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SHORT to the Point – September 2022 Nominees

Amateur Short – Official Selection – September 2022

The Lonely Generation |United States | 2022 | 17’
Director: Sydney Task
Writer: Sydney Task
Producers: Sydney Task, Andrea Bedoya
Cast: Susan Charney-Schatz, Amy Van Doran, Ysa Pisor, Carlos Otaño, Carolina Thompson, Robyn Young, Juniper Nielson, Sydney Task
Synopsis: The Lonely Generation is a semi-personal documentary following an ill-equipped, but well-intentioned filmmaker turned matchmaker as she attempts to help her Gen Z peers in their search for love.

Under Film | China | 2022 | 03’
Director: Jingyi Huang
Writer: Ke Chen
Producers: Haonan Li, Dali Wu
Synopsis: The story revolves around the little boy’s diary. He takes the audience on a novel trip inspired by photos that grandfather had taken. In this journey, the boy and his grandfather watch Peking Opera, drink bitter tea and simply enjoy themselves. With the precious experience, the boy start to understand the meaning of photography.

Animation Short – Official Selection – September 2022

O’o: The Last Voice of Kauai | United States | 2022 | 05’
Director: Hanah Cincotta
Writer: Hanah Cincotta
Producer: Hanah Cincotta
Cast: Hanah Cincotta
Synopsis: O’o: The Last Voice of Kauai is an environmental film about human-caused extinction featuring a bird known as the Kauaʻi ʻōʻō, which was once endemic to the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i.

History of the Music Hall | United Kingdom | 2022 | 16’
Director: Tim Eric Wilson
Cast: Necati Zontul, David Watson
Synopsis: A talk about the 20th Century history of Music Hall in UK with animated examples of songs and humour along with a suggestion about why this theatrical artwork, that helped to establish comedy in the movies, has disappeared. This is a film that has been 8 years in the making, the final year while battling cancer.

Duck Lake | United States | 2022 | 03’
Director: Katrin Ignatova
Writer: Katrin Ignatova
Producer: Katrin Ignatova
Cast: Katrin Ignatova, Ethan Gathman
Synopsis: When Miss Swan, the star of “Swan Lake,” gets too drunk to go on stage, her ambitious stage manager Miss Duck does everything she can in order to save the show.

Catastrophe | United Kingdom | 2022 | 03’
Director: Mocong Yuan
Synopsis: A cat was grabbed by a group of scientists for an experiment. Being unaware of its own interdimensional travel due to the experiment, it explored the surroundings out of its curious feline nature. Schrödinger’s Cat reinterpreted.

Nothing’s Left | Italy | 2022 | 05’
Director: Davide Pellino
Writer: Davide Pellino
Producer: Davide Pellino
Synopsis: “Nothing’s Left” is a haunting depiction of several aspects of our society, an abstract vision exploring the ideas behind privacy, social media and consumerism. Each one of us is both an architect and a pawn of this system but is there a way to unplug from the cycle?

The Egret River | Taiwan | 2022 | 20’
Director: Wan-Ling Liu
Writers: Wan-Ling Liu, Jett Chang
Producer: Care Chiu
Cast: Among the tall buildings of the city, the lonely guard Dawei hides a beautiful field that no one knows, and meets an egret there; but the expansion of the city never stops, one day the field is destroyed, the egret escapes without a trace, Dawei begin to see mysterious illusions…

Friends | China | 2022 | 03’
Director: Jialan Sun
Synopsis: A little girl moves into a new place. She misses her old friends but afraid of making new friends. However, later she is encouraged by a sprite to take the first step.

Documentary Short – Official Selection – September 2022

A breach to anxiety | Canada | 2022 | 09’
Director: Émile Roy
Writer: Émile Roy
Producer: Émile Roy
Synopsis: Six young adults tell their personal experience of anxiety. A short documentary that immerses us in nature and insists on our senses and the emotions we share.

Becoming Howard | United States | 2022 | 22’
Director: Matt F Fuller
Producer: Ira Heilvail
Synopsis: A 58 year-old person with autism leaves his job as a crossing guard for his 40th high school reunion in the Midwest.

Experimental Short – Official Selection – September 2022

The Elevator | Germany | 2022 | 10’
Director: Benjamin Hujawa
Writers: Romy Karl, Benjamin Hujawa
Producer: Phillip Lehner
Cast: Paula Conrad Hugenschmidt, Mario Lopatta
Synopsis: A woman at the hotel bar observes a man who is molesting other women. She knows what he’s thinking. She knows his fantasies. An incident in the elevator abruptly shifts his perception of masculinity.

IN LIMBO | Germany | 2022 | 08’
Director: Harun Güler
Synopsis: IN LIMBO features a series of intimate vignettes of taboo-breaking personalities from Istanbul free from clichés and expectations. Treading the line between narrative and reality IN LIMBO plays with subversion. In one scene a masculine group is gathered on the shore talking about hooking up with girls, before one person jumps in the water to reveal top surgery scars. In another, a belly dancer twists in the desert, kicking up dust and sand before lifting their veil to reveal a moustache.

