11th Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival Digital Edition - catalogue

11th EDITION

SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

CONTRUST DIGITAL IT IS U WHO MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

EDITION 1-4 OCT 2020

Balkans Beyond Borders (BBB) is all about creativity and open dialogue, bridging differences and make trust among people flourish, breaking down barriers between sectors and creating networks. This year we took inspiration from all antitheses that may exist and we aspired to lead them to TRUST. Therefore, with Festival title contrUst: it is U who makes the difference, we urged young directors to dig deep in these contrasts in order to surpass the troubling surface and find trust, trust to make the difference and change what troubles us and trust to invest in understanding seeming contrasts, embracing each one’s uniqueness.

When we pictured this year’s festival one year ago, we never imagined that this world will go through this holistic change. Despite, all difficulties and barriers, we decided to continue our mission and instead of making our next Festival stop in Izmir, to go DIGITAL and bring our Balkan experience to everyone’s home.

All BBB team, BBB Ambassadors and partners worked hard to make the 11th BBBShort Film Festival happen and continue its journey.

The programme you hold in your hands is dedicated to all the films that weresuccessfully selected and will help you navigate your way through the rich spectrum of activities and sessions.

The BBB team 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

BBB ORG.................... 4-5

PROGRAMME.................. 6-9

BBB JURY................... 4-5

COMPETITION PROGRAMME.... 11-42

BBB BEYOND............... 43-48 2

BBB FOCUS................ 49-54

BBB&CO................... 55-72

MASTERCLASS “Short and Sweet” ��� 73

EU DELEGATION............... 73

BBB PARTNERS............. 76-78

BBB TEAM.................... 79

INDEX....................... 80 3

Balkans Beyond Borders (BBB) is a non profit organisation dedicated to promoting) mobility and cooperation in the Balkans using the art of short film making and the power of image. Fostering dialogue, interaction and innovative learning among young people in the region, Balkans Beyond Borders aims to contribute to a better future and a European perspective of the Balkans. Our objective is to improve collaboration between local festivals, film centres and film workshops in order to create an inter-Balkan network able to promote efficiently the work of young artists from the region and beyond, as well as the culture and diversity of the Balkans to an international audience.

BBB 4 AXES Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival: Focusing on the Art of Short Film and New Media, BBB’s flagship activity is the “Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival”, which is an annual thematic short-film festival that takes place in a different Balkan city every year engaging new audiences and promoting inter-balkan cooperation. The Film Festival celebrates Balkan diversity and engages audience and creators to reflect on pressing contemporary issues through the medium of short film. It boosts parallel initiatives, such as photo exhibitions, visual art events, workshops, discussions and music, which aim to provide a rich cultural experience.

Workshops: Young individuals up to 35 years old from different countries of Southeast Europe meet in different cities of the Balkan region to Live, Experience, and Create Together. The workshops take place under the umbrella of the given Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival annual theme. The workshops are BBB’s real ground of cooperation and solidarity.

Seminars: Using the short films of BBB Festival and Workshops, Balkans Beyond Borders co-organises interactive seminars and conferences targeting professionals of diverse fields in order to trigger dialogue, motivation and inspiration. The BBB seminars give participants the opportunity to come closer to the ‘Balkans’ as an academic field of study and a subject of politics while becoming familiar with the social and cultural public space of the region.

Network: Balkans Beyond Borders has invested time and effort in creating a network of young active and creative people from the Balkans and beyond in order to support and promote the BBB idea in the EU. At BBB we strive to encourage interaction and dialogue. We work to reach and engage with individuals interested in BBB’s activities and objectives who can help us raise awareness about the organisation, its goals and ideas in their respective country/region. We believe it is essential to have people on the ground who help us to establish that dialogue and cooperation by actively taking part and ownership in our various initiatives. In order to achieve that we take part in diverse programmes for culture, youth and education!

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BBB GETS AWARDED ▶ In 2011 BBB received the Charlemagne Youth Prize for its innovative Festival, the youth mobility initiatives and its focus on building the European idea. ▶ In 2018 BBB received the Civil Society Prize of the EESC - European Economic and Social Committee.

BBB SHORT FILM FESTIVAL JOURNEY 2010 Belgrade, Solidarity and cooperation 2011 Athens, Who’s afraid of the big bad crises?

2012 Tirana, Talk to me 2013 Bucharest, Reinventing Bridges 2014 Sarajevo, Dare to Repeat 2015 Thessaloniki, Living in... City-mmetry 2016 Sofia, “Tagged” in a changing world 2017 Brussels, Enter/ Exit 2018 Novi Sad, Societies on Sharing 2019 Athens, e-motions 5

PROGRAMME THURSDAY 01.10 Screenings 19:30-21:00

COMPETITION: TRUST YOUR DREAM*

→ THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS, Mahsum Taskin, Turkey, Fiction, 16:45’, 2020 → PARALLEL WORLDS, Andrei Tache-Codreanu, Romania, Fiction 15:00’, 2019 → DÜNYAM, Thanos Liberopoulos, Greece, Documentary, 13:47’, 2019 → BUTTERFLY MAN, Enis Manaz, Turkey, Documentary, 05:30’, 2019 → TO MY SOLE VIEWER, Maria Elena Mitrodima, Greece, Fiction, 12:55’, 2019 21:15-22:15 COMPETITION: TRUST YOURSELF → APP, Hatice Așkin, Turkey, Fiction, 16:44’, 2019 → AYGOL, Dimitris Argyriou, Greece, Drama, 07:5’, 2020 → GASPING, Rok Hvala, Slovenia, 17:00, Drama → KEYGRIP, Nasos Gatzoulis, Greece, Experimental, 06:05’, 2019 → SOMEONE ELSE, Milorad Milatović, Montenegro, Drama, 14:54 → FRENCH CINEMA, Galina D. Georgieva, Bulgaria, Fiction, 20:00’ 2019 22:30-23:30

BBB BEYOND

→ THE WHITE SHEETS, Pandeli Ceco, Albania, Documentary, 05:00’, 2020 → BASTARD, Daniel Guliyev, Azerbaijan, Experimental, 18:39’, 2018 → ADAPTATION, Bartosz Kruhlik, Poland, Drama, 24:50’, 2016 → I NEVER PICKED COTTON, Hanna Adams, Cole Bacani, Max Edmeier , Dariel Filomeno,

Alexandra Gottlieb , NamQuyen “Q” Le, Yolanda Morgan, Victoria Perez, BenjaminRagasa , Josie Stocks, John Stover, Jinghan Tian, USA, Animation, 03:38’, 2019

→ LUX CLARA, Vukasin Zivaljevic, Serbia, Animation, 08:41’, 2020 → SUNDAY’S CHILD, Philip Shanahan, Ireland, Animation, 05:46’, 2020 6

FRIDAY 02.10 Screenings 18:30-19:30

BBB&CO: IZMIR INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL 2019 Igor Polaniewicz, Turkey, Fiction, 17:00’ 2018 → IMPERFECT, Bilen Sevda Könen, Turkey, Documentary, 17:00’, 2019 → DONUT PARADISE, Erdem Arslan, Turkey, Experimental, 05:00’, 2019 → I DON’T WANT TO DIE TODAY, Onur Sefer, Turkey, Fiction, 12:00’, 2019

→ LACK, Volkan Budak, Turkey, Fiction, 10:00’, → THE LAST TALE ABOUT EARTH, Magdalena Seweryn,

