15th IN THE PALACE ISFF

JURY

ALAN MCQUEEN

Alan McQueen has over 3 decades of experience in sales, acquisitions, distribution, production and exhibition in film industry world and among of the companies he had been working with are Artificial Eye, 20th Century Fox, Tartan, Electric Pictures, Palace Pictures, Pathe, Universal, Verve Pictures, Drakes Avenue, Soda Pictures, Peccadillo Pictures, Artefact Pictures, Optimum Releasing and Internationally – Miramax, The Weinstein Company, Buena Vista, Gaumont, Roissy, Pathe, Nordisk, Trust, Kinowelt. He spent 5 years on the Board of Espace Video European, a European Funding group under Media sub-programme, Creative Europe of EC.

McQueen is also active as lecturer in Film Distribution and Business, Creative Writing and Film Business and Promotion BA and MA programmes. He co-owns “The Thing Is…” - Producers Reps working for a number of International Producers based in UK and US and has two books published and a number of screenplays completed.

PROF. DR. BOZHIDAR MANOV

Prof. Dr. Bozhidar Manov is internationally recognized Bulgarian film critic and journalist (Bulgarian National Television, Bulgarian National Radio, Kino magazine etc). Between 2011 – 2013 he is a Dean of the Cinema Faculty at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts and currently lecturer in the New Bulgarian University. Member of the National Film Board, Bulgaria (2004-2010), Board member of the National Fund “Culture”, Bulgaria (2005-2009), Vice-President of FIPRESCI (International Film Critics Federation, 2001-2005) and Member of European Film Academy.

Prof. Dr. Bozhidar Manov multiple has been president and member of international juries at film festivals in Venice, Cannes, Berlin, Thessaloniki, Istanbul, Pusan, Karlovy Vary, San Sebastian, Valladolid, Palm Springs, Wiesbaden, Gothenburg etc. He has an author of hundreds of publications in Bulgarian and foreign press and 7 books.

JURY

DENIS MUJOVIĊ

Born in Priština, grew up in Sarajevo and is of Dutch nationality. Studied business administration, photography and video as well as film production in Groningen, Utrecht and Amsterdam. Founder and former director of Eastern Neighbours Film Festival in the Netherlands. Attached in casting department of the feature film Joy, which won the award of the best Dutch film of 2010 at the Netherlands Film Festival, and in the TV series Bojimans TV, as production manager, awarded with Museumprijs in 2010.

In 2014 Denis Mujoviċ worked as line producer for the feature film Meet me in Venice from Eddy Terstall and Erik Wunsch and further as producer on few short films, music clips and just recently in 2016 introduced new event Dutch Film Days Vienna. Since 2012 production manager and programmer for short films out of competition for LETS CEE FILM FESTIVAL in Vienna.

PROF. DR. EMILIYA STOEVA

Prof. Dr Emiliya Stoeva is well-known lecturer, professor and director of photography. Since 2015 she is Honorary President -“Association of seniour academics Academika 21” in Bulgaria. She`s been lecturer in Bulgaria and abroad, Associated Professor in National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts, Bulgaria in Photography, Commercial and Music Video cinematography and Feature film cinematography, Coordinator international relations, NATFA, General Manager in Commercial Company and Director of Photography of over 30 documentary and scientific films.

Prof. Dr. Stoeva has organized many film seminars and other film promotion events and has more than 40 articles in magazines and newspapers, mostly. Topics include on the problems of documentary filmmaking, student filmmaking and cinematography. She is an author of several books and researches in filming.

JURY

Faisal-Azam Qureshi has worked in the UK and US on various features and short productions. He was Associate Producer on the BAFTA winning feature film, FOUR LIONS and has continued working with the director on other projects.

As a screenwriter, Faisal has worked with companies such as Bazelev, Benaroya Pictures, DNA Films and BBC Drama. He also works on factual productions, the most recent being a major documentary by AMOS Pictures on the Manchester bombing for BBC2. He is a visiting lecturer at the Escula Internacional Cine y TV in Cuba.

Jacopo Chessa (Torino, 1973), majored in film history and worked largely on the 1950s and 1960s in French cinema. He has published two books and a number of articles; cooperated with the Archivio Nazionale Cinematografico della Resistenza, the University of Torino and the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris 3.