BUTTERFLY | United States | 2020 | 10’
Producers: Lazarus Lazarides, Vasilios Callitsis, Karolina Stellaki, Alexandra Lazaridis
Cast: Wesli Spencer, Maya Jasmin Kurokouchi, Daniela Tolmazin, Jose Ignacio Gomez
Synopsis : A repressed person confronts his internal struggle as it bleeds through into his public persona creating a collision amongst external social norms, suppressed identity, and the surrealistic worlds of a distressed psyche. Film Review : “Wow! Spectacular. A butterfly is a self-propelled flower –they say. Great work, and THE lead actor is terrific; he carries it all with extreme dignity and emotional poetry. Also edit and sound design – WELL DONE.” AMOS POE FATHER OF MODERN INDEPENDENT AMERICAN CINEMA Festival Selections & Nominations Maryland Film Festival, USA (2021) – Opening Film Queer Stories Festival Internacional de Cine Silente México – FIC WINNER Best Fiction Short Film, (2020) Maine International Film Festival, USA (2020) Zaragoza International Film Festival, Spain ( Goya Qualified), (2020) Thessaloniki International Short Film Festival, THiSFF, Greece (2020) Video Art & Experimental Film Festival, Tribeca Center, NY (2020) International Micro μ Film Festival, Athens, Greece (2020)

The journey | France | 2022 | 24’
Director: Max BELMESSIERI
Writer: Max BELMESSIERI
Producer: Max BELMESSIERI
Cast: Charlotte DENIS, Angèles MOLINA GARCIA
Synopsis: Grieving photographer Carlota Cortés arrives back in Spain after a two-year hiatus, a solo world tour during which she took no photos. On the same day, her agency offers her a photo essay. Her anguish worsens when she discovers the theme: her journey.

Luminae | United States | 04’
Director: Dominic Angerame
Producer: Dominic Angerame
Cast: Le Soeil

Fashion Short – Official Selection – September 2022

Limitless | China | 04’
Director: Yining Zhou
Producer: Yuxuan Jin
Cast: Jiyuan Zou
Synopsis: Inspired by RUI, the Chinese dependent designer brand, the core concept of body positive would be carried over. In particular, referring to “feminine≠woman=soft” indicated by Rui Zhou, we also appeal to gender fluidity. Meanwhile, considering knits as the stretchy fabric, which are very gentle, delicate but show strong power and tension on the skin. Therefore, we invited a soft boy (at the physical sex level) to present his personal struggling story of gender fluid through contemporary dance. Escape from me, escape from me, escape from me… How is a reconciliation journey of a soft-masculinity boy lead by gender fluid?

Ruins- Episode One; Golden Immortal | Turkey | 2022 | 11’
Director: Emir Mavitan
Writer: Emir Mavitan
Producer: Emir Mavitan, Nurçe Erben
Cast: Gülcan Arslan, Birand Tunca, Müjde Uzman, Aslı Mavitan
Synopsis: Famous thieves, with their code names; Pierre and Perla find the treasure chest of a very wealthy woman named Mari in a Southern town, where they don’t know where it is buried, and they go after dozens of gold bars. Leaking information to the two from inside the mansion, Mari’s most trusted woman is the head of security. When the two arrive at the mansion, they enter the mansion under the pretext of a party where people who can be described as “crazy” and “different” gather and spend time. In the evening, a table is prepared in honor of the guests in a large hall with high ceilings, and the guests are ecstatic to the accompaniment of the music. Of course, this “ecstasy” is linked to the perfect progress of the duo’s plans with the head of security. Pierre secures his job by firing ten shots at Mari where she is unconscious. Even if Perla is not happy with this situation, she has to let it go. A betrayal comes from Pierre to the security chief who betrayed his boss. Everyone plays their game, Pierre and Perla are the survivors. According to the information they get from the clues around, the treasure is hidden on an island. All that remains is to go and get it out. Gold bars will be theirs. The couple crosses the island with a motorboat and climbs to the top. They take out the shovels and dig, and indeed find a chest. But when they opened the chest, they found Mari’s oil paintings painted in different periods for centuries, and it is full of black and white photographs taken. Mari opens her eyes in panic, where she is lying in blood, and tries to catch herself by breathing. Yes, Everyone has played their game, but once again the winner is the “immortal” Mari. With its mystery, adventure, fantasy and fashion themes, this cinematography will draw the attention of the audience in the first second with its acting, different outfit combinations, make-up ideas, and innovative visual language expression. The atmosphere that post-modern combinations will create by combining the characters with a simpler visual language will definitely attract attention. This movie, which adds a different dimension by combining the treasure hunt with the theme of immortality, will fascinate with its atmosphere.

Mini Short – Official Selection – September 2022

TURNING POINT | Poland | 2022 | 01’
Director: Xavier ( adamss Mcgarcia) Garcia
Writer: Xavier(adamss Mcgarcia) Garcia
Producer: Ania Drozd
Cast: Gosia Drozd, Ania Drozd, Xavier( adamss Mcgarcia) Garcia
Synopsis: More than 3 decades after the second world war, a communist country faces chaotic times… This is the story of that crucial turning point, told through the eyes of three aspiring Filmmakers.

Way Home | Taiwan | 2022 | 03’
Director: PO-TA Chen
Writer: PO-TA Chen
Synopsis: Taiwan is one of the few countries in the world that haven’t opened its border restrictions due to the outbreaks of Covid-19. In 2022, there was another wave of Covid hitting the country, therefore, there were lots of people flowing into the hospitals to get medical help. As the front-line medical personnel, she has to not only face the life and death issue but also witness the dark side of humanity. The homework is using a child’s point of view to record this historical moment and also expressing the sacrifices of the medical crew made during this critical time.