19:45-21:45

COMPETITION: FAMILY BONDS

22:00-23:00

COMPETITION: TRUST IN LOVE*

→ THE STAMP, Lovro Mrdjen, Croatia-Belgium, Drama, 18:52’, 2019 → THE AWARD, Lidija Mojsovska, North Macedonia, Fiction, 16:20’, 2017 → SEA, SOIL, ASPHALT, Egemen Yılmaz, Turkey, Fiction, 14:51’ → CANDY APPLES, Hana Bucalija, Kosovo, Fiction, 09:30’, 2019 → THE VISIT, Djordje Vojvodic, Montenegro, Fiction, 20:46’, 2019 → TRUTH, Öykü Aytulun, Turkey, Drama, 13:37’, 2019 → SUMMER FRUITS, Josip Lukić, Croatia, Fiction, 20:00’, 2019 → ROUTE-3, Thanasis Neofotistos, Greece, Comedy/Coming of age, 13:00’, 2019 → ALZHEIMER CAFE, Martin Draksler, Slovenia, Documentary, 18:05’, 2019 → HE LOVES MY EYES, Enxhi Rista, Romania, Documentary, 22:51’, 2019 → SHERBET, Nikola Stojanovic, Serbia, 19:16’, 2019

*Accessible screening for deaf and hard of hearing people.

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SATURDAY 03.10 Parallel Activities 11:00-14:00

MASTERCLASS: FILM PRODUCTION AND PITCHING WITH PHAEDRA VOKALI

Screenings 18:30-19:30

BBB FOCUS: FRANCE

→ ASMAHAN LA DIVA, Chloé Mazlo, 6.02′ → ESPERANÇA, Benjamin Serero, Cecile Rousset, Jeanne Paturle, 5.26′ → JE SORS ACHETER DES CIGARETTES, Osman Cerfon, 13.40′ → BLACK SHEEP BOY, James Molle, 14.56′ → KILLING TIME, Camille Guillot, Fanny Sorebo Hagdahl, Aleksandra

Krechman ,Sarah Naciri , Morgane Ravelonary ,Valentine Zhang, 4.44′ → GRANDS CANONS, Alain Biet, 10.45′ 20:00-21:15 COMPETITION: FATHER TRUST → STICKER, Georgi M. Unkovski, North Macedonia, Comedy, 18:45’, 2019 → THE VAN, Erenik Beqiri, Albania, Drama, 15:08’, 2019 → FATHER-TIME, Martin Iliev, Bulgaria, Fiction, 11:45’, 2019 → NEON HEARTS, Ana Jakimska, North Macedonia, Drama, 16:15’, 2019 → THE PERFORMANCE, Antonis Kitsikis, Greece, Fiction, 12:00’, 2020 21:30-23:00

COMPETITION: TRUST THE OTHERS?*

→ SOME CATS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD, Emre Sefer, Turkey, Drama/Comedy, 20:00’, 2019 → MEETING, Nurbanu Asena, Turkey, 12:00’ Animation/Documentary, 2020 → COAST, Özkan Bal, Turkey, Fiction, 04:22’, 2019 → LET THERE BE COLOUR, Ado Hasanovic, Bosnia Herzegovina, Documentary, 15:40’, 2020 → XYZ[T], Bilal Uğur Liman, Turkey, Animation/ Sci-Fi, 03:20,

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SUNDAY 04.10 Screenings 18:30-19:30

BBB&CO: EU HUMAN RIGHTS DAYS & SHORT FILM COMPETITION

→ MUTE, Cemre Yılmaz, Turkey, 03:06’ → SALVATION RAIN, Veysel Çelik, Turkey, 09:56’ → SEVEN DAYS SEVEN NIGHTS, Ali Bozan, Turkey, 03:07’ → STATELESS, Gökhan Çetin, Turkey, 08:46’ → THE DOLL, Serdal Altun, Turkey, 10:00’ → REIFICATION, Abdi Cangi, Turkey, 03:52’ → WELL, Rıdvan Yavuz, Turkey, 09:59’ → WHERE YOU LEFT OFF, Volkan Güney Eker, Turkey, 09:55’ → YES I CAN, Mustafa Koç, Turkey, 08:07’

20:00-21:00 BBB&CO: FESTIVAL DARLINGS NEW YEAR, Brandon Grötzinger & Wander Theunis, Netherlands, Action, 09:00’, 2018 → NIMIC, Yorgos Lanthimos, Greece, Drama ,11:35’, 2019 → LELLA, Michele Capuano, Italy, Fiction, 16:24’, 2019 → 4:15 PM THE END OF THE WORLD, Gabi Virginia Șarga & Cătălin Rotaru, Romania, Fiction, 15:00’, 2016

→ HAPPY

21:30-22:00

AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENT

*Accessible screening for deaf and hard of hearing people.

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BBB JURY 2020 Nesrin Cavadzade was born in Baku. She graduated from Marmara University, Cinema and TV department.

While in university she directed five short films.

She later took a break from her behind-the-camera work to focus entirely on acting. With her first leading role in a feature film called “Dilber’s Eight Days” she was awarded as Best Actress several times. With one of her latest films “The Lamb” she won her second Golden Orange award. Cavadzade, played a part in a well known American TV thriller called “Legends”.

Nesrin Cavadzade Jacqueline (Athens, 1989) is a writer/director whose cinematic language involves finding poetry in –seemingly- mundane premises and/or creating visual poetry through word and image association. She experiments with formats, durations and feelings.

She is a London Film School graduate (Distinction, 2013), a Berlinale Talents alumna (2015, 2019), a Locarno Film Academy alumna (2017), a Torino Film Lab alumna (2017) and a Sundance Screenwriting Lab alumna (2018) among others. She has directed four shorts which have been screened and won in numerous festivals (Berlin Locarno, Toronto, Cannes, New Directors/New Films) while the most prestigious Jacqueline Lentzou one was the Cine Leica Discovery Award in Cannes’ Semaine De La Critique (2018) for ‘Hector Malot: The Last Day of the Year’. Retrospectives on her full body of work have taken place in Montreal, Vienna, Trondheim. Currently, she is finalizing her feature debut ‘MOON:66 QUESTIONS’ while her most recent short ‘The End of Suffering (A proposal) is due to premier in Locarno Film Festival 2020

Mihaela Constantinescu 10

Mihaela is a filmmaker with a passion for documentary films and the director of Buzău International Film Festival – BUZZ IFF, now in its 5th year running, a film festival dedicated to European cinema, with 4 competitive sections (feature film, documentary, short and student film). BUZZ is the first film festival in Romania to have a dedicated (noncompetitive) section for women filmmakers. She studied Documentary Filmmaking at University of Theatre and Film ”I.L. Caragiale”, Bucharest, is currently working on her first feature documentary project and aims to embark on a new challenge – a PhD in Filmmaking at UNATC ”I.L. Caragiale”, focusing on Documentary.

ALZHEIMER CAFE Documentary | 18:05 min.

Prod. Country: SLOVENIA Ivan and JoĹžica, a married couple, had to move to the retirement home. Despite all the challenges of aging they continue living together in a new environment. Memories fade, love remains.

Martin Draksler Slovenia Films widen our horizons

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APP Fiction | 16:44 min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY

Hatice Așkin Turkey

A software company develops a security app for the women who live alone to feel more secure.

A shadow man reflected onto the walls and windows of a home makes that home like there is a real man wandering around the house talking and doing some errands. Mine is a 35-year-old young woman who is dependent on her mother. One day, as her mother passes away, she goes to the company to volunteer for the first model app before it is revealed to the market.