In 2010, he founded the production company called Prime Bande, which specializes in the history of manufacturing and the workers’ movement. Since the beginning of 2014, he has been the director of Aiace Nazionale, the first Italian association of art theatres, and of the Centro Nazionale del Cortometraggio, (Italian Short Film Center), a film archive and agency which promotes Italian short films. Since 2016, he has directed the Torino Short Film Market. Further, he works as contract professor at Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris 3.

FAISAL-AZAM QURESHI

JACOPO CHESSA

JURY

KATARZYNA KLIMKIEWICZ

Katarzyna (Kasia) Klimkiewicz has been working as a director in Poland, UK, Germany, Israel and Chile. She is a member of the European Film Academy and an expert in Polish Film Institute. Graduated from the Polish Film School in Lodz and alumni of the Binger Film Lab in Amsterdam, since 2000 she has collaborated with Polish National Television on many projects, including her documentary, Krystian Lupa’s Labyrinth. Her documentary Wasserschlacht – The Great Border Battle, co-directed with Andrew Friedman, was awarded Berlin Today Award during Berlinale 2007. Her short film Hanoi-Warszawa won Best Short of 2010 by the European Film Academy and received many awards in Poland and internationally. Her debut feature film Flying Blind (2012 ) was nominated for the prestigious Michael Powell Award in Edinburgh International Film Festival, where it was premiered, and received three Awards (Grand Prix, Best Director, Critics Award) at the Polish Festival of First Films in Koszalin. In 2013 she co-directed an experimental short La Isla commissioned by the Danish Festival CPH:DOX and shot in Chile. The film premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival in 2014 where it received the Tiger Award for the best Short Film. She also works for TV directing TV series.

Linda Olszewski is one of the most passionate and knowledgeable people in the short film industry. Member of AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and Currently Vice-president at SHORTS INTERNATIONAL, she joined in 2006 to oversee the launch and acquisitions of the Oscar Shorts Theatrical/VOD/iTunes releases as an Associate Producer. She has served on over 100 international film fest juries and panels throughout North and South America and Europe, offering distribution deals for iTunes, Amazon, and TV license for ShortsTV™ - The Short Movie Channel. Linda has contributed to “Swimming Upstream: A Lifesaving Guide to Short Film Distribution,” “The Guerilla Filmmakers Pocketbook,” and “Making it Big in Shorts: The Ultimate Filmmaker’s Guide to Short Films.” Before joining Shorts, she acquired short films for The Hatchery and EVEO, developed shorts for Hanna-Barbera’s WHAT A CARTOON for Cartoon Network, programmed shorts for the DreamWorks Short FF, Palm Springs Short FF, Newport Beach FF and Sofia Independent FF, and pre-screened shorts and features for Fear Fete and Sundance FF. Additional credits include SHREK, THE ROAD TO EL DORADO, PRINCE OF EGYPT, REALITY BITES, and THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE.

LINDA OLSZEWSKI

JURY

PH.D., D.H.C. MANUELA CERNAT

Senior Researcher, member of the Scientific Council and former Scientific Director of the ’’George Oprescu’’ Institute for History of Art of the Romanian Academy. Former Vice Rector of the “I.L.Caragiale” National University for Theater and Cinema, founder and former Head of its Audiovisual Communication Department, Manuela Cernat, is a major representative of the Romanian academic world and an important Romanian cultural ambassador. Member of the Romanian Writers Union and of the Romanian Filmmakers Union, Vice-President of the Société Européenne de Culture (Venice) and Honorary President of S.E.E.C.S. (South Eastern European Cinema Schools), member of the CILECT International Publishing Committee. she is presently associate professor and Ph.D. coach for “I.L.Caragiale” U.N.A.T.C.

Film historian and writer, journalist and essayist, author of books on film history and books for children, of scripts for cinema and TV documentary films, host of various TV Talk Shows Commander of the “Romanian Cultural Merit” Order, Cavalier of the “Italian Solidarity Star”, she also received the Diploma of the Japanese Imperial Court, “The Academic Excellence Prize” of the Romanian Filmmakers Union etc.