Hearing the Moon | Germany | 2022 | 02’
Director: Vincent Eckert
Producer: Paul Hartmann
Cast: Illona Schulz
Synopsis: A heavy-hearing older lady watches the transmission of the first moon landing. When the most historic phone call in human history to the moon is announced, her telephone rings unexpectedly.

Mobile Phone Short – Official Selection – September 2022

Princes Do Not Wait | Mexico | 2021 | 05’
Director: Sergio Solis
Writers: Ernest Vail, Sergio Solis
Producers: Sergio Solís, Stephanie Félix, Ana Alvarado
Cast: Tristán Hernández, Daniel Pinte
Synopsis: Tristán is 13 years old boy who is define by two things: a disability and the music of “The Prince”. The day in wich his idol dies, Tristán set out on a journey, along with his brother Pepe, to Mexico City. The last goodbye to “The Prince”, it will be also a way to fullfil his destiny.

FOREVER | United Kingdom | 2022 | 05’
Director: Jack Berry
Writer: Jack Berry
Producers: Jack Berry, Gwyneth Evans
Cast: Gwyneth Evans, Alexander Moriarty, Gaby Richardson
Synopsis: After moving away to start a new life, an emotionally damaged young woman begins to suspect that an abusive ex-boyfriend has begun stalking her. Is this just her mind playing tricks on her? Or is something far more sinister going on?

Music Video – Official Selection – September 2022

THE WIRE |Australia | 2022 | 06’
Director: Roy Sherfan
Writer: Nico LaVette
Producers: NICO LAVETTE, CANTBESTOPPEDPRO, VILLA MARINA, Nico Terrinoni, STUDIO B
Cast: Kevin Furner, Nico LaVette, Amanda Hedges, Shalane Connors
Synopsis: THE WIRE. A journey into the inevitable experiment on humanity with bio tech. Preprogramming is over, time for mind kontrol The lyrics describe our relationship with the gateway portal that the smart phone opens to augmented reality. Increasing communications and access to information yet degrading all authenticity. The Malthusian dream predicates the social media bubble glass window, the vehicle for the subjects mind control. Drug induced Regressive Hypnotherapy the flame and subversive pre-predictive programming merge in sacrifice of all moral individuality to become part of a whole, the Hive mind into augmented reality. The Drones subjugate their victim with fabianistic authority. The holographic dreams of life are Majestic in shinning glamour, though ultimately empty with no substance. He envisions childhood fantasy with all the promises of glory aided by technology as the hologram attempts transcendence inevitably shattering into a million pixels the reality of vehicles speeding into tunnel walls. Consciousness is decomposing via synthetic consensus.

REKA WW – WIND OH WIND | Russian Federation | 2022 | 05’
Director: Egor Gavrilin
Writer: Egor Gavrilin
Producer: Lucya Kravtsova
Synopsis: What you’re encountering is a mantra-song, a spell, an enchantment that turns back the pain and destruction brought by fire.

Potted Flowers | Sweden |2021 | 06’
Director: Lin Laurin
Writer: Lin Laurin
Producer: Viktor Ejwertz
Cast: Viktor Ejwertz
Synopsis: On a walk home from a therapy session Viktor starts to question his sanity. He locks his front door to his apartment and as he’s watching TV alone in his living room his anxiety begins to spiral until he for the moment is saved by a text message from a dear friend.

Millennial grandma | Russian Federation | 2022 | 06’
Director: Vladimir Arshinin
Writer: Vladimir Arshinin
Producers: Victoria Alekseeva, Vlada Rodina
Cast: Yana Krapiva, Anastasia Panova, Elizaveta Vyskubina, Albina Volkova, Airan Dashkova, Larisa Chernobay
Synopsis: The heroine walks through time. On her way different stories appear. She is getting old fast and suffers from a hostile world. She needs to get to the Ancestral Tree, under which she is waiting for peace and a new rebirth.

Narrative Short – Official Selection – September 2022

Launch| United States | 2022 | 20’
Director: Vince Williams
Writers: Vince Williams, Jarrett Ksiazek
Producers: Rachel Lebak, Vince Williams, Jarrett Ksiazek
Cast: Jacob Young, Amanda Baker, Ethan Pogue, McTyere Parker
Synopsis: Based on a true story, Apollo astronaut John S. Bull is determined to be the first man on the moon. He and his wife Nancy are an unstoppable force, about to come into contact with the immovable object of the NASA training gauntlet during the pinnacle days of the space race.

Happy Retirement Mr Pickering | United Kingdom | 2022 | 21’
Director: Keshav Shree
Writer: Keshav Shree
Producers: Keshav Shree, Jean Ciuntu
Cast: Kevin West, Linda-Jean Barry, Luis Donegan-Brown, Sergio Barba, Anita Sharma
Synopsis: After 30 years at a white-collared job an introverted man is thrown into the isolation of retirement. This resurfaces obsessive desires of homosexuality and he must either come out to his iron-willed wife or continue an unfulfilled marriage of 35 years.

Flying Turtle | Ukraine | 2021 | 19’
Director: Daniel Golovnya
Writer: Dmytro Karlash
Producers: Kateryna Pyshchykova, Anhelina Stepanenko
Cast: Anton Kocherha, Alisa Voznesenska, Oleksandra Soroka, Svitlana Bukhta, Vitalii Ishchenko, Mykhailo Myrnyi, Yan BIdnyi, Artem Yemelianov
Synopsis: Pavlo suffers from burnout on his job and once again he was sent on a work trip against his will. Nevertheless, he feels safe in this way of things. On a road, he meets mischievous explorer Alise on her travel around a country. This is where the clash of two different worlds happened. Will Pavlo brake his shell and find freedom or just run away?

