International Competition 5

Screening time: 1 h 20 min

CW: Themes of sexual and domestic violence and scenes of bestiality and animal abuse

Films in this screening:

Hugo Covarrubias:

Bestia

Chile, 2021. 16 minutes.

Based on true events, Bestia explores the life of a secret police agent during the military dictatorship in Chile. Her relationship with her dog, her body, her fears and frustrations reveals a grim fracture of her mind and of the country.

Nata Metlukh:

Regular

USA, 2022. 5 minutes.

The story is set in a graphic design world where fonts are the main characters. They interact with the environment according to their properties: Bold makes everything thicker, Italic tilts things, Monospace equalizes objects by width, etc. Fonts are assigned to build a garden, and the five boxing wizards jump in quickly to inspect their work. A negative space storm flushes everything away, but Regular comes and fixes the garden.

Máté Horesnyi:

Lesser of Two Evils
(A kisebbik rossz)

Hungary, 2021. 10 minutes.

The Eastern-Europian mentality and relations exposed through Attila Hazai’s pen. Raw and life-a-like stories which are turning into absurd scenes.

Magda Kreps:

I Want To Be Bored

United Kingdom, 2021. 4 minutes.

I Want To Be Bored is a hand-drawn short film, visualizing a wandering mind during the experience of doing absolutely nothing.

Elizabeth Hobbs:

The Debutante

United Kingdom, 2022. 8 minutes.

A spirited young woman persuades a hyena from London Zoo to take her place at a dinner dance held in her honor. Their plan requires a surprising amount of artistry and violence. Based on a story by artist Leonora Carrington, this film celebrates her startling tale with paint and collage.

Fabio Orlando, Tommaso Zerbi:

Graziano And The Giraffe
(Graziano E La Giraffa)

Italy, 2022. 6 minutes.

A man hungry for sausages buys a microwave oven that will drag him into the wild.

 

 

Pauline Morel:

Channidae

Belgium, 2021. 7 minutes.

Colin, Charlie and Martin are three children who are meeting in a park to play together. Colin suggests to play family with masks. That’s when playing pretend can become more than real.

Honami Yano:

A Bite of Bone

Japan, 2021. 10 minutes.

A little girl reflects on her last summer with her father at his funeral.

Urška Djukić, Émilie Pigeard:

Granny's Sexual Life

Slovenia, France, 2021. 14 minutes.

Four old women reflect on their memories of old times when they were young and how different the relationships between men and women were back then. Their voices merge into one single voice, that of the grandmother Vera, who tells her story in proper detail. A trip into grandmother’s youth and the memories of her intimate life illustrate the status of Slovenian women in the first half of the 20th century.

International Competition 4

Screening time: 1 h 20 min

CW: Scenes of emotional/domestic abuse and mild self harm

Films in this screening:

Yoriko Mizushiri:

Anxious Body

France, 2021. 6 minutes.

Living things, artificial things, geometry shapes, and lines. When these different things encounter, a new direction is born.

Péter Bogyó:

The Pattern

Hungary, 2022. 13 minutes.

Leonid Shmelkov:

Cucumbers

Russia, France, 2021. 16 minutes.

Simon is a successful and popular photographer. Once something inside him, in his life and work breaks down. Now he sees only cucumbers in everything. He cannot exist as before and is trying to cope with his problems…

Yiorgos Tsangaris:

Rites of Spring

Cyprus, 2021. 4 minutes.

Christian Orthodox tradition and travelling theatre troupes with their pagan roots are two seemingly opposite worlds, both mysterious and both enchanting to the author.

Fynn van der Ziel:

Bewogen Woerde

Netherlands, 2021. 6 minutes.

In a plain, grey landscape, a man named Dwon lives inside a house that is damaged by earthquakes. Dwons only roommate is a strong man who supports the ceiling so the house won’t fall apart. One day, they get a visit by an engineer from the local government and his measuring system: a scanning robot that looks a bit like a male duck. When he starts scanning, some true drama takes off.

Anna Budanova:

Two Sisters
(Deux soeurs )

France, 2021. 14 minutes.

Twin sisters in synchronicity live on the outskirts of a hostile forest of which they are afraid to approach. But curiosity prevails.