I have been doing long-term research on the possible damages that the technology could create and the psychological traumas that these harms would cause on people, with these questions that turned my mind and the way out when I started the APP film. I aimed to reveal the ambiguity of the development of the society mentality against the techno-era by constructing a female image that was dependent on her mother.

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AYGOL Drama | 07:58’ min.

Prod. Country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION Aygol is a young girl who is afraid to live with her own terms and accept her sexual Identity, so she prefers to spend time with her grandma.

Dimitris Argyriou Greece Aygol is a shy girl who keeps her feelings about her girlfriend for herself and prefers to spend time with her old grandmother.

She would like to be more brave, but maybe, it is safer that way... Growing up in a hostile environment isn't the best for a girl like her. Unfortunately, there are more and more hostile environments for Aygol and her friend nowadays...

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BUTTERFLY MAN Documentary | 05:30’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY Abdurrahim Korkmaz was born in Mardin in 1984.

His village met with the road, water, and electricity very late. The butterflies that he saw on the TV of his neighbor have changed his life.

Enis Manaz Turkey As a result of my research, I realized that there are no windsurfers in the world who have no sea around and have achieved a job by coming from such poor conditions. In this context, Abdurrahim Korkmaz is the only one in this area I think

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CANDY APPLES Fiction |

09:30’ min.

Prod. Country: KOSOVO In order to win an apartment in the capital city, Shaban (40) alongside his wife and children, are forced to prepare for the arrival of a television programme that will showcase their tough financial situation in the media.

Hana Bucalija Kosovo

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COAST Fiction | 04:22’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY

Özkan Bal Turkey

Border line is a complicated notion of our epoque.

While we’re destroying economic borders we are underlining other “borders”. When you cross a borderline a World without bombing or guns, can be waiting for you. Many people lost their lives for crossing this line. War is a usual word of the 21st century. Technological developments which erase distance, give opportunity to do what we want with one “click”.

The biggest reason for making this film is that the big refugee tragedy before the eyes of the whole world now seems normal, and this tragedy has become invisible. We must make these desperate people and lives more visible in front of the eyes. At the same time, this global problem is getting bigger day by day. People care more about the consequences of the problem than the problem itself.

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DÜNYAM Documentary | 13:47’ min.

Prod. Country: GREECE For Ali the world is as far as he can see.

As he grows up, his will to discover other worlds grows with him. He’s leaving behind Kurdistan, and roams in European Turkey before crossing the Hellenic borders. A new world unfolds and it will be his dünya.

Thanos Liberopoulos Greece

* This film is the debut film of the filmmaker and competes for the BBB FIRST ENTRY AWARD

Ali had a convenient store just across the street where I live. Day after day he was there, smoking and drinking çay, with a gentle smile and a calm voice. Sometimes eager for conversation, others lost on the Turkish series he was watching manically or a book. He never missed a day, he never opened his store late or closed it early. Through time we got a bit closer, and I tried to persuade him to tell me his story.

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FATHER-TIME Fiction | 11:45’ min.

Prod. Country: BULGARIA An ever absent father has only a few minutes to teach his eleven-year-old son a life lesson before leaving him again.

Martin Iliev Bulgaria I was born in 1985, exactly 4 years before the fall of the “regime” and the rise of Democracy. I define myself as one of the children of the political transition. This specific time has greatly influenced our growth, formation as individuals, and last but not least- our familial relationships, particularly with our parents. When I was little, I remember that my father was absent almost all the time.constantly. He was so committed to the idea of us ​​ not lacking anything, when, in fact, the only thing we lacked, was his presence.

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FRENCH CINEMA Fiction | 20:00’ min Prod. Country: BULGARIA In a small country town, in the room behind the screen at the local cinema, two women spend their time by writing letters to Alain Delon.

Inspired by The Physics of Sorrow by Georgi Gospodinov.

Galina D. Georgieva Bulgaria In my home town of Yambol the image of Juliet had become an urban legend. Some used to see her as crazy, while others viewed her as a dreamer, but no one was indifferent to the illusory world where this woman lived. The illusion that one day Alain Delon will take her away from the boring town was turned into the center of her life creed. Over time I began to think of Juliet as a kind of metaphor of love - love for the cinema, where she was almost all the time, the love of fictional stories, ultimately love of life.

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GASPING Drama | 17:00’ min.

Prod. Country: SLOVENIA Maja is dealing with her alcohol addiction and depression by talking to her alter ego (duck), which she took home.

Rok Hvala Slovenia

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HE LOVES MY EYES Documentary | 22:51’ min.

Prod. Country: ROMANIA Tican, the story between the man and the wicked.

A documentary about love, dance and music, freedom and prison.

Enxhi Rista Romania “He loves my eyes’’ is a short documentary I directed while I was still a student. In September 2018, în Botoșani Romania, took place a documentary workshop in the Penitentiary.

This workshop was a collaboration between the University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, Berlin Germania, Unatc Romania and the Botosan Penitentiary. I stayed one month there, trying to find subjects for my documentary and during this time I met Tican, who was staying in prison for 21 years.

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KEYGRIP Experimental | 06:05’ min.

Prod. Country: GREECE After a rough breakup with his girlfriend, a man gets transferred into atrippy, psychedelic alternative world which is dominated by multiple, sadistic versions of his ex-girlfriend.

Nasos Gatzoulis Greece At first, I wanted to shoot something narrative with music, as I had the permission from the techno music producer Tessela to use two of his tracks in my project. I wasn’t intending to explore a specific topic, but after I started writing scenes and imagining pictures, I realised that I was actually writing a separation film. Knowing this, I approached it accordingly.

At the same time, I wanted to create spontaneously and so I developed it in a way that would give the viewer the opportunity to interpret it in his own way.

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LET THERE BE COLOUR Documentary | 15:40’ min.

Prod. Country: BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA On September, 8 2019 Sarajevo hosts its first Pride March. Are people ready for this event?

Ado Hasanovic Bosnia and Herzegovina How will people in Bosnia and Herzegovina react to the first Pride in Sarajevo? Will the city be ready to march asking for equal rights or not? With these questions in mind, I decided to take part in this historical event and document the reactions of the people: the result is comments full of hate and fear on one side, tolerance and acceptance on the other.

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MEETING Animation/Documentary | 12:00’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY

Nurbanu Asena Turkey

Meeting is a short documentary animation that brings two culturally and socially different Turkish families together over a dinner table, to discuss about life and consequences of living in Turkey. The film was researched and recorded during 2017-18, one of the most conflicting times in Turkish history as both sides felt in turmoil due to the country’s political, economic and social problems.

‘Meeting’ is about an experimental dinner, where I bring two families with different upbringings together and make them talk about life, adulthood, fear, culture and dreams. I am very passionate about the film because currently I can see that Turkey is divided in two groups regarding their social and cultural background.

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NEON HEARTS Drama | 16:15’ min.

Prod. Country: NORTH MACEDONIA Petar is a middle aged man who spends a lot of time on the road with his truck. Away from home and his family, he lives a secret life in which he is free to be himself. However, one night, when his son goes missing, he is ready to risk everything to “make things right”.

Ana Jakimska North Macedonia I wasn’t out-of-high-school young when I decided to study film. I had already done some work as a journalist and was finishing my studies in world literature. While my knowledge in filmmaking at that point was limited to theory, I had already made up my mind about the type of films that I wanted to make. My journalistic instinct led me to seek stories which were happening in my vicinity and which had a clear political stance – not that all stories don’t have a political stance, but in a more palpable way.

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PARALLEL WORLDS Fiction | 15:00’ min.