The Dust of Diamond Highways | Hungary | 2022 | 30’
Director: Zoltán Vámos
Writer: Sándor Sultz
Producer: Szilvia Garami
Cast: Éva Vári, Ákos Orosz
Synopsis: It is a rare moment in our life, when we can open up to the other with total honesty, forgetting about the role we had shaped and practiced for ourselves, which is also expected by our environment. It is rare and dangerous. Especially in the case of a doctor, who must keep the distance with their patients. And now it still happens that this particular shield gets cracked for an hour. Perhaps because of his guilty conscience that in the everyday rush he cannot even pay proper attention to his own mother. The case of Madame Vilma seems to be some kind of lapse for him, but it is not. One thing is certain, the lady’s secret remains a secret. She took it where her husband is waiting for her in the Wartburg, where they fly together on the “diamond dust of golden highways”.

Amissa Anima | Australia | 2021 | 15’
Director: Tatiana Doroshenko
Writer: David Markin
Producers: Katrina Mathers, Bernie Clifford
Cast: Jim Daly, Justin Hosking, David Kara
Synopsis: Four boys survive on the seedy night streets of St Kilda’s red-light district in Australia in the 1980’s. Based on true events. (Adult themes)

EXCHANGE| Viet Nam | 2022 | 25’
Director: Khoa Nguyễn
Writer: Khoa Nguyễn
Producer: Khoa Nguyễn
Cast: Oanh Kiều, Thư Nguyễn, Lý Hồng Ân, Nhung Gumiho
Synopsis: From the offer to change seats on the bus was accepted, helped the girl escape death in a tragic traffic accident. But even so, there are things scarier than death that awaits her after that!

ZOY’S RETURN | Kazakhstan | 2021 | 25’
Director: Adilkhan Yerzhanov
Writer: Adilkhan Yerzhanov
Producer: Natalia Gneusheva
Cast: Yagych, SVETLANA STEPANKOVSKAYA, Daniyar Alshinov, Olivia Valter
Synopsis: GALYA (40) an drink ,pugnacious pimp in an Omsk village bordering Kazakhstan.She is deprived of her rights to her daughter ZOY (8) and documents are collected in order to send the child to an orphanage.Galya steals her daughter, and together with her autistic boyfriend STASI-KOM (40), they are sent on smuggling routes to Kazakhstan. Zoe’s biological father lives there, a shepherd with fat flocks of sheep. Galya promises her daughter that she will be better with him than in the orphanage.Galya promises that she will visit, but Zoya realizes that this is their last trip. On the way to Zoe’s father’s house, adventure and events await them that will bring the three closer together and help them better understand the nature of human relationships.

Process | United Kingdom | 2022 | 21’
Director: Patrick Gather
Writer: Patrick Gather
Producers: Jamie Harvey, Markus Daniel Meedt
Cast: Sam Hazeldine, Anjli Mohindra, Steven Blake, Abhin Galeya, Amanda Hadingue
Synopsis: A conflicted process server is finding himself torn between helping two very different victims of domestic violence. The choice he makes, ultimately threatens to derail his ethical foundation and his career alike.

Millennial grandma | Russian Federation | 2022 | 06’
Director: Vladimir Arshinin
Writer: Vladimir Arshinin
Producers: Victoria Alekseeva, Vlada Rodina
Cast: Yana Krapiva, Anastasia Panova, Elizaveta Vyskubina, Albina Volkova, Airan Dashkova, Larisa Synopsis: ChernobayThe heroine walks through time. On her way different stories appear. She is getting old fast and suffers from a hostile world. She needs to get to the Ancestral Tree, under which she is waiting for peace and a new rebirth.

Cupid | United States | 2022 | 14’
Director: Luke Bennett
Writer: Luke Bennett
Producer: Tom Turley
Cast: Brandon Reilly, Liana George, Laris Macario
Synopsis: Things don’t go according to plan when a writer brings two actors together to work on his new play.

No/Low Budget – Official Selection – September 2022

No-Handed | Islamic Republic of Iran | 2022 | 24’
Directors: Danial Afshar, Kian Darjazi
Writers: Danial Afshar, Kian Darjazi
Producers: Danial Afshar, Kian Darjazi
Cast: Kian Darjazi, Atena Aabi
Synopsis: After his wife left, Amir is struggling with some problems.

Shells | Italy | 2022 | 06’
Director: Gianluca Passarelli
Writer: Gianluca Passarelli
Producer: Gianluca Passarelli
Cast: Riccardo Marotta, Jessica Granato, Fabiana Spinosa, Gianluca Passarelli
Synopsis: Stories and misery of Donato at a particular time of his life. Memories resurfacing one by one, as if they were shell pearls. Flashes of an old and yet present love. He starts reliving such moments and becomes totally estranged from his own reality. However, when he’s brought back to it, he feels ready to leave the past behind and take a new path. ————————— Storie e tormenti di Donato, in un momento particolare della sua vita. Ricordi che riaffiorano uno ad uno come le perle di una conchiglia. Lampi di un vecchio amore ancora presente. Rivive questi momenti, estraniandosi completamente da quello che sta vivendo ma quando viene richiamato alla realtà lascia il passato e riprende felice la nuova strada.