Gabrielle Selnet, Adam Sillard, Chloé Farr:

Goodbye Jérôme!
(Au revoir Jérôme!)

France, 2021. 8 minutes.

Having just arrived in paradise, Jerome sets out to find his wife Maryline. In the course of his search, he sinks into a surreal and colorful world in which no one seems to be able to help him.

Špela Čadež:

Steakhouse

Slovenia, Germany, France, 2021. 9 minutes.

The steak has been marinating for a few days now. The pan is heated. Franc’s stomach is rumbling. But Liza’s co-workers surprise her with a birthday party. Will she be home on time?

International Competition 3

Screening time: 1 h 20 min

CW: Themes of Holocaust and police brutality and scenes of animal abuse, sexual harassment and violence

Films in this screening:

Anna Lena Spring, Lara Perren:

Sauna

Switzerland, 2021. 4 minutes.

Ava enters the Sauna for the first time. She is overwhelmed by the nudity, her thoughts, and the physical sensations. The other guests go about their routines. With the rising heat Ava starts to relax. Finally, she melts away and dissolves into complete ecstasy.

Sam3:

Sensual Pill
(Sensual Pill )

Greece, 2021. 4 minutes.

A magnetic animation-documentary, using Google Earth satellite facilities to travel worldwide during the pandemic era. Epic music by the Athenian Kostadis.

Varya Yakovleva:

Oneluv

Russia, 2022. 10 minutes.

Strangers come to visit the home of a young couple. Taking advantage of the hospitality of the hosts, the unexpected guests push the couple to do rash things, which leads to the destruction of the established order and harmony within the family.

Shi-Rou Huang:

Girl in the Water
(水中的女孩)

Taiwan, 2021. 7 minutes.

Contemplation of torn walls and scars reminds the heroine of the ups and downs of love. The film depicts femininity and female internal time-consciousness through the convalescence of a woman’s broken heart, which is based on my personal experiences.

Yanis Belaid, Eliott Benard, Nicolas Mayeur, Etienne Moulin, Hadrien Pinot, Lisa Vicente, Philippine Singer, Alice Letailleur:

The Seine's tears
(Les larmes de la Seine)

France, 2021. 9 minutes.

17th of October 1961, “Algerian workers” get down the streets to demonstrate against the mandatory curfew imposed by the Police prefecture.

Tal Kantor:

Letter to a Pig

France, 2022. 17 minutes.

A traumatic memory of a Holocaust survivor sends a young schoolgirl on an inner journey, searching for her own path as the boundary between animal and human nature blurs.

Mateusz Jarmulski:

The Visit

Poland, 2021. 7 minutes.

African tropical forest. A dark figure escapes through the thicket. The hunters’ shouting grows. The chimpanzee’s eyes shine on her dark face. She is breathing heavily, escaping through the jungle. The frightened animal reaches a beautiful colonial villa and enters inside. Leaving her natural environment, she stands before an important choice. “The visit” is a film that asks the question of where humanity begins.

Jonatan Schwenk:

Zoon

Germany, 2021. 4 minutes.

Small shimmering animals are in heat. A two-legged forest dweller encounters the lustful group. He and his companions snack on the little creatures and soon a feast begins.

Sander Joon:

Sierra

Estonia, 2022. 16 minutes.

Father and his son are losing the folkrace. In order to win, a boy turns himself into a car tire. Loosely inspired by the director’s childhood, Sierra pulls us into the surreal car racing world.

International Competition 2

Screening time: 1 h 20 min

CW: Themes of domestic/parental abuse 

Films in this screening:

Alexander Gratzer:

In the Upper Room

Hungary, Austria, 2022. 8 minutes.

Every season a young mole visits his blind grandfather, who lives deep underground in a comfortably decorated burrow. As the two grow older their relationship becomes more intense and important questions arise.

Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña:

Los Huesos

Chile, 2021. 14 minutes.

Los Huesos is a fictitious account of the world’s first stop-motion animated film. Dated 1901 and excavated in 2021 as Chile drafts a new Constitution, the footage documents a ritual performed by a girl who appears to use human corpses. Emerging in the ritual are Diego Portales and Jaime Guzmán, central figures in the construction of authoritarian and oligarchic Chile.