Prod. Country: ROMANIA During the protests that are taking place on August 10, 2018 in Bucharest, Alex’s parents are holding a party for celebrating his University admission. But he is trying to escape the protective medium that he belongs to and to get to know the other face of the situation, the one of rough violence on the streets and why are they happening.

Andrei Tache-Codreanu Romania

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ROUTE-3 Comedy/Coming of age | 13:00’ min.

Prod. Country: GREECE

Thanasis Neofotistos Greece

In a tram on Route-3, the Old Lady in the leopard dress treats the passengers with juicy oranges during a hot, but rainy day in the centre of Sarajevo. Nadja, the princess-teen in her pink hijab; Luka, the virgin bully; an Orthodox Priest; an old creepy man and many, many more ordinary people in this tram have nothing in common, but a juicy slice of orange. All except a shy, yet horny, teenager named Amar.

As someone who is familiar with the unpleasant feeling of being afraid to express my attraction to someone in public, I identify with Amar, a teenager discovering his “forbidden” sexual attraction for this beautiful Muslim girl. I understand how he feels trapped and judged by the strangers in this conservative, yet full of sexual energy, tram ride of the historic Route-3 in the centre of the charming city of Sarajevo.

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SEA, SOIL, ASPHALT Fiction | 14:51’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY

Egemen Yılmaz Turkey

“Sea, Soil, Asphalt”is the story of Zeynep, who is a 16 years-old high- school student. What she loves to do most is to go fishing and that makes her an object of derision among her classmates because of the fish smell stuck on her. Every morning, she goes out fishing with the heirloom boat inherited by her father. Before she goes to the school, she sells the fishes to a fish store in the market. Her mother is disturbed by this situation and constantly complains about it. * This film is the debut film of the filmmaker and competes for the BBB FIRST ENTRY AWARD

The ideas behind the films usually come from a story or sometimes a sentence would be enough. My idea for this scenario occurred thanks to my cousin who goes to school with the money that she makes with fishing. And my ideas developed. I dreamt about a high-school girl who goes fishing in the mornings.

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SOMEONE ELSE Drama | 14:54’ min.

Prod. Country: MONTENEGRO

Milorad Milatović Montenegro

Vanja is an extremely moody and introverted nine-year-old boy who grows up next to a single mother. She is going through relationship problems with her boyfriend. In order to revive the romance, the mother and her boyfriend go on a trip and hire a neighbor, Vesna, to take care of Vanja. At the beginning, Vanja is in a hostile mood towards Vesna, but his defensive attitude is slowly giving way to the care and attention that Vesna gives him, which was missing in his life...

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SOME CATS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD Drama/Comedy | 20:00’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY

Emre Sefer Turkey

Ma’am in her 50s continues her life isolated.

Everyday at the same time, she leaves the house and feeds the cats in the park. One day on the way back home from the park, Bahadır’s car almost hit the lady. And that’s how they get to know each other. Bahadır is a young man at the age of 26 and just assigned to the civil service with KPSS exam. He lives with his family and he is very uncomfortable because of that situation. He gets panic attack in possible excitement situations.

I like the story of togetherness of different people.

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SUMMER FRUITS Fiction | 20:00’ min.

Prod. Country: CROATIA Summer fruits are refreshing temperatures can make them go bad.

but

high

Josip Lukić Croatia The inspiration for the film came from a true event when my mother was hospitalized in the summer of 2018. I really thought my mother might not go back to the old way again. I also wanted to make a small dedication to my city of Split and summer vibe in it. Although it is a very beautiful city, life over the summer can be very depressing, so the film is a dedication to those melancholy summers I spent in Split.

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SHERBET Drama | 19:16’ min.

Prod. Country: SERBIA Ena and Sale – both of them destructive and hungry for life – meet. As they are trying to interpret their feelings, the two are pressured by the burdens of their past and haunted by their fears. Through acts of aggression on the outskirts of a dirty city, they test the limits of their love.

Nikola Stojanovic Serbia “Sherbet” is an intense, sexual short film, about Ena and Sale, two young lovers who meet during one night. They test each other through various, sometimes destructive and rebellious tasks. Being from different cultural and national backgrounds, they in the end manage to find love, and don’t pay attention to the decaying, destroyed world that they live in.

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STICKER Comedy | 18:45’ min.

Prod. Country: NORTH MACEDONIA After an unsuccessful attempt to renew his car registration, Dejan falls in a bureaucratic trap that tests his determination to be a responsible father.

Distribution & International Sales : Salaud Morisset

Georgi M. Unkovski North Macedonia “Sticker” comes from a real story about a period during which the DMV in my hometown, due to a shortage of windshield stickers, stopped issuing vehicle registrations. The very first scene taken almost word for word from real life, inspired me to think about the possible extremes and consequences of this lapse in the bureaucracy. I wondered in which moment does a person snap, as a material exposed daily to the labyrinth of these institutions and authority figures.

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THE AWARD Fiction | 16:20’ min.

Prod. Country: NORTH MACEDONIA Story about a 10 year old Albanian Muslim kid, Arben who decides to participate in a religious competition organised by his school in honour of the Christian holiday Epiphany, in order to get the award of 10 000 denars and help his little brother who is very sick.

Lidija Mojsovska North Macedonia From 2001 in N. Macedonia intensely began to progress the ethical and religious conflicts between the Macedonians and Albanians that live in Macedonia. I am born and raised in a town where there live more Muslim Albanians. There I got inspired by the absurdity of a true life event that happened in a kindergarten during the Christian holiday Epiphany. That was the moment when I decided to release my anger by capturing the story of a young Albanian kid.

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THE PERFORMANCE Fiction | 12:00’ min.

Prod. Country: GREECE Dionisis, tries to reconstruct a seminal day from his grandfather’s past, hoping that it will cure him of retrograde amnesia.

Antonis Kitsikis Greece Live to Love, Love to Live. Films are just another way to communicate.

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THE STAMP Drama | 18:52’ min.

Prod. Country: CROATIA-BELGIUM The real war begins, when the one ends. The clock is ticking for a foreigner, an immigrant faced with the coldblooded bureaucracy of a foreign country, as he tries to save his younger sister and prevent separation. Nobody hears their voices, lost in translation.

Lovro Mrdjen Croatia

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THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS Fiction | 16:45’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY Seyithan (12) living in a Kurdish Village in Eastern Turkey meets the tales of The Thousand and One Nights and seeks a way to find missing parts given by the school teacher to his classmates. * This film is the debut film of the filmmaker and competes for the BBB FIRST ENTRY AWARD

Mahsum Taskin Turkey People start their life incomplete and try to fulfill these incompletenesses for life. Even if we can’t live the life we dreamed of we can still feel it deeply. I had, years ago, discovered this in fairy tales mostly in a thousand and one night tales. I could be anyone in the tales that I had read; one day I could be a young man while the other day an elder who experiences his last day of life or one day I could lead a life of pleasure as a tradesman while I could be an adventurous who lives on the shores of death the other day.

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THE VAN Drama | 15:08’ min.

Prod. Country: ALBANIA The Van finally stops, the doors open and the Son comes out alive. A few more fights and he will be able to pay his way out of Albania, and hopefully, take his Father with him.

Erenik Beqiri Albania

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THE VISIT Fiction | 20:46’ min.

Prod. Country: MONTENEGRO Stefan is a student living in Berlin. One weekend visit from his parents will forever change his life and turn his whole world upside down. * This film is the debut film of the filmmaker and competes for the BBB FIRST ENTRY AWARD

Djordje Vojvodic Montenegro The inspiration for the film “The Visit” came from the need to analyze relationships within a modern Montenegrin family. Although, dramaturgically speaking, Stefan is the main character, the initiators of the whole drama and action are his parents, that is, their inability to speak about the problem that obviously exists between them. “The Visit” was always intended to be about the mentality and complex social relationships that still exist in my society.

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TO MY SOLE VIEWER Fiction | 12:55‘ min.

Prod. Country: GREECE A director searches to find the sole viewer who watched his film. * This film is the debut film of the filmmaker and competes for the BBB FIRST ENTRY AWARD

Maria Elena Mitrodima Greece It started out as a Feeling. An inner need to talk about something personal. Then I found the reason behind that feeling. I wanted, as my first attempt to direct, to make a film about the emotional impact that cinema can have on an individual. The same impact that had on me the first time I walked into a cinema. The dark room, the silver screen that dispersed the only source of light, the power that the film had on me and altered my emotions.

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TRUTH Drama | 13:37’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY Derya has to face and come to terms with her daughter’s way of life. * This film is the debut film of the filmmaker and competes for the BBB FIRST ENTRY AWARD

Öykü Aytulun Turkey “I believe that it is important to express oneself and be visible in countries like Turkey where areas of freedom are increasingly restricted. Any effort made in creating or performing personal expressions encourage others. I wanted to tell a story that relates to my own issues, because when life comes crashing down, a film always helps.”

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XYZ[T] Animation/ Sci-Fi | 03:20’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY We’re destroying the countryside.we are moving away from never seeing mother earth again. Today, tomorrow in Istanbul; in the hope that it will not happen to our developing countryside and today’s villages… Istanbul, which is mentioned in the film, is actually the representation of all the cities and villages that move away from the soil and realize the value of the land late.

Bilal Uğur Liman Turkey

* This film is the debut film of the filmmaker and competes for the BBB FIRST ENTRY AWARD

Istanbul is in an important position and has a very important history. A city where poems, pictures, sculptures, and novels have been written for centuries. On the other hand, developing technology and wrong urban policies are destroying the values that make Istanbul Istanbul. My aim in making the film is to emphasize this issue, to create awareness. Architecture is an expression of culture. At the same time, as an architect, I wanted to convey the message that important cities such as Istanbul should be protected and that if we are late, we will only see it in dreams.

Growing (xyz) Istanbul disappears in ‘time’ (t)!

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ADAPTATION Drama | 24:50’ min.

Prod. Country: POLAND 1. Structural or functional evolution of an organism towards higher survivability.

2. Process of an individual becoming better suited to the environment and more resistant to outer stress.

3. The ability of eyesight to adjust to seeing in the dark.

Bartosz Kruhlik Poland

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BASTARD Experimental | 18:39’ min.

Prod. Country: AZERBAIJAN Natig, a 16 year - old teenager can’t accept the shame of his family any longer and joins the military tryouts in an attempt to break away from his life in a small village.

Daniel Guliyev Azerbaijan When you live in a small town, everybody knows you. You have to prove yourself to society as a good man. A man that needs to be respected. Sometimes, you don’t have the chance to prove yourself: they have already agreed amongst themselves who you are. In such a conservative society, you are judged by the unavoidable life that’s been given to you.

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I NEVER PICKED COTTON Animation | 03:38’ min.

Prod. Country: USA Yolanda Morgan recalls her experiences with racism and the impact it has had on her.

Hanna Adams, Cole Bacani, Max Edmeier , Dariel Filomeno, Alexandra Gottlieb NamQuyen “Q” Le, Yolanda Morgan, Victoria Perez, Benjamin Ragasa, Josie Stocks, John Stover, Jinghan Tian

USA

‘I Never Picked Cotton’ is a collaborative film made in the Documentary Animation Production class at USC by 12 student directors. The students interviewed fellow student Yolanda Morgan about her experiences with racism in the United States.

The directors were extremely diverse, including students from Arabic, Mexican, and Vietnamese descent, as well as a student from China. They all worked together very closely to bring Yolanda’s story to life.

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LUX CLARA Animation | 8:41’ min.

Prod. Country: SERBIA Lux Clara is a short, experimental take on Plato’s famous allegory of the cave. Through novel, uncommon and innovative techniques, this movie tries to answer the questions of liberty and its possibility in today’s society, self-awareness, and the relationship between individuals and the masses.

Vukasin Zivaljevic Serbia This project is an exploration in the field of manual animation, especially on working with light and what can be done with it.

So we used goboes, 35mm stills, fire, projectors, and a lot of other techniques to see what can be done with light alone.

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SUNDAY’S CHILD Animation | 5:46’ min.

Prod. Country: IRELAND A boy is awoken in the middle of the night, following an entity that may be connected to a group of missing kids.

Philip Shanahan Ireland The idea for “Sunday’s Child” came about way back in December 2018, after listening to the track with Paddy and with him wanting to make it as an animated music video. I had this short film script sitting on my computer for about 3 years prior, a live action piece that was a contemporary retelling of the pied piper tale. We reshaped the story to centre on the albums main theme of disappearing and what it means to get lost in your work as an artist.

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THE WHITE SHEETS Documentary | 05:00’ min.

Prod. Country: ALBANIA

Pandeli Ceco Albania

Based on the novel of Maks Velo, Albanian painter, architect and writer.

Maks Velo was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in 1978 for ‘agitation and propaganda’ against the communist regime in Albania, in the labor camp of Spac. 248 of his paintings were then destroyed, and his art collections were either stolen or burned. The artist return to visit the camp after the fall of communist regime and wrote his reflections about his feelings on the novel “The sheets were missing”

Last years I was the director of a documentary series on persecution themes from the dictatorial past of Albania under the communist regime, in collaboration with the screenwriter Luljeta Progni. Two years ago, we read an impressive story by the famous Albanian architect and painter Maks Velo, who wrote about his years in prison a book, entitled “The translator”.

I imagine that time the story as a film and is almost the same film that unfortunately we finished some days after the author passed away.

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ASMAHAN LA DIVA Animation | 06:00’ min.

Prod. Country: FRANCE

Chloé Mazlo France

The life of Asmahan, the diva and druze princess was short, but what a life! Marriages, glory, espionage, lovers, alcohol, poker, suicides, murders, scandals… This oriental Marilyn has marked the golden age of the egyptian musical comedies. Today, her voice still resonates everywhere in the Middle East and her mysterious death in the waters of the Nile still feeds the wildest rumors…

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BLACK SHEEP BOY Animation | 14:00’ min.

Prod. Country: FRANCE Black Sheep Boy follows a young hatted boy’s adventures through a strange world inhabited by anthropomorphic creatures. Searching for some happiness he does not know how to find, he engages into a philosophical and personal quest. This story, as naive as it may seem, is actually a poetic tale.

James Molle France

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ESPERANÇA Animation | 05:25’ min.

Prod. Country: FRANCE

Benjamin Serero, Cecile Rousset, Jeanne Paturle

Esperança, 15, has just arrived in France from Angola with her mother.

At Amiens station, they don’t know where to sleep and look for someone who can help them. Esperança tells us her story in an animated documentary.

France

So, Esperança left Angola after her father’s disappearance as told in the film. After her arrival in Amiens, she and her mother and sister were placed in an emergency shelter. They were finally allowed to stay in France. Her mother was able to work and find accommodation for the family. Esperança is now in a nursing school and she did her first internship in an ehpad during covid 19!

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GRANDS CANONS Animation | 10:45’ min.