ROOFTOP | Bulgaria | 2022 | 16’
Directors: Nevena Nikolova, Petar Gerzilov
Writer: Nevena Nikolova
Producers: Nevena Nikolova, Milen Manev
Cast: Emil Stefanov, Marina Furtzova
Synopsis: Two strangers meet at the rooftop of a 20-story hotel building, both with the intention to commit suicide.

When I Sing | 2022 | 05’
Director: Wonjin lee
Cast: Ye Ram, SEI, Saihan Yoon, Chang won kim
Synopsis: 1. Ye-ram, who was waking up from a small room and composing, lays in bed and looks out the window when things don’t go well. 2. In a fantasy, Ye-ram finds a guitar while walking in a flower garden, and the ghost approaches Ye-ram who plays the guitar. 3. In the room, Ye-ram transcribes the song played in the fantasy in a notebook. The doorbell rings and friends are seen through the ophthalmoscope. 4. On the roof of the building, Yeram and her friends each play musical instruments and sing songs.

Short Comedy – Official Selection – September 2022

Community Watch | Ireland | 2022 | 14’
Director: Paudie Baggott
Writers: Gemma Kane, David Fennelly
Producer: Maggie Ryan
Cast: David Fennelly, Gemma Kane, Ali Fox, David Fleming, Clare Monnelly, Noelle Brown, Anto Seery, Sharon Coade
Synopsis: A young Neighbourhood Watch officer must keep her community together amidst a series of grizzly local murders while flirting with the police officer assigned to the case.

Cupcake | United States | 2021 | 19’
Director: Kyle Perritt
Writers: Kyle Perritt, Henry Snyder
Producers: Owen Hamilton, Kyle Perritt, Holt Maybank
Cast: Revell Carpenter, Walker Trull, Bill Davis, Henry Riggs
Synopsis: Amateur murderers Paul and Lucy find themselves on the run in the southern marshlands with some peculiar cargo: A dead body and a mysterious batch of delicious looking baked goods. When they arrive at a secluded rental home to lay low, their eccentric landlord only complicates matters more.

Short Drama – Official Selection – September 2022

The Banishment | Turkey | 2022 | 20’
Director: Yılmaz Özdil
Writer: Yılmaz Özdil
Producer: Yılmaz Özdil
Cast: Saman Mustefa, Tariq Akreyi, Nazmi Karaman, Atiye Özdil
Synopsis: ZIKO, the sleepwalker is banished from his village for committing a “serious sin” while asleep. This decision is also announced to all the surrounding villages so that no one hosts Ziko or feeds him. On a cold winter day, half-naked and hungry Ziko must reach the city traversing several villages not knowing what is waiting for him. However, on the same day, a deaf and mute hunter, unaware of all this, has to pass through the same villages.

TEN WEEKS | Islamic Republic of Iran | 2022 | 16’
Director: REZA SHADEMAN
Writer: MEHDI MIRBAGHERI
Producer: REZA SHADEMAN
Cast: REZA SHADEMAN, MINA GHEISARI
Synopsis: Young married illegal migrants, torn apart during the harrowing journey, meet at their destination after ten weeks apart and face the unforeseen devastating impact on their lives.

PANAH | Islamic Republic of Iran | 15’
Director: Fatemeh Ghadirinezhadian
Writer: Masoumeh Bayat
Producer: Amirhossein Norouzbaki
Cast: Nasim Adabi
Synopsis: Panah, a Middle-aged transgender mom is trying to leave Iran, in order to have sex reassignment procedures. She receives a phone call that her visa and medical docs have been rejected. Now, her only hope and motivation is to once more see the only true love of her life, and be accepted by him for her authentic true self.

Just in Case | United Kingdom | 2021 | 14’
Director: Kirsty Robinson-Ward
Writer: April Kelley
Producers: April Kelley, Sara Huxley, James Dean, Amy Gardner, Kris Sadler, Alex Brock
Cast: Philip Glenister, April Kelley
Synopsis: Within the ambiguous safety of a service station, a concerned father and his scared daughter take refuge. Rachel lives with bipolar disorder and the invisibility of her condition has become all too real for both herself and Mark. What happens when they realise that neither of them could save her life? In collaboration with Bipolar UK, ‘Just in Case’ explores the harsh reality of what it’s really like to live with bipolar disorder.

Do This for Me | United Kingdom | 2022 | 20’
Director: Marnie Baxter
Writer: April Kelley
Producers: April Kelley, Sara Huxley, Amy Gardner, Kris Saddler, James Dean
Cast: April Kelley, Sara Huxley, Taj Atwal, Adelle Leonce, Tilly Keeper
Synopsis: Maintaining friendships in your twenties is tricky. Juggling careers, romance and the dread of turning 30. Meet Lex, Gracie, Beca, Kat, and Joy. We all know them, as we all are them. Reuniting tonight to pay tribute to a friend, tensions quickly rise as tipsy turns to drunk and grief takes hold of those left behind. ‘Do This For Me’ is a story about friendship, reminding us that everything else can wait when someone you love needs you.

In Between | Indonesia | 2022 | 18’
Director: Santirta Martendano Aribowo
Writer: Santirta Martendano Aribowo
Producer: Robertus Wahyu Dewanto
Cast: Mayang Adrass
Synopsis: EGA (33), an migrant worker in the city of Jakarta pursuing her dreams in the metropolitan city. Her workload and the pressure from her Manager put her under stress, physically and psychologically exhausted, to the extent of ignoring a last call from her mother.

Keepin’ Up With The Jones’ – 2022 | United States | 2022 | 29’
Director: Jason M. Gray
Writer: Jason M. Gray
Producers: Richard Gray, Jason Gray
Cast: Christal Luster, Najee Ellerbe, Tyre Evans, Zuri Eshun, Monica Myrick, Anthony Roberts, Tiara Ford
Synopsis: After Nia (Christal Luster) and Malik (Najee Ellerbe) hang out with a cooler, more vibrant Pierre (Tyre Evans) and Aaliyah (Monica Myrick), they start to compare and question their own relationship.

Justice? | Japan | 2021 | 25’
Director: Pine Minegishi
Writer: Pine Minegishi, Taku kato, Yoshie Hagiwara
Producer: Tomo Shimizu
Cast: Takahiro Nagase, Yuki Kawashima, Yurika, Sayaka Aruga, Tsukasa Tsuchiya
Synopsis: Hiroaki knew of his boss’s dishonesty, but tolerated it in order to get ahead. One day, he decides to press charges, but his decision leads to an unexpected situation.

Du bout des doigts | France | 2022 | 17’
Director: Léo Poignard
Writer: Léo Poignard
Producer: Stéphane Pierrat
Cast: Jalys Ainseba, Walid Ben Mabrouk
Synopsis: In the middle of spring, a 7 years old boy spends his weekend in the French countryside with his father. They will go together to the forest to give themselves over to an activity that will shock his innocence, with nature as the sole observer.

It is Quiet Here. | Ukraine | 2022 | 13’
Directors: Olena Podolianko, Novruz Hikmet
Writers: Olena Podolianko, Novruz Hikmet
Producers: Viktor Shevchenko, Novruz Hikmet, Tom Schreiber, Julian Gerchow
Cast: Lyudmyla Chyrkova, Maksym Shlenchak
Synopsis: A young couple is torn from the world for one long night in a hotel room in a town near the border. That night they agreed not to talk about the war. Completely lost in each other’ s small world, they don’t realize when the morning comes and force them to go back to reality.

Cupid | United States | 2022 | 14’
Director: Luke Bennett
Writer: Luke Bennett
Producer: Tom Turley
Cast: Brandon Reilly, Liana George, Laris Macario
Synopsis: Things don’t go according to plan when a writer brings two actors together to work on his new play.

Short Fantasy/Sci-Fi– Official Selection – September 2022

ONEIRA | United States | 2022 | 12’
Director: Christine A Banna
Producer: Meerenai Shim

Wolf + Lamb | Italy | 2022 | 15’
Director: Giuseppe Schettino
Writers: Alberto Nucci Angeli, Giuseppe Schettino
Producers: Marielisa Serone, Anna Paolini, Lino Guanciale, Stefano Francioni
Cast: Lino Guanciale, Giacomo Ferrara, Virginia Diop, Ladislao Liverani
Synopsis: Wolf + Lamb (Lupo + Agnello) is above all a “coming-of-age novel”, based on the immortal and homonymous fable of Aesop. It is the story of the relationship Luca (Ladislao Liverani), Thomas (James Ferrara) and Elisa (Virginia Diop) entertain one another and behaviors such as bullying and the search for identity. Unbeknownst to them, are guided by a mysterious professor (Lino Guanciale) anthropology, and his blonde assistant, in this “Bildungsjourney” between ancient masks, religious festivals and archaic rituals that will inevitably lead our protagonists to confront each other and understand that wearing a mask is not enough to be what you want to be, but above all, every choice has consequences and responsibilities. With an unexpected ending and absolutely open to any further development.

Short Horror – Official Selection – September 2022

The Sister’s Séance | United States | 2022 | 25’
Director: Christopher John Desiderio
Writers: Christopher John Desiderio, Farren Breeze Bordon
Producers: Christopher John Desiderio, Angela Zaniboni, Isabella Eliza Helen Hawthorn
Cast: Rachel Boudwin, Rachel Boeing, Abigale Fayeth Hawthorn
Synopsis: Two sister’s conduct a seance in order to find the truth surrounding the mysterious death of their younger sister.

Remnants | United Kingdom | 2022 | 11’
Director: Chris Boyd
Writer: Chris Boyd
Producer: Jakob Lewis Barnes
Cast: Simon Weir, Emma Leah Golding, Rayyah McCaul
Synopsis: A self-absorbed lecturer returns to a remote part of the Northern English countryside in the hope of burying the past but a troubling presence won’t let things rest.

Opt | Romania | 2022 | 19’
Director: Paul Radu
Writer: Paul Radu
Producer: Paul Radu
Cast: Costel Cascaval, Ana Maria Turcu, Florin Craciun, Alexandru Iordache, Lavinia Pele, Elias Ferkin
Synopsis: A man who lives in the rural parts of Romania finds out about a large sum of money being hidden in a house and decides to steal it.

Short Thriller/Mystery – Official Selection – September 2022

Hand | New Zealand | 2020 | 15’
Director: Stephen Kang
Writer: Stephen Kang
Producers: Miryam Jacobi, Jack Barry
Cast: Krishma Grebneff, Awa Puna
Synopsis: They call her the Hand. She is the best at pickpocketing amongst the group. While everyone is trying to figure out her secret skill of stealing and disappearing, she plots to run away with her lover for good. However, when jealousy and frustration mounts, the group they once called family crumbles. When the Hand finds herself wedged between the dissolving group and her lover – she is forced to make a choice.