Born in Rome, Italy, in 1976, Massimiliano now lives in Bucharest, Romania. Since 2007 he works in the cinema industry as artistic director and programmer for festivals around Europe. Among them, a few to mention are Brest European Short Film Festival and Amerique Latine Biarritz (France), Arcipelago (Italy), Winterthur (Switzerland), Next, Timishort and Divan (Romania). Currently, Massimiliano is also programmer for Torino Short Film Market (Italy) and head of selection and talent scouting for LESS IS MORE talent lab. He‘s voting member for the french CESAR and romanian GOPO awards.

He has been script advisor for several short and feature films. Under the moniker PIPE‘S NOT DEAD! he creates soundtracks and audiovisual productions. He smokes pipe and loves whisky.

MASSIMILIANO NARDULLI

JURY

PHILIP ILSON

Philip Ilson is the Artistic Director of the London Short Film Festival, which he co-founded in 2004. A premier showcase for cutting-edge UK independent film, LSFF is renowned for its innovative cross-arts programming and showcase of the country’s raw talent for 15 years.

He is also the short film programmer for the BFI London Film Festival, and has worked as a freelance programmer, including at the East End Film Festival (London), Cork Film Festival (Ireland), and the Branchage Festival (Jersey), Latitude music festival, and at Curzon Soho Cinema.

Rossitsa Valkanova graduated in 1982 from the Bulgarian National Academy for Theatre and Film as film director. Directed several documentary shorts till in 1995 she founded a production company, KLAS Film, producing some of the best known and awarded Bulgarian feature titles from the past 20 years: LETTER TO AMERICA (2001) by Iglika Triffonova, CHRISTMAS TREE UPSIDE DOWN (2006) by Ivan Cherkelov and Vassil Zhivkov, SHELTER (2010) by Dragomir Sholev, GODLESS (2016) by Ralitza Petrova.

Working often in co-production (with partners from the Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, France, Sweden, Denmark, Romania), Rossitsa Valkanova has also co-produced as minority partner films as BLIND (2007) by Tamar van den Dop and AFERIM! (2015) by Radu Jude. R. Valkanova has been member of numerous selection committees and international juries (in Wiesbaden, Karlovy Vary, Sofia, Cyprus, San Sebastian). She’s member of EFA since 2002.

ROSSITSA VALKANOVA

JURY

SANDI SISSEL

Sandi served as Director Of Photography on the Oscar nominated Salaam Bombay . Other movies include Yellow Card, Chicken Ranch, The Endurance, Soul Of The Game, Camp Nowhere, Full Eclipse, Drop Dead Fred, Drag Strip Girl, The People Under The Stairs, Passion’s Way, New York Minute, Mother Teresa, Toothless, Radiant City, In The Company Of Darkness and Meet The Browns. Among her 2nd unit photography credits are the Oscar winning Master and Commander. Others include Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Daredevil, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Blow, Black Knight and Rock Star. Her television credits include two Emmy winning shows The Wonder Years and Drug Wars: The Camarana Story in addition to The Flash, Young Americans, Night Stalker and Night Sins. Sandi is a member of the American Society Of Cinematographers and the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

After studying psychology in Belgium, Wim Vanacker moved to Dublin to work as a psychologist in the field of drug addiction. Three years later, he picked up studying again at EICAR where he made two shorts : Endgame and The Naked leading the Blind. After graduating, he discovered NISI MASA – European Network of Young Cinema where he became the Head of the Script Department and the Project Manager of the MEDIA funded project, European Short Pitch.

Recently, he founded Sireal Films where he produced the VAF funded short film Empire. As a writer/director, he’s currently developing the short film [ˈs ə.ri.əl ]. On the side, he works as a script consultant, tutor and guest speaker and from this year onward, he’s also part of the Selection Committee for the Official Short Film Competition of the Cannes Film Festival.

WIM VANACKER

BEST FICTION CATEGORY

#BURNING

Belgium / France / 2016 /18’ 58’’

A hot Sunday. Somewhere in our Ardennes. A road. A gang of kids trying to avoid boredom.

Nathalie André is a Belgian director who also works as a screenwriter, set designer and editor. She has signed two other short films: Every day is a day in August (2003) and 26.4 (2008).