Prod. Country: FRANCE A brush makes watercolors appear on a white sheet of paper. An everyday object takes shape, drawn with precision by an artist’s hand. Then two, then three, then four... Superimposed, condensed, multiplied, thousands of documentary drawings in successive series come to life on the screen, composing a veritable visual symphony of everyday objects.

Alain Biet France

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I’M GOING OUT FOR CIGARETTES Animation | 13:35’ min.

Prod. Country: FRANCE Jonathan, twelve years old, lives with his sister, his mother and also some men. They all have the same face and nest in closets, drawers, TV set…

Osman Cerfon France

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KILLING TIME Fiction | 04:47’ min.

Prod. Country: FRANCE Loukoum can’t stand the passage of Time anymore.

She decides to go face it in person and free herself from its control. But can you really get rid of Time itself?

Camille Guillot ,Fanny Sorebo Hagdahl , Aleksandra Krechman, Sarah Naciri, Morgane Ravelonary, Valentine Zhang

France

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YES I CAN Documentary | 08:07’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY

Mustafa Koc Turkey

Documentary tells about a young, innate talent, whose name is Sumeyye Boyaci born with no arms.

Despite all the obstacles that she faced from early ages, she never gave up and follows her dreams. With her roads to success, we can see how she ambitious and passionate about her targets.

After 10 years of hard work and determination, she won a gold medal at the 2018 European Paralympics in swimming. Now that she has new targets, she is ready to commit new goals. She strives to display her talents regardless of her disability. And she wants to prove that no obstacle can stop disabled people from pursuing her dreams. We witnesses her daily life routines and sports career.

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SALVATION RAIN Fiction | 09:56’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY

Veysel Celik Turkey

In the darkness of the night, there was only one person who manages to survive in the burning village. Janya lost all members of his family and friends during a night massacre. After 20 years feeling guilt that he escaped in order to survive, he comes back to his village with remains. He decides to face his past. The stages of the psychological process of mourning begin 20 years later. Janya lives now in a double time zone. Childhood and adulthood, denial and acceptance, death and life.

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THE DOLL Fiction | 10:00’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY Mariam is a 6-year-old refugee girl. In a terrorist attack on their house, her doll gets hit with a bullet. They had to immigrate to another country, where Mariam’s story with her doll takes yet another twist.

Serdal Altun Turkey

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THE REIFICATION Experimental | 03:52’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY

Abdi Cangı Turkey

As a philosophical term “reification” is the last phase of a commoditized, alienated person.

The dilemma of this; while the things that are human-created become a fetish and determine their social relationship, the relationship between them becomes commoditized. Hereupon man is a stranger to his creation, to society and to himself. His essence and his being are now in an uncompromising contrast. Man is no longer a man.

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STATELESS Fiction | 08:46’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY

Gökhan Çetin Turkey

Film tells the story of a journalist who is living without an identity and a homeland.After she loses her sister, who was a journalist, at a young age; she wants to follow after her footsteps by taking her camera she left behind. While she chases after news, she is taken under custody and released later.

However, lack of identity always follows her and she is branded as a spy by various press organs.

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SEVEN DAYS SEVEN NIGHTS Fiction | 03:07’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY Story of Taybet İnan whose corpse left on the Street is left in the middle of the street for seven days.

Ali Bozan Turkey

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WHERE YOU LEFT OFF Documentary | 09:55’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY The film tells the 21-year-long endless resistance of a young woman named Besna.

Volkan Guney Eker Turkey

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WELL Fiction | 09:59’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY

Ridvan Yavuz Turkey

Film tells the story of two siblings who study in poverty in Eastern Anatolia.These children have to walk long kilometers to school with their torn rubber shoes as there is no school in their village, sell eggs because they have no Money to buy notebook and are only able to see their father who is a construction worker once a month. They are children who live in misery...

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MUTE Experimental | 03:06’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY

Cemre Yılmaz Turkey

A woman’s muttering sound is heard as the camera zooms out from the dark screen. We watch the skirts of an abaya. While the woman’s murmuring voice echoes in the wind, we see her bloody hand touching the barbed wire in front of her. Blood drops drip to the ground.

The camera again approaches the black border.

The black skirt suddenly turns into a red color. The woman with the red skirt move away slowly and leave the abaya on the barbed wires while singing a song.

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DONUT PARADISE Experimental | 05:00’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY It all starts when a white collar loses his way.

Donut Paradise; our promised world . The world in which we breath and sweat. We are at the last socio-cultural destinations of the world we live in. Donut Paradise is looking at the world we live in from a place we don’t dare to look at, from our own self.

Erdem Arslan Turkey

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I DON’T WANT TO DIE TODAY Fiction | 12:00’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY S., a young man in his mid-twenties, thinks he has a heart attack and will die. His parents take him to the hospital. However, they do not think that S. has a heart attack and do not care much about his condition. In the hospital, S. will try to explain to his family and doctors how serious he is.

Onur Sefer Turkey

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IMPERFECT Documentary | 17:00’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY

Bilen Sevda Könen Turkey

Dilara, who has not had much problems with her existence until that day, starts to find defects for the first time in her life with the rain of criticism that starts with her comments about her choice of clothing by her roommate Kübra. Dilara’s interrogation, which compares herself with all the women she encounters or has for some reason in her memory, drags her to a fragmented self-confidence. Later in the evening, a surprise ending awaits Dilara.

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LACK Fiction | 10:00’ min.

Prod. Country: TURKEY The movie tells the story of a little boy living with his mother in a village and trying to perceive the shortcomings in his life within the frame of life and death.

Volkan Budak Turkey

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THE LAST TALE ABOUT EARTH Fiction | 17:00’ min.

Prod. Country: POLAND

Magdalena Seweryn, Igor Polaniewicz Poland

“The Last Tale About Earth” is a story of a father and two of his children, who try to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.

Everything in their surroundings seems to suggest they are the only people on Earth.

They live in an underground shelter in the woods, and due to air contamination they never go outside without protective clothing. A mysterious signal “from the outside”, seen only by the girl, becomes their motivation to face what hides beyond their known world.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR Action | 9:00’ min.

Prod. Country: NETHERLANDS On the last day of the year, a dispirited work-at-home phone interpreter has her moribund life turned upside down when she answers an unexpected emergency call.

Brandon Grötzinger & Wander Theunis Netherlands Dutch natives Brandon Grötzinger (1991) and Wander Theunis (1989) graduated as a sound designer and a screenwriter, respectively, from Amsterdam’s Netherlands Film Academy in 2015. They have, since then worked — each in his own field — on several shorts, feature films and TV projects, before making their debut as co-writer-directors in 2018 with their award-winning tragicomical short film KALÍ CHRONIÁ (HAPPY NEW YEAR). As they continue to develop further plans, Brandon & Wander’s sex comedy web series pilot DIRTY TALKS (produced in collaboration with Dutch public broadcaster BNNVARA) was released on YouTube in early 2020.

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NIMIC Drama, Fantasy | 11:35’ min.

Prod. Country: GERMANY/UK/USA A professional cellist has an encounter with a stranger on the subway which has unexpected and far-reaching ramifications on his life.

Yorgos Lanthimos Greece I was glad to be given the opportunity to work on a shorter format that can be sometimes challenging but quite rewarding.

We developed a script starting from a very intriguing initial idea and concept and enjoyed great creative freedom during the realisation of the film. It is always very exciting to be invited to think outside the box and wrestle with stimulating ideas.

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LELLA Fiction | 16:24’ min.

Prod. Country: ITALY

Michele Capuano Italy

On New Year’s Eve of 1978, Edward receives an unexpected visit. He is a young acquaintance of his, shaken by a fixed thought of which he cannot free himself. Once inside the house, the boy begins to tell his unforgettable clandestine love story with the beautiful Lella. A year and ten months of passion, culminating in an unmentionable secret.

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4:15 PM THE END OF THE WORLD Fiction | 15:00’ min.

Prod. Country: ROMANIA A courier takes a hitchhiker on the road. When the hitchhiker warns him that the end of the world is around the corner, the courier labels him as crazy, without knowing this accidental encounter will change his life forever.

Gabi Virginia Șarga & Cătălin Rotaru Romania What if one day you’ll meet God? Or maybe someone who pretends to be God? What would you talk about? Would there be anything you would blame Him for? These are the premises from which we began our script.

We sought to tell the story of an encounter between a courier and a hitchhiker in the context of a limit situation: the imminent end of the world.

One of the characters claims to be the Son of God. The other believe he is crazy. We think the audience is an active participant in any cinematographic work. The audience adds its own view and makes its own story starting from ours. We wanted to offer it the freedom to choose, to find its own answers. For us, one of the greatest challenge of this film was to show the unseen, to make it feel visible.

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MASTERCLASS “Short and Sweet”

How to make a short film (without losing your mind) The 11th Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival will host an online Masterclass by Phaedra Vocali on Saturday 03/10/2020 at 11 a.m. (EEST).

The three hours masterclass “Short and sweet” will focus on how to make a short film. The instructor of the Masterclass is Phaedra Vokali, a Greecebased producer of more than twenty short film titles, which will share tips and advice on short film production, pitching, and promotion. The seminar will be followed by Q&A and discussion – you are welcome to bring forward your projects and other case study questions.

Phaedra Vokali graduated with honors from the Marketing and Communication Department of the Athens Univeristy of Economic and Business in 2005 and got her MA in Film Studies from UCL in 2008 with state scholarship from IKY foundation. In 2009, she attended the MA program Research in Architecture: Architectural Design – Space – Culture in the School of Architecture of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). Before entering the production terrain, she has worked in distribution with New Star, as a buyer. She has also worked as head of programming of the Athens International Film Festival, and editor in chief of CINEMA Magazine, the only film magazine in Greece. She has been working as a producer in Marni Films since October 2013 and she is an alumnus of the EAVE Producers Network and the Torino Film Lab Lab (Script&Pitch, Framework). Her first feature film production, SUNTAN by Argyris Papadimitropoulos, was awarded with Best International Feature in Edinburgh International Film Festival and was nominated for the 2016 LUX prize as well as selected for the 2016 European Film Awards. It also landed in IndieWire’s list of 20 best films of 2016 from around the world. Her second feature, AFTERLOV, by Stergios Paschos, premiered in Locarno 2016 where it got the Best Film Award by the Youth Jury and it has also been awarded in Thessaloniki IFF, Transilvania IFF and elsewhere. Her latest feature MAGIC SKIN is one of the eight films selected for 2019 Berlin Critics’ Week.

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EU DELEGATION IN TURKEY

ABOUT THE EU HUMAN RIGHTS FILM COMPETITION: Since 2011, on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey organises the EU Human Rights Film Days and Short Film Competition. It is an opportunity to reflect on human rights through art.

The Film Days take place in various Turkish cities with selected European films. All screenings are free of charge.

The Short Film Competition accepts applications from July to November from amateur and professional filmmakers on these issues.

ABOUT THE EU DELEGATION TO TURKEY The Delegation of the European Union to Turkey, as a diplomatic Mission, seeks to meet the needs that arise from the multidimensional ties between Ankara and Brussels. For accurate information on the EU and EU-Turkey relations, please visit www.avrupa.info.tr .

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Cinematography was invented in Europe at the end of the 19th century.

The European cinema developed many different schools, featured prominent directors and artists, and has strongly shaped and influenced modern cinema.

A huge diversity of cultures, languages, techniques and artistic expressions shows that much of Europe’s enormous wealth resides precisely in the respect for differences. Agnes Varda, famously said that “The tool of every self-portrait is the mirror. You see yourself in it.

Turn it the other way, and you see the world.” Cinema is a tool to establish an emotional and cognitive connection with individuals; a tool to convey a story but also values and ideas. Europe has successfully transferred its genetic make-up to its film industry.

The Creative Europe Programme of the European Union provides opportunities to stimulate interest in European audio-visual works through the promotion of events, films, literacy, and festivals. It also supports cinema network initiatives that encourage the screening of non-national European films.

The MEDIA sub- programme supports the EU film and audio-visual industries financially in the development, distribution and promotion of their work.

It helps launch projects with a European dimension and enables European films and audio-visual works to find markets beyond national and European borders. In today’s globalised world, the EU is equally concerned about deploying its cultural and creative assets as it is about asserting its political and economic influence.

The potential of cinema to communicate about Europe and the creativity that lies within it have been recognised by the EU Delegations around the world, including the EU Delegation to Turkey. Delegations regularly organise film festivals as part of their outreach activities. Besides its own December Film Festival on Human Rights, the EU Delegation to Turkey supports a number of independent film festivals across the country.

We are pleased to support the 11th Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival with the side slogan “Contr(u)st: It is U who makes the difference”. The Festival aims to give opportunity and recognition to young filmmakers from the Balkan Region.

Supporting the three distinct awards of Best Film, Audience Award, New Entry Award, we join the festival organisers and hope you enjoy the (online) screenings too!

Nikolaus MEYER-LANDRUT

Ambassador, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Turkey 75

MIYU Created in 2017, Miyu Distribution was born from the partnership between Luce Grosjean and her company Seve Films, and Miyu Productions. Specialized in international sales and distribution of animation short films, Miyu Distribution distributes the graduation films of leading animation school as well as films from independent production structures.

SHORTCUTZ Shortcutz Amsterdam is a platform for up-and-coming Dutch film talent. It’s our mission to put the spotlight on new talent and offer them a ‘short cut’ to an audience, knowledge, and the most exciting film professionals. We reach more than 11.000 persons yearly (inperson), on both an international and national scale, with more than 100 activities via live and online events. Previous guests include Michael Fassbender (Shame), actress Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider), actor Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner), cult film director Béla Tarr (Satantango), documentary living-legend Heddy Honigmann (Forever), Kubrick’s producer Jan Harlan (The Shining), among many others.

BUZZ IFF Buzau International Film Festival, now on its 5th year running, is an annual international film festival dedicated to film makers from Europe, including Israel.

We love European films and we have become home to creative, powerful and entertaining stories so we wish to keep sharing them with the world.

We seek films that entertain, inform, create defining stories and break conventions. Our goal is to showcase and promote these stories and further shed a positive light on our region and its creativity. Either feature films, short films, student films or documentaries, they can all find their place at BUZZ IFF.

ADRIATIC FILM FESTIVAL Adriatic Film Festival is an International Film Festival organized by the cultural association “Adriatic Movie” and it is focused on independent movies with a particular attention on shorts and documentaries. The festival is divided in: International Short, National Short, Documentary (Worldwide), Short Academy/School, Animation.

Hosted in an amazing location, in an antique theater by the sea, the festival aspires to attract artists and public from all over the world, aiming to create an international network of collaboration among short film festivals and to establish a platform that promotes documentaries and short films worldwide.