In September I dreamt of winter | Finland | 2022 | 30’
Director: Emil Sallinen
Writer: Emil Sallinen
Producer: Emil Sallinen
Cast: Carl-Gustaf Wentzel, Sara Sulander
Synopsis: Famous detective Rune Strand struggles with a mysterious case of poisonings in Helsinki. In the Nordic darkness he finds a strange piece of evidence, a breakthrough that gives him hope. Influencer Rebecca Weckström is drawn to Rune’s hopeful message as she seeks comfort to counter the negative news she’s addicted to. Rebecca ends up revealing an old secret of Rune as the mysterious case of poisonings is eventually solved, turning the world upside down.

Suburbia Blue | Australia | 2022 | 10’
Director: Ben O’Sullivan
Producer: Ben O’Sullivan
Cast: Zac O’Brien, Eliza Allen, Alexander Claude, Riley Thompson, Hayden Parsons, Jai Selva
Synopsis: An explicit video begins to disturb the mind of a teenager on his way home from school.

FOR HONOR | United States | 2021 | 22’
Directors: Yasmine Gazelle, Charles B. Clifton
Writers: Yasmine Gazelle, Charles B. Clifton
Producers: Yasmine Gazelle, Charles B. Clifton, Lauren Silvestri
Cast: Yasmine Gazelle, Jordan Knapp, Stefani Zabner, Doruk Gündogan, Masoud Haghani, Michael Morano
Synopsis: After witnessing the brutal Honor Killing of her sister, a young Muslim woman sets out on a quest for vengeance against the society that wronged her.

Opt | Romania | 2022 | 19’
Director: Paul Radu
Writer: Paul Radu
Producer: Paul Radu
Cast: Costel Cascaval, Ana Maria Turcu, Florin Craciun, Alexandru Iordache, Lavinia Pele, Elias Ferkin
Synopsis: A man who lives in the rural parts of Romania finds out about a large sum of money being hidden in a house and decides to steal it.

Student Short – Official Selection – September 2022

A Twist of Fate | Netherlands | 2022 | 21’
Director: Nikky Rademaker
Writer: Nikky Rademaker
Cast: Isis Caljé, Dawit de Koning
Synopsis: After months of premonitions of her own death, Amy stumbles upon an artist (Noah) who has drawn the dreams she’s haunted by. In a journey to overcome her deepest fears Amy must learn to trust not only Noah, but herself as well.

Death at the bus stop | Norway | 2022 | 07’
Director: Maja Kjellstad Aanonsen
Writer: Maja Kjellstad Aanonsen
Producers: Mathilde Eline Torvik Strøm, Trygve Løkka Wølner, Sofie Gulla Rebbestad
Synopsis: Four strangers are waiting on the bus on a cold morning in Norway. Then someone dies.

Be Happy Soon | China | 2022 | 31’
Director: JunLin Zhao
Writer: JunLin Zhao
Producer: JiaWen Chen
Cast: RongRong Lai
Synopsis: In the remote and humid mountain village of Sichuan, the Chens live a simple life. The father works outside on weekdays, and the young son, chendaemen’er, is often at home alone. The only fun is playing with Xiaobai, the cock he raised. Xiaobai has grown into a full-fledged cock, but only chirps at night. The unlucky cock has become a barrier between father and son. Seeing the New Year approaching, Some memories and thoughts also came like the crowing of chicken at night.

The War Ends at 11 | United Kingdom | 2022 | 13’
Director: Louis Fitzpatrick
Writer: Louis Fitzpatrick
Producer: Louis Fitzpatrick
Cast: Henry Ashton, Douglas Yannaghas, Sean McConville
Synopsis: Fifteen minutes before the end of WW1, two British soldiers are lost in the woods, trying to make their way back to their lines when they are ambushed by an unseen sniper who doesn’t realise the war is over.

Ichwacha Birhad , Living under the curse of lord Ram | India | 2022 | 17’
Director: Sharvari Sanjay Khambe
Writer: Sharvari Sanjay Khambe
Producer: MIT School of Film and Television
Cast: Constantly on the move, this documentary explores the lives of the nomadic tribes of Maharashtra living on the outskirts of a bustling city. This film attempts to explore their culture through a mix of folklore, interviews, and music.

The Sin Eater | United Kingdom | 2022 | 13’
Director: Jonas Daniel Alexander
Writer: Jonas Daniel Alexander
Producer: Andrea Domeisen
Cast: Konrad Oleksiewicz, Ashley Tabatabai, Louisa Maude, Julia Munrow, Tony Goodall, Connor Marsden, Caitlin Madeley, Maisie Gregory
Synopsis: The film tells the story of a man known only as The Sin Eater, who lives a very isolated life whilst doing his job of taking on the sins of people who have recently passed. His latest job seems to go very wrong, and he comes to realise that his work, the burden of taking so many sins into his own soul, is causing him to suffer.

Stunning 8K Resolution | United States | 2022 | 08’
Director: Aidan Lafferty
Writer: Aidan Lafferty
Producers: Aidan Lafferty, Maddison Lafferty
Cast: Brett Frasco, Elizabeth Hanna
Synopsis: DIGITAL MEETS REALITY Rob, who wears a blank canvas, is stuck within the confines of his screen. He ventures out into the desert to discover new meanings.