Director: Nathalie André

Writer: Nathalie André

Cinematography: Virginie Gourmel

Composer: Mathieu Delvaux, Laurent Martin

Editor: Nathalie André

Producer: On Move ProductionsTakami Productions

Cast: Virgile Bucquoye – Jules De Camps – Romain Frammery - Matteo Geraci – Petrone Lamart – Zacharia Vigneron –Selma Robert

14 YEARS AND ONE DAY

Spain / 2015 / 12’ 04’’

The most important thing to Arantxa is Rossi. The most important thing to Rossi is her boy Santi. Arantxa’s biggest problem is her mother, Rossi’s biggest problem is her naivety. Two teenager’s stories that explode violently at a village fête in a small valencian town.

Lucia Alemany was born in 1985 in Traiguera, a small Valencian town, where she grew up until the age of 18. She then traveled to Vic to start a degree in Communication Studies. In 2009, she moved to Barcelona and she began her studies at the ESCAC (The Cinema’s School to Catalonia). During those four years of investigation and incessant work, she learned how to give life to characters as well as how to capture the most sincere and pure emotion, which is spontaneous and real at the same time.

Director: Lucía Alemany

Writer: Lucía Alemany

Cinematography: Nonna Serra

Composer: Ernest Crusats, José Aladid

Editor: Anastasi Rinos

Producer: Anastasi Rinos

Cast: Jennifer García, Estelle Orient, Pilar Alcalá, Andrea Olesa

ACIDE

France / 2017 /17’30’’

A disturbing cloud has shaped up somewhere in the west. It slowly goes back to the center of the country, throwing the population on the roads. Towards the inexorable advance of the cloud, it is the general panic. This cumulus is acid.

Born near Paris in 1982, Just got his master in cinema at Paris’s University. He already directed 4 short films, the last one, Ses Souffles, has been pre-nominated for best short movie’s César in 2016. He also has co-directed a documentary called “Gildas has something to tell us” in 2016 which has been diffused by Arte.

Director: Just Philippot

Writer: Just Philippot

Cinematography: Pierre Dejon

Composer: The Penelopes

Editor: Héloïse Pelloquet

Producer: Camille Chandellier & Thierry Lounas

Cast: Maud Wyler, Sofian Khammes, Antonin Chaussoy

AGAIN

Italy / 2016 / 15’ 00’’

A young girl once again confronts the journey to get back the man she loves. A sick love that will be tested by the reality that surrounds them.

Lu Pulici was born in Descalvado, Brazil in 1963 and lives in Pennabilli, Italy. He qualified as an architect by the Catholic University of Santos, Brazil, and graduated as a film director by the Centre d’ Estudis Cinematogràfics de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. From 1993 to 2001 he worked in the Spanish film industry as Art Director, working for various productions, both short films to feature films. In 2013, after 12 years fully dedicated to the theater productions, he returns to the world of cinema, creating the independent cinema group Lumaca Film. In 2015 he founds his own film production house 22S PRODUCTIONS.

Director: Lu Pulici

Writer: Valentina Galli, Josep Piris, Lu Pulici

Cinematography: Bernardo Brizi

Composer: Jorge da Rocha

Editor: Lu Pulici

Producer: Josep Piris

Cast: Álex Moreu, Letizia Valenti, Lisa Guerrini, Icaro Astolfi, Filippo Baldoni, Franco Baldoni

CLÉO

France / 2016 / 27’18’’

Nothing more commonplace that a safe divorce when none of the parents asks for the guarding of the child. Cléo, 10 y/o, is going to run away from what seems to him unbearable. The feeling of abandonment is a powerful engine of escape.

Julie Navarro is born in 1974 and is a casting director on several long features, « Cléo » is her directorial debut.

Director: Julie Navarro

Writer: Julie Navarro, Marc Salbert

Cinematography: Pierre Cottereau

Editor: Saskia Berthod, Matthieu Ruyssen

Producer: Emmanuel Barraux

Cast: Lila Gueneau Lefas Romain Berger

Olivia Côte

DOWNSIDE UP

Belgium / 2016 / 15’ 00’’

Imagine a world where everybody has Down’s Syndrome. Mongolism is the absolute norm. One day, a little boy is born who is different. he is, from our point of view, ‘normal’. Anders is his story, and that of his parents and the society as a whole. …

Peter Ghesquière was born in Belgium on 13th of July of 1980. He studied Audiovisuele kunst-medium-film at the Department Rits, Brussels. He’s been awarded for his works in ZONDVLOED (audience award), SCHIJN VAN DE MAAN (jury prize among others) and EN TOEN KWAM ONS MA BINNEN (Rocky award sketch and comedy).

