences the development of identity. Weaving their lived experiences with findings from academic research, the film reveals their dilemmas around identity in a world that’s more complicated than brown or white.
Don Javier | Mexico | 2022 | 05’
Director: Alejandro Llamas
Writer: Alejandro Llamas
Producer: Alejandro Llamas
Cast: Javier de la Mora
Synopsis: The portrait of Javier de la Mora, presented by his daily activities, going from the day to the night and from the superficial to the more intimate part of his life.
NATURE ATTACK | Ukraine | 2023 | 04’
Director: Erik Sémashkin
Writer: Erik Sémashkin
Producer: Erik Sémashkin
Cast: Erik Sémashkin
Synopsis: A bird decides to hunt crickets, but his crossing will be more complicated than expected.
Alma Vieja | United States | 04’
Director: Maximus Jupiter Corona
Writer: Maximus Jupiter Corona
Producer: Maximus Jupiter Corona
Cast: Isidro C. Corona
Synopsis: Shot on Super 16mm film with a Bolex, Maximus creates a documentary picture of what life might have been like for Isidro if his dad hadn’t passed away so early in his life.
HAPPY END NOW | Slovakia | 2022 | 26’
Director: Ján Guga
Writer: Ján Guga
Producer: Jana Gerthoferová
Cast: Rebeka Poláková, Richard Autner, Gregor Hološka, Jana Oľhová, Hanka Bajtayová, Marcus Kovár, Veronika Mészárosová
Synopsis: The film HAPPY END NOW follows a single mother under critical pressure caused by her inner conflict. She desperately tries to get a job to provide for her two little children. A glimmer of hope appears when a manager from previous job interview calls her back. However, instead of a final decision about her acceptance, he makes a strange proposal.
Elli | Austria | 2023 | 28’
Director: Kristian Machtlinger
Writer: Kristian Machtlinger
Producers: Ani Novakovic, Kristian Machtlinger
Cast: Henrietta Rauth, Georg Rauber, Alan Burgon
Synopsis: Elli finds herself in a new phase of life where she struggles with a chronic lack of time, the pressure to be perfect, and a lack of affection in her relationship. As she grapples with these challenges, she comes to the painful realization that her relationship with herself has suffered as a result.
Mad City | China | 2023 | 30’
Director: Shuokai Zhao
Writer: Shuokai Zhao
Producer: Meiqi Liu
Cast: Qi Chen, Jianglong Han
Synopsis: At the end of 2019, Cheng Gong and his wife had a big fight over their household duties. His wife was fed up with Cheng Gong choosing work over his family. In anger, she left him a divorce agreement and took their daughter, Qiqi, to her mother’s house. Cheng Gong, taking the advice of his good friend Qiangzi, decided to go to South Korea to relieve his stress. Despite enjoying himself in South Korea, Cheng Gong still missed his wife and daughter. However, after failing to reach his wife several times, Cheng Gong began to collapse emotionally and started drinking to drown his sorrows. Under the influence of alcohol and the atmosphere, Cheng Gong gradually lost consciousness. When he woke up, he found himself alone on a bench in the park, having lost all his money and belongings while he was drunk at the bar. At first, Cheng Gong thought he simply got lost. However, he soon discovered that he was about to face a world-shaking change.
ASHIMA | Japan | 14’
Director: Tsumugi Yagi
Synopsis: This story takes place in a world where fiber material lays thick on the ground and can’t be disposed due to climate change. They say a big typhoon occurs once in a thousand years. It’s considered dangerous to live above ground where a disaster could occur at any time. People who were afraid of disasters started living in underground caves. Ashima, who is dissatisfied with the underground world, begins her journey above ground with her friend Shimon.
Don’t forget to take medicines on time | China | 2023 | 03’
Director: Xiaoxuan Han
Synopsis: All the collage materials are made from collected waste paper.Due to the severe air pollution in our area,whenever it rains in summer, my rhinitis becomes very serious, bad mood keeps popping up like mushrooms after the rain. I hope this animation can remind me not to forget to take rhinitis medication every night before going to bed, and I also hope this animation can raise people’s attention to the environment.
Pick A Card | United Kingdom | 2022 | 16’
Director: Shyam Jilka
Writer: Matthew Alicoon
Producer: Matthew Alicoon
Cast: Oliver Cowlishaw, Ellis J Wells, Lewis Wallace
Synopsis: A psychological drama involving magician Apollo who seeks counsellor Mr Franklin’s help after his colleague’s death which is making Apollo hear voices when he performs. Apollo explains to Mr Franklin how his career has taken a turn for the worst and how he feels he is declining as a performer. Will Apollo be able to open up and truthfully reveal what he is experiencing?