Vasily Chirkov:

A white white day
(Un jour si blanc)

Russia, 2022. 6 minutes.

There are a lot of little things and stories around us. A dog’s footprints on a road, the sound of a passing train, the color of dry autumn grass. We usually pass by without noticing. But if we recognise these moments, we feel how our own life is connected to them. A white-white day is about this.

Atsushi Wada:

Bird in the Peninsula

France, Japan, 2022. 16 minutes.

Children are dancing on the music under the supervision of their teacher. A young lady witnesses the scene and disrupts their rituals.

Joana Fischer, Marie Kenov:

Sweet Nothing

Switzerland, 2021. 4 minutes.

Rosa is sunbathing in her garden on a hot summer afternoon, when suddenly the idyllic peace is disturbed by the noise of a lawnmower. The gardener in the neighbouring garden is going about his work, while Rosa is increasingly ecstatic at the sight of his tender touch of the flowers.

Nicolas Piret:

The dog's leash
(La bride)

Belgium, 2021. 4 minutes.

The bell tower rings and the birds fly away. In the countryside on the outskirts of a small village, a dog tied to a very long rope, watches them disappear in the horizon. It’s time for him to go; Prance across fields; How far will his rope allow him to go?

Ivan Stojkovic:

Lines
(Linije)

Serbia, 2021. 6 minutes.

An experimental visualization of a personal diary that talks about struggling childhood and youth turns into a story about family, generations and all the lines they hold.

NIkita Diakur:

Backflip

Germany, 2022. 12 minutes.

Attempting a backflip is not safe. You can break your neck, land on your head, or land badly on your wrists. None of that is nice, so my avatar does the trick. It practices on a 6-core processor with the help of Machine Learning. The processor is not the newest but still calculates 6 jumps per iteration. One iteration takes one minute, this is 360 jumps in an hour and 8.640 jumps in a day. I wouldn’t be able to jump so much myself.

Leo Černic:

Pentola

Italy, 2022. 7 minutes.

Love is a superpower and Pentola is a superhero.

International Competition 1

Screening time: 1 h 20 min

CW: Themes of domestic abuse and scenes of sexual acts

Films in this screening:

Juliette Laboria:

Pests
(Nuisibles )

France, 2021. 7 minutes.

In the heat of summer, children and wasps gather around the same meal, but sharing is not on the daily menu.

Malte Stein:

Thing
(Ding)

Germany, 2021. 5 minutes.

Haunted by a little thing, a man gets driven to the edge.

Yarin Philipp:

Good Old Vinyl

Russia, 2022. 14 minutes.

The office worker story.

Florence Yuk Ki Lee:

Elephant in Castle

Hong Kong, 2021. 5 minutes.

Hong Kong, where the director grew up, 2019 and 2020. Stepping into a new decade, the world is coming to an unprecedented and critical moment in history.


Mahboobeh Kalaee:

The fourth Wall
(Divare Chaharom)

Iran, 2021. 10 minutes.

Home and family, relationships, desires, wishes and everything is summarized in a kitchen. The stuttering boy is alone there, playing with his imagination.

Peter Millard:

Please let me in

united Kingdom, 2022. 3 minutes.

Please let me in. I want more. Let me in.

Bruno Quast:

Cufufu

Estonia, 2021. 6 minutes.

Bernie Krause’s niche theory is that an animal’s voice evolved in a way to occupy its own little, unique acoustic slot within a whole soundscape, a puzzle piece in the whole puzzle, to be distinguishable in the mess. A fisher wonders what sounds fit the best in niches created by surrounding sounds.

Leoluna Robert-Tourneur:

Hold Me Tight

Belgium, France, 2021. 6 minutes.

In the heart of a dark forest, two silhouettes meet, attract and repel each other in an explosive bridal parade. “Hold Me Tight” is a bittersweet romance.

Pablo Ballarín:

In my chest of fire there is still place to temple your dagger: a love story

Spain, 2021. 24 minutes.

This is the story of a fighter and a trainer, and the strange relationship that they have.