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IZMIR ISFF Izmir International Short Film Festival was initially organized in 2000 and it has been one of the most prominent short film festivals of Turkey ever since. Offering Golden Cat Award in the branches of fiction, documentary, experimental and animation to short films in international and national categories, the festival brings a strong competition programme aiming to develop the short film industry by inviting well-known and eminent professionals in cinema sector from both Turkey and abroad as jurors. Therefore, the festival functions as a meeting point that brings the audience and film-makers together.

Izmir International Short Film Festival continues to carry out its endeavours in order to contribute to the efficient representation of the short film-makers of Turkey on international platforms.

In 2020 it will meet with its audience for the 21th time this year.

BIENNALE OF WESTERN BALKANS AT THE 11TH BBB SHORT FILM FESTIVAL BBB and BoWB, sharing a common interest for arts, culture and the Balkans, have collaborated before for the International Museum Day - ICOM (Ioannina, May 2019), as well as for the 10th BBB festival (Athens, October 2019).

After developing an interactive digital platform in a local community network last year, the Biennale will be hosting live-voting sessions in an online space this time.

By using Direct Poll, an open-access polling tool suitable for large audiences and public events, people will be able to vote for their favourite films during all four days of the festival, both on and off site. BoWB is proposing a user-friendly medium for an unlimited number of voters, while ensuring accurate and prompt results.

DirectPoll is a tool for opinion polling, entertainment, marketing and decision support, as well as a service for modern learning (blended learning / flipped classroom), developed by Zurich-based software development company Netcetera.

HOW-TO Click on the link of the day you wish to vote for on the BBB webpage (ex. Day 1, Day 2 etc.).

Vote for as many films as you like, but remember that you cannot vote twice for the same day or movie.

Stay tuned for the final results and find out the winning film!

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JEF EUROPE JEF Europe (Young European Federalists) consists of young bridge-builders who want to close the gaps in democracy, transparency and efficiency in the current European constellation and equip it with the necessary institutions and policies to prepare for the future.

The project “Y-FED: Europe is what we make of it” was designed and implemented by JEF Europe and 18 European civic organizations aiming to bring the EU closer to its young citizens by developing a proposal for an improved institutional framework of the Union in line with the European Youth Goals. The initiative, supported by an Erasmus+ “European Youth Together” grant, is being implemented between January 2020 and July 2021 through a series of capacity-building training courses, public policy hackathons, a large-scale simulation of a reformed EU and advocacy actions. The project partners comprise 18 civil society organisations as well as 2 networks of European and regional decision-makers.

Balkans Beyond Borders organised with the non – profit organization Youthmakers Hub a 30hours online hackathon “Y-FED: Hack4Youth” which took place on 29 & 30/08/2020.

Twenty-five young people from all over Greece tried to find innovative solutions to three challenges about the E.U. Aiming to bring the EU closer to its citizens by raising awareness of the EU institutional framework and advocate for its reform based on young people’s recommendations, the “Y-FED: Hack4Youth” was focused on the thematics: “Protection of Youth Employability”, “Accessibility in an inclusive society”, and “Business Recovery”. The participants developed new projects, innovative ideas for platforms, and NGOs as part of their solution with the guide and help of expert mentos. Moreover, during the two days seminars were presented by trainers and facilitators such as Project Management, Pitching, Wording-Formatting, Entrepreneurship and about the Institutional System of the EU.

KINITRO KINITRO is a Social Enterprise in the form of a Non-Profit Organization. It aims to educate people from all different backgrounds with Non-Formal and Informal Education methods, in order to create an inclusive to all and accessible society, where everyone has the opportunity to be themselves while improving their attitudes and enhancing their skills.

KINITRO offers Equity Centered educational programmes for Businesses, Schools, and other Organizations, on different topics closely related to social rights. Its core activity is designing and implementing tailor-made disABILITY AWAREness workshops, under the name “Labyrinth of Senses” which is an awarded project by the Zero Project of the United Nations, the Lifelong Learning Platform of European Commission, and the Hellenic Responsible Business Awards for the Technology & Accessibility cooperation with Vodafone Foundation. KINITRO has trained more than 17.000 people in 16 countries with the help of more than 800 volunteers.

This year KINITRO will be responsible for the accessibility of the BBB Festival, making it a fully inclusive Film Festival.

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BBB TEAM VASILIKI MALTASOGLOU: Festival Director VERONIKI KRIKONI: Senior Project Manager DINA KARYDI: Networking Manager DIMITRIS MARAGOS: Communication Manager SPYRIDOULA LOUKOPOULOU: Festival Coordinator RIFAT ERKEK: Programme Coordinator STEFANIA KOTSIFA: Catalogue Editor IOLI VAVETSI: Press Office EIRINI VIDALI: Digital Communication GEORGIANNA CHONDROU: Website editor STEFANOS NASTOS: Technical Coordinator KINITRO: Subtitling for deaf and hard of hearing people HANDS UP: Interpretation in sign language GRINDER COLLECTIVE - DESIGN FIRM: Design/Visual Communication ZORAN FURKAN: Video teaser SOLID 3D PRINTING: Statues production PHAEDRA VOKALI: Production and Pitching Masterclass instructor

Balkans Beyond Borders (BBB) wants to cordially thank all partners,volunteers and friends for making this festival come true.

Let this journey continue.

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MOVIE INDEX 4:15 PM THE END OF THE WORLD....... 72

A

ADAPTATION........................ 43 ALZHEIMER CAFE..................... 11 APP................................ 12 ASMAHAN LA DIVA................... 49 AYGOL............................. 13

B

BASTARD............................ 44 BLACK SHEEP BOY................... 50 BUTTERFLY MAN..................... 14

C

CANDY APPLES....................... 15 COAST............................. 16

D

DONUT PARADISE..................... 64 DÜNYAM............................. 17

E

ESPERANÇA......................... 51

F

FATHER-TIME........................ 18 FRENCH CINEMA..................... 19

G

GASPING............................ 20 GRANDS CANONS..................... 52

H

HAPPY NEW YEAR..................... 69 HE LOVES MY EYES.................. 21

I

I DON’T WANT TO DIE TODAY......... 65 I’M GOING OUT FOR CIGARETTES....... 53 IMPERFECT......................... 66 I NEVER PICKED COTTON............. 45

K

KEYGRIP............................ 22 KILLING TIME....................... 54

L

LACK.............................. 67 LELLA............................. 71 LET THERE BE COLOUR................ 23 LUX CLARA......................... 46

M

MEETING............................ 24 MUTE.............................. 63

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N

NEON HEARTS........................ 25 NIMIC............................. 70

P

PARALLEL WORLDS................... 26

R

ROUTE-3............................ 27

S

SALVATION RAIN..................... 56 SEA, SOIL, ASPHALT................ 28 SEVEN DAYS SEVEN NIGHTS........... 60 SHERBET............................ 32 SOME CATS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD...... 30 SOMEONE ELSE....................... 29 STATELESS......................... 59 STICKER............................ 33 SUMMER FRUITS..................... 31 SUNDAY’S CHILD..................... 47

T

THE AWARD......................... 34 THE DOLL.......................... 57 THE LAST TALE ABOUT EARTH......... 68 THE PERFORMANCE................... 35 THE REIFICATION................... 58 THE STAMP......................... 36 THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS........ 37 THE VAN............................ 38 THE VISIT......................... 39 THE WHITE SHEETS.................. 48 TO MY SOLE VIEWER.................. 40 TRUTH............................. 41

W

WELL.............................. 62 WHERE YOU LEFT OFF................ 61

X

XYZ[T]............................. 42

Y

YES I CAN......................... 55

11th EDITION

SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

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@Balkans Beyond Borders