Director: Peter Ghesquiere

Writer: Peter Ghesquiere

Cinematography: Robrecht Heyvaert

Composer: Hannes De Maeyer

Editor: Jochen Decostere, Toon Mertens, Kobe Van Steenberghe

Producer: Hendrik Verthé

Cast: Nico Sturme, Helene De Vos, Tineke Van Haute, Peter Janssens, Milo Huyghebaert

FAUVE

Canada /2018 /16’ 24’’

Set in a surface mine, two boys sink into a seemingly innocent power game with Mother Nature as the sole observer.

Driven by a passion for Skateboarding, Jeremy Comte directed his first short documentary “Feel The Hill” at eighteen years old, landing him a world tour with the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Raised in the country side and later graduating from Concordia University in Film Production, his connection with nature and curiosity for the human condition deepened with his travels around the globe. Comte is roused by psychological, raw narratives finding meaningful connections through poetic imagery. His latest short fiction film “Fauve” won Special Jury Award at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

Director: Jeremy Comte

Writer: Jeremy Comte

Cinematography: Olivier Gossot Composer: Brian D’Oliveira (La Hacienda) Editor: Jeremy Comte

Producer: Maria Gracia Turgeon (Midi La Nuit), Evren Boisjoli (Achromatic Media inc.)

Cast: Félix Grenier, Alexandre Perreault, Louise Bombardier

FORMERS

Russia / 2017 / 15’ 00’’

They are not young anymore. He suffered the heart attack. She has just recovered from diabetic coma. They haven’t seen each other for 30 years, from that very day, when their marriage came to an end. …

Director: Irina Bas

Writer: Nargiz Baghirzade

Cinematography: Irina Bas

Composer: Sergey Evtushenko

Editor: Irina Bas

Producer: Alekhina Aleksandra, Obidova Irina

Cast: Igor Yasulovich , Polina Dudkina, Natalia Iohvidova , Larisa Malevannaya

Irina Bas live and work in Moscow. Finished VGIK - the oldest Russian film school in 2012. Now working as a director in video production studio «SUROVIE».

GOLIATH

France / 2016 / 18’06’’

Nicolas is madly in love with Charlotte, a girl he barely knows yet fantasizes about through the pictures she posts on Facebook. With a friend, he decides to prove his love for her by accomplishing an exploit.

Loïc Barché (born in Tour in 1987), studied cinema in University preparatory classes and at university. After several self-produced projects, he directed in 2015 his short film GOLIATH starring Swann Arlaud and Phénix Brossard, produced by Punchline Cinéma.

Director: Loïc Barché

Writer: Loïc Barché

Cinematography: Victor Seguin

Editor: Pierre Deschamps

Producer: Lucas Tothe, Silvian Lagrillere

Cast: Swann Arlaud, Phénix Brossard

HAVE NO FEAR

Italy /2016 / 20’04’’

Joseph, with Alzheimer’s disease, is a patient hospitalized in a clinic. This is the story of a typical day, his routine, his reality lived in the same way, of all those things, perceived always as if it is the first time. As every morning, a ‘nurse comes into the room to wake up Joseph, but that morning Joseph has already his eyes opened, gasping, frightened by a disturbing nightmare. Thus, it begins his day.

Marco Calvise graduated in Traditions and Techniques of Performing Arts at the University La Sapienza of Rome. He made short films, music videos, commercials, covering several professional roles in direction and production. He directs “Milonga” (2010), which has received prestigious awards, among which the Turin Film Festival in national premier. In 2011 he directed “Non al denaro, non al vento, ne al sole” starring Massimo Ghini, which was screened at the National 6th edition of the International Film Festival of Rome. In 2014 he directs his first feature film “La pioggia che non cade” released in Italian Theatres.

Director: Marco Calvise

Writer: Marