Documentary Short – Official Selection – November 2023
Dandelion | United States | 2023 | 05’
Producer: Wendy Wang
Synopsis: After experiencing pain and trauma, Kelvin Jackson, who works at Ze Mart, wants to build a photo collage for the entire store to encourage people in the Southside Syracuse community, which has been stigmatized by crime and violence.
No Pain No Game | Netherlands | 2023 | 09’
Director: Louis Gambardella
Writer: Louis Gambardella
Producers: Louis Gambardella, Andrea Papa
Cast: Matt Payne
Synopsis: Immerse yourself in the world of virtual cycling, and how one experimented cyclist transitioned to compete and cycle in his living room. Dive in the new hype of cycling.
Experimental Short – Official Selection – November 2023
I’m Leaving | Germany | 2023 | 04’
Director: Michelle Brand
Producer: Célestine Gonzalez
Synopsis: As the night comes, the journey begins. Running rushing, racing. Unbound from time and swept away by the night’s surreal cascade of lights, we leave day-life behind.
The Twin Emperors | United Kingdom | 2023 | 12’
Directors: Christopher Neels, Joe Ball, Simon Dawson
Writers: Christopher Neels, Joe Ball, Simon Dawson
Producer: Exit Productions
Cast: Dan Richards, Gabe Burns, Lauren Moss, Owen Jenkins
Synopsis: The Twin Emperors is the classic tail of brothers vying for power, fighting for their destiny and overcoming mythical obstacles. This silent motion picture is set in the late Roman era off… We can’t keep this up… this piece was actually intentionally filmed and edited over four days at a music festival, using over 800 revelers as extras and prop makers. It is a joyous homage to silent/epic films as well as an exploration of what can be done in a short time frame with many hands to the grindstone. Influenced by mass spectacle theatre and community creation to bring together something for and by the people that are in it.
Mini Short – Official Selection – November 2023
Transmission | Belarus | 2022 | 01’
Director: Mikhail Parkhomenko
Producers: Igor Sayfullin, Katya Panasenko
Cast: David Niamedi, Maxim Shalypin
Synopsis: A short looped thriller shot in one long take entirely on a fpv drone. Shot on GoPro 11.
Immortal Mind | United States | 2023 | 02’
Director: Roku Jingwen Long
Writer: Roku Jingwen Long
Producers: Roku Jingwen Long, Ling Qu
Cast: Mya Faith, Brenda Mutoni
Synopsis: In a future world where brain-computer interface (BCI) surgery is ubiquitous, individuals face a choice: upload their consciousness to the cloud for immortality, or preserve their physical bodies in a body archive and upload their consciousness for future resurrection. For those who choose the latter, the promise of reawakening in a tangible form brings new opportunities and challenges as they navigate a world that has advanced far beyond their previous lives.
Dark Minor | France | 2022 | 03’
Director: Lilou Fogli
Writer: Lilou Fogli
Producer: Yoann Scherb
Cast: Lilou Fogli, Nino Cornillac
Synopsis: A woman desperately tries to escape her fate.
Narrative Short – Official Selection – November 2023
Barkie | United States | 2023 | 06’
Director: Tyler Guo
Writer: Tyler Guo
Producer: Tony Huang
Cast: Robbie Martin
Synopsis: Gilbert, A personified golf ball, has wisdom beyond his years and perspective. He’s knocked about by good players and bad, forgotten about, misplaced, and often rejected and replaced. But in his journeys, he sees the world’s beauty through the courses he has been to. It’s a daily reminder to appreciate the little things and connect with the natural world around him.
One Good Horse | Spain | 2023 | 14’
Director: Kolya-Alvaro Dam de nogales
Writer: Edwin Dam
Producer: Kolya-Alvaro Dam de Nogales
Cast: Mojmir Pukl, Petra Lustigova
Synopsis: To celebrate sixty years of union, an aging man decides to take his bed-ridden and semi-commotose wife on a physically and emotionally challenging trip to the summit where he first proposed.
Sometime, Somewhere | United Kingdom | 2023 | 18’
Director: Logan Findlay
Writer: Logan Findlay
Producer: Edie Moles, Alisa Tritenko
Cast: Logan Findlay, Christine Steel, Steve Jackson
Synopsis: In a quiet village pub, a touring country singer must come to terms with the journey that has led him there – and the road that lies ahead.
The Intermission | Germany | 2022 | 18’
Director: Ben von Grafenstein
Writer: Ben von Grafenstein
Producers: Lise Risom Olsen, Ben von Grafenstein, Chris McKissick
Cast: Lise Risom Olsen, Tilman Strauss, Andreas Schröders, Sebastian Schneider
Synopsis: Berlin, after a radical political change. During an intermission in a performance of Hedda Gabler, the star, Liv Hallström, gets an unexpected visitor. A prosecuted journalist hides in her dressing room. Within the 10 minutes break the actress will make a life changing decision.
The Art & Craft of Smile | Canada | 2022 | 10’
Director: Marta Borowski
Writer: Marta Borowski
Producer: Rielle Ramos
Cast: Lucy Margey, Michelle Nolden, Chris Sandiford, Elena Juatco, Will Carr
Synopsis: A miserable dental intern’s views, on the nature of genuine happiness, are challenged by the characters at her aunt’s dental practice ‘The Art & Craft of Smile’.
Qaryz (Debt) | Kazakhstan | 2023 | 15’
Director: Damir Tastembekov
Writer: Sergey Litovchenko
Producer: Erik Tastembekov
Cast: Azat Zhumadil, Yerbolat Alqozha, Nyshanbek Zhubanayev
Synopsis: His whole live Ais lives in debts. Closing one debt, he gets into another. Ais steals a vase and decides to give it for his debts to one dangerous shot caller. Old gangster does not believe Ais, and cuts off two of his fingers so that he repays the debt. But before that, he informs Ais that his father passed away. Ais decides to take advantage of the situation – to sell his father’s apartment and pay off his debts. At the funeral, according to the Kazakh tradition, the imam addresses the audience and asks them if the deceased owed anyone. A suspicious man emerges from the crowd and informs Ais that his late father owed him a large sum of money. To confirm his words, he attaches an IOU, which indicates that his father was a card player, and in the event of his death, transfers the debt to his only son. Ais once again falls into a debt hole.
Mom is just beetlepoo! | Norway | 2023 | 06’
Director: Tor Bjerke
Writer: Tor Bjerke
Producer: Tor Bjerke
Cast: Valentina Lie
Synopsis: Amanda’s mother is dead, and today dad has taken Amanda to visit her grave. But Amanda doesn’t really want to.
The Pit | United States | 2022 | 09’
Director: Adam Navas
Writer: Adam Navas
Producer: Ali Pinkerton
Cast: Indira Rodway, Ali Pinkerton
Synopsis: Two woman connect over the magic and mystery of a bottomless pit in this short folk horror film allegorizing the terrors of poverty in America.
The M Word | Australia | 2023 | 20’
Director: Shane Poss Crosland
Writer: Shane Poss Crosland
Producers: Agustina Maruca, Kimberley Kimberley Vecsei
Cast: Michael Tam
Synopsis: A nihilistic bartender cynically leads the viewer through his atypical lifestyle.
To Scale | Switzerland | 2023 | 04’
Director: Jonathan Moy de Vitry
Writer: Jonathan Moy de Vitry
Producer: Jonathan Moy de Vitry
Cast: Sebastian Vetter, Saskia Corleis
Synopsis: Two awkward youths go on an awkward date that becomes even more awkward after an awkward question. Although the premise might sound like that of any banal romantic comedy, this is anything but– It’s a condensed flash of human drama inspired by thousands of conversations going on around the world as the next generation comes to terms with what love will look like on a planet in severe peril.
No/Low Budget – Official Selection – November 2023
Love Intense | Canada | 2023 | 24’
Director: Davide Chiazzese
Writer: Raja Hanna
Producers: Raja Hanna, Chady Ghorayeb, Davide Chiazzese
Cast: Anana Rydvald, Mike Hughes
Synopsis: A unique film about intense love between two people living in a surreal world. It’s a beautiful celebration of desire and extreme passion. The connection between both characters is controlled by dreamlike forces of love. I love you so much that…..
Everything Here Holds Its Inverse | France | 2023 | 05’
Director: Oscar d’Angeac
Synopsis: Set in a Burkina Faso weaving cooperative, a cacophonous cotton-spinning apparatus eats, digests, and takes a breather. Threads become the organs of a whirling, burping, guzzling machine animated by hands, looms, vats, cogs, and feet.
The job interview | France | 2019 | 21’
Director: Joncart Jonathan
Writer: Joncart Jonathan
Producers: Joncart Jonathan, Thomas Handschuh , Guillaume Moreau
Cast: Adrien Shmuck
Stéphane Palenco need to find a job very quickly because he has no more money to pay his rent. He Decides to go to a last chance but questionable job interview.
The Light | Austria | 2023 | 10’
Director: David Krautzer
Writer: David Krautzer
Producers: David Krautzer, Luka Sticker, Janoš Pušnik
Cast: Julian Lipuš, Janko Zwitter, Simeon Rutter
Synopsis: A hiker is travelling and meets an elderly man who speaks of a mysterious light in the forest. Unimpressed by this story, the hiker continues his journey through the forest. The hiker loses his orientation when suddenly the light of the forest spirit appears. He finally leads him to the exit of the forest. When the wanderer thanks him, the spell is broken and the forest spirit is freed.
Short Comedy – Official Selection – November 2023
Two Men One Pool | Slovakia | 2022 | 15’
Director: Andrej iliev
Writer: Andrej iliev
Producer: Lisa Xu
Cast: Michael Koltes, Brett Lemay
Synopsis: A low level executive on vacation is having a hard time relaxing when a flamboyant stranger appears out of thin air on the other side of the pool. Things quickly go south.
Dead Ed | United Kingdom | 2023 | 05’
Director: Paul Mortlock
Writer: Paul Mortlock
Producer: Ed Davis
Synopsis: An old married couple discuss life, death and gammon. What if a theory can be disproved, can you dodge death? Or are you just smarter than a leading psychiatrist… In the end brown sauce will cover up the taste of any bad meal.
Smoking In Public | United Kingdom | 2023 | 05’
Director: Stelios Kouk
Writer: Stelios Kouk
Producer: Ioanna Karavela
Cast: Jami Reid-Quarrell, Elliott Eason
Synopsis: A calm middle-aged executive, enjoys a cigarette outside of his office building when he’s approached by a young hipster. Things get rather interesting when the police get involved.
Short Drama – Official Selection – November 2023
Surface or Wasting Time in the Most Gleaming Spaces | Mexico | 2023 | 15’
Director: Mauricio Uribarri
Writer: Mauricio Uribarri
Producer: Alfredo Hernández Álvarez
Cast: Adrián Acosta, Julieta Perea, Diego Olmos, Ana Pérez Salmerón
Synopsis: Sergio is a young man who believes that outer beauty is essential to please people. On his girlfriend’s grandmother’s party day, he pays too much attention to his appearance, neglecting other things, which leads to a series of complications that will make him understand the true meaning of beauty
My Toy Denmark | 2023 | 09’
Director: Mazen Haj Kassem
Writer: Mazen Haj Kassem
Producer: Mazen Haj Kassem
Cast: Hassan El Sayed, Silja Ellemann Kiehne, Camilla Kold Krohn Gade, Abdulrahman Chabaani, Mette Hansen, Rana Maoued, Victoria Færch
Synopsis: Sarah and Salem are arguing about the toy, but at the end, there is another purpose behind while meeting Their parents.
Silence France | 2023 | 16’
Director: Pauline Tessadri
Writer: Pauline Tessadri
Producer: Pierre De Marin
Cast: Laura Authier, Philippe Blondelle, Myriam Waelkens, Nicolas Gachet
Synopsis: Eva has been dancing her whole life and now dreams of joining a professional dance company. However, she suffers from an ankle sprain, but an even more serious event will cause her a loss of hearing. Will she be able to dance again?
THE CURE | Italy | 2023 | 14’
Director: Sara Balassone
Writer: Sara Balassone
Producer: SAN import export
Cast: Lidia Vitale, Giulia Bellentani
Synopsis: Maria and her mother have an ambiguous and morbid relationship of reciprocal dependency confined within the walls of their home. The girl is only allowed to separate from her mother to go to the bathroom, but something unexpected will disrupt her routine, calling into question the reality of their bond.
Next Train Out | United States | 24’
Director: Darby James
Writer: Darby James
Producer: Zach Steinberger, Emily Eckert, Darby James, Luke Hamann
Butter | Georgia | 2023 | 15’
Director: George Barbakadze
Writer: George Barbakadze
Producers: Scott Gustetter, Tsiako Abesadze
Cast: Demetre Ghuchashvili, Givi Khutsishvili
Synopsis: In Soviet Georgia, a seven year old boy attempts to win over his best friend’s father with a ration of butter.
Short Fantasy/Sci-Fi – Official Selection – November 2023
The Chamber of Memories | China | 2023 | 20’
Director: Mingxing Dong
Writer: Mingxing Dong
Producer: Sijie He
Cast: Tiezen Mi, Nanxi Zheng, Kang Chen
Synopsis: This is the story between an elderly living in future days Beijing and an artificial intelligence in the form of a mid 20s young lady. The poor elderly man would spend most of his pension to chat with that AI every month, and each time he would ask this question: “Will you marry me?” However, he never received a positive answer until his death. Should we feel sorry for him? No, in fact, this is the answer he wanted all this time. That artificial intelligence is the conscious body of the old man’s deceased wife. For some reason, the consciousness of the AI remains locked at 20 years old, before they ever met or fell in love with each other. She has forgotten all the memories with him. But every time she said that sentence, I will never marry you, the old man can be sure that this is indeed the person he has loved all his life. In the past, whenever she gets impatient with him, she will say that sentence “I will never marry you again in my next life”, and still be the person who kindly takes care of him until her moment of death. Since his wife passed away, there are only two things left in the old man’s life, to chat with his wife’s AI and wait till his death. When he dies, he will exchange himself for money and resurrect his wife. “I’m sorry, I can’t take good care of you in this life, I will compensate you for the rest of my life, I hope you live a good life, and live a good life with all my love.” The love of the older generations was usually kept secret, but it seems to always last forever and longer, and it should be like this in the future as well.
Encounter | United Kingdom | 2023 | 06’
Director: Joshua G. R. Fletcher
Writers: Joshua G. R. Fletcher, Jade Bailey-Dowling
Producers: Joshua G. R. Fletcher, Andrew Butler, Gaia Guatri
Cast: Laurence Allen
Synopsis: Join disgraced journalist turned aspiring social media travel influencer Lee McKenzie at the end of his 100 mile trek along the South Downs Way. With storm clouds closing in, he is forced to seek shelter in a nearby farm where he is awoken by a strange encounter. Shot in Brighton for the 48 Hour Film Project 2023. This is the ‘Final Cut’ of the Best Film winner for Brighton.
Stay Home Stay Safe | Czech Republic | 2023 | 20’
Director: Martin Bystriansky
Writers: Martin Bystriansky, Radovan Majer
Producer: Tomáš Mokroluský
Cast: Dušan Cinkota, Leona Skleničková
Synopsis: The story is centered in the intimate space of the shelter, where artificial intelligence creates inspiring virtual simulations for the writer. In the virtual world, the writer meets his muse, but she is not real enough. He therefore decides to leave the shelter. However, the artificial intelligence has a duty to keep the writer safe from reality and, above all, from himself.
Short Horror – Official Selection – November 2023
This Land | United Kingdom | 2023 | 20’
Director: Nicholas Jones
Cast: Christopher Patrick Nolan, Veronica Henley
Synopsis: Roisin stands alone in the rugged Irish countryside, a guardian of the mystical land that has been in her family for generations. As a greedy relative seeks to exploit the earth beneath her feet, Roisin’s unwavering will and deep-rooted connection to the land propel her to fight back, unyielding in her defence of the magic that lies at the heart of the landscape.
AMPHIBIOUS | Canada | 2023 | 13’
Director: Ghazal Partou
Writer: Ghazal Partou
Producer: Ghazal Partou
Cast: Raha Rouhollahi
Synopsis: Amphibious Genre: Drama When Raha, a 27-year-old Iranian-Canadian immigrant, finally decides to meet a man she has only seen in a photo after ten years of isolation, Iran undergoes a significant upheaval and revolution. She finds herself caught in a whirlwind of events and torn between her homeland, people, and her personal life in Canada. Shortly after the tragic death of Mahsa Gina Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian girl who was killed by the morality police for not wearing an appropriate hijab, sparking widespread protests, the news continuously reports on arrests, injuries, and casualties in the streets. The Iranian government’s internet shutdown makes it incredibly challenging to communicate with her family in Iran. Alongside these challenges, she must prepare for her date with Dave at 6:00 p.m. Raha realizes that she lacks a suitable outfit for the occasion, and over the years, her self-confidence in her appearance has waned, even causing her to forget how to apply makeup properly. As time swiftly passes, her mental anxiety, combined with news from Iran, becomes a chaotic jumble of thoughts. With only a few hours left until her meeting, she desperately leaves home to find suitable clothes. Once again, she faces intense contradictions between where she lives and her motherland. This encounter with the harsh reality weighs heavily on her and becomes so exhausting that it shatters her mental turmoil, leaving her with no solution but to seek refuge in nature for tranquility.
Student Short – Official Selection – November 2023
Boy of Wood | Netherlands | 2022 | 25’
Director: Eva Oosterveld
Writer: Eva Oosterveld
Producers: Hannah van Helden, Myrthe Laarakker
Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Stijn flew off the handle a year ago and ended up in a difficult period. A period of uncertainty in which he quit school and broke off contact with his mother out of shame. Now Stijn is in a learning program at a sheltered workshop where he learns to work with wood and metal. In the workshop he has heartfelt conversations with his counselor Duco about his life, his uncertainties and his future. Stijn hopes to go back to school soon. He attempts to improve his life and to make make peace with his mother and himself. To achieve this he will have to resist the patterns of his past.
Midnight Reminiscence | Thailand | 2023 | 30’
Director: Kulapat Aimmanoj
Writer: Kulapat Aimmanoj
Synopsis: On the New Year’s Eve, an ex-child star sets up a date with a broken-hearted high school girl in an abandoned motel to relive his glorious moments in the past.
I Don’t Want Any Trouble | Canada | 2023 | 05’
Director: Diego Dutra
Writer: Diego Dutra
Producer: Gabriela Haddad
Cast: Lucas Miranda, Shane Morris, Gabriela Haddad
Synopsis: A man breaks in an abandoned house but has to face an omniscient voice and a magical home that rebels against him. As he tries to explain himself to this voice, he must overcome unexplainable obstacles and his own fears.
El Capitán Paco | Mexico | 2023 | 25’
Director: Rodrigo Oliva
Writer: Rodrigo Oliva
Producer: Jandy Ayala
Cast: Amelia Guillen, Edwin Ruiz, Citlalli Navarro, Christian Bracamontes
Synopsis: Paco is a public transportation driver who deals with his stressful job every day, until the imagination of Sarah, his daughter, turns him into the captain of a spaceship and gives him another perspective on his problems.
Smoking with Tony del Verde | Spain | 2023 |17’
Director: Mattia Ceron
Writer: Andrea Alfieri
Producers: Gabriela Madariaga, Anna Escobar
Synopsis: Have you heard the latest from Tony Del Verde? That idiot and his friend Marietto found Ugo Frasson’s dead body inside the Frasson Petrol Station. You know, really sad stuff. Rest In Peace, Ugo. But then the situation quickly escalated into something grotesque. At first they tried to call for help, you know, they couldn’t just stand there like two poles waiting for someone else to come and help them, but the station’s phone wasn’t working. So they decided to use the phone booth across the street. But there was another problem: Tony didn’t have any change, while Mario, a bozo – with all due respect -, had spent all his coins buying lollipops at the dispenser by the entrance. So Tony suggested taking a few coins from the cash register. I mean, in a situation like that it’s not proper stealing, right? Also, Ugo Frasson doesn’t need them coins anymore and, like, you know…it was an emergency, for Christ sake! Well, whatever, they take a handful of coins. But while they were standing there fumbling with their hands in the cash register, Ugo Frasson’s drug-addicted/half-crazed daughter, Giacomina, walked in. Obviously, she misunderstood the entire situation: her father stone cold dead on the floor and two morons with their hands in the cash register, you know, easy math: she taught they were robbing the station and accused them of killing her father. To make matters worse, she pulled out a gun, which turned the situation into a real disaster. I don’t know how it ended, actually. I just overheard a guy talking about it at the bar. But, yeah, imagine yourself in a situation like that. I mean, seriously: you found a dead body in a petrol station and soon after that, you find yourself with a gun pointed at your face. Christ, what are the chances? Life it’s unbelievably unpredictable, right? By the way, I hope Tony and Marietto got away with it.
Trailer – Official Selection – November 2023
Trailer Mystique No. 4 | United States | 2022 | 02’
Director: Sydney Sagehorn
Synopsis: A woman must decide what to do after inheriting a painting of her great grandmother by a famous artist.
Our Wars | United States | 2023 | 01’
Director: Geo Thelen
Synopsis: In a Galaxy Not So Far Away… Musk v. Zuckerberg a Movie Trailer Parody #Musk #ElonMusk #zuckerberg #markzuckerberg #OurWars #starwars #Yoda #joebiden #empire #MovieTrailer #SpecTrailer #ThelenCreative #originalcontent #muskvszuckerberg #muskzuckerberg #muskzuckerbergfight #Galaxy #parody Written & Produced by Thelen Creative Images Generated by #PikaLabs Narration Audio Generated by #ElevenLabs
Ruffle | United States | 2023 | 02’
Director: Sara Farzadfard
Writer: Sara Farzadfard
Producer: Sara Farzadfard
Cast: Sara Farzadfard, Leyla Nejad
Synopsis: Minoo, a lonely girl who has some problems has been invited to a big important party, she tries to get ready with the help of her mysterious housekeeper, but something confronts her to the truth.