Moving | United Kingdom | 2022 | 14’
Director: Seyma Dag
Writer: Seyma Dag
Producer: Seyma Dag
Cast: Leyla Aycan, Edward Corrie, Liz Ewing, Tim Licata
Synopsis: An adult content creator runs into her subscriber at an apartment viewing with her parents and finds herself in an identity clash at the least expected time.

In The Air | Australia | 2022 | 10’
Director: Kieran Deeth
Writer: Kieran Deeth
Cast: Alastair Orr, Prem Sagar Krishnan, Patricia Leis, Anna Kucharski, Monica Deeth, Kieran Deeth
Synopsis: An abusive boyfriend encounters a mysterious stranger who seemingly knows everything about him, what he has done and will do… that very night.

The Desire of Blind Box | China | 2022 | 10’
Director: Yuting Huang
Writer: Yuting Huang
Producer: Zelin Yan
Cast: Quanen Mai, Qilie Wu
Synopsis: A blind box frenzy gets the protagonist Chen Yihe obsessed with those blind boxes with a special memory-sharing function. He builds a dream paradise with the dream maker Bo Kaihong by retracing childhood recollections. With the unpacking of those blind boxes, the misunderstanding between the dream maker Kaihong and Yihe in their childhood is cleared up, and the concealed past in Yihe’s memories is resurfacing. Once again facing the crucial moment to protect their simplicity, Yihe gives in to the temptation of fame and fortune, and the dream maker Kaihong’s paradise disintegrates because of Yihe’s choice. Once a meaningful souvenir, the toy inside the blind box turns out to be a tombstone remembering the loss of their treasured recollections.

GRIP | Belgium | 15’
Director: Tim Jans
Writer: Maddy Smeets
Producer: Margot Blihi
Casst: Anemone Valcke, Bjarne Devolder, Koen Van der Sande
Synopsis: Vincent and Eva are looking to revive their relationship with a weekend getaway to the Ardennes in Wallonia, Belgium. Vincent wants to take it slow, but Eva has planned a surprise rock climbing trip. This – and especially the climbing instructor Alain – steers the relationship in an entirely different direction.

Tres reis sen reino | Spain | 2021 | 14’
Director: Patxi Isasti
Writers: Patxi Isasti, Álvaro Muñoz Mora, Manuel S.Pita Romero
Producer: Jesús Alonso
Cast: Pedro Pascual, Pedro Chain, Tema Arribas, Irene Veigas
Synopsis: A peasant woman tells us about her diffuse dream: three great kings without any kingdom, but with the indisputable right to reign.

Tell Everything | Spain | 2021 | 15’
Director: Óscar Villarroya
Writer: Óscar Villarroya, María Villarroya
Producer: Pablo Eduardo Salazar
Cast: María Crespo, Alfonso Delgado, María Villarroya
Synopsis: ‘Tell Everything’ is the story of a farewell between a father and her daughter. The soul of the deceased mother come back home to rescue the last moments their spent together, reminding them that it is necessary to forgive everything, and tell each other all the words that were left to say.

Journey of the Sun | Poland | 2022 | 30’
Director: Yutaro Keino
Writer: Yutaro Keino
Producer: Yutaro Keino
Cast: Hela Korczycka, Lukasz Gawronski
Synopsis: Tosia (18) lives and works with other two girls in an erotic massage parlor. One of them runs away, leaving her 3 month old baby. Though she starts to feel a strange empathy towards the baby, the responsibility of taking care of the abandoned child alters Tosia’s life, to the point of piercing her reality. Her natural aloofness will turn into anguish. By the end, she hallucinates and sees herself drowning her in the bathtub, to save her from her destiny. She gets awaken by the illusion and walks out on the street for help.

I only appear dead | Germany | 2022 | 13’
Director: Mira-Belle Rose Bryld
Writer: Hanna Heimann
Producers: Viviana Koch, Mareike Mössner
Cast: Michael von Au
Synopsis: Struggling actor Franz is delighted with the prospect of landing a job at the theatre again. However during the presumed audition at a forest stage, Franz is suddenly to take on the leading role of Hans Christian Andersen that very evening! Andersen’s greatest fear: to be buried alive. Franz decides to play along, but his hope increasingly shifts to unease as the Scandinavian performance begins.

Ecstasy Behind the Forgotten | United States | 2022 | 10’
Director: Nora Stock
Writer: Nora Stock
Producer: Nora Stock
Cast: William Lund, Scott Callenberger, Jenna Szoke
Synopsis: Toxic masculinity has come to a head and this story explores the consequences not just for women but for men. The phrase “toxic masculinity” is thrown around flippantly, and its potential root causes are very rarely explored. When a person is plagued with jealousy, they are willing to do almost anything in order to acquire what they desire. Our protagonist, August internalizes the relationship that his best friend Wren shares with his girlfriend Julia as a direct, personal attack on him and his identity. Due to the fact August is not getting the same amount of attention and affection that he is used to from Wren, he goes behind Wren’s back to manipulate Julia. August’s internalized turmoil triggers an out-of-body experience that then drives him to make intimidating, coerced advances toward the people he loves.

Friends | China | 2022 | 03’
Director: Jialan Sun
Synopsis: A little girl moves into a new place. She misses her old friends but afraid of making new friends. However, later she is encouraged by a sprite to take the first step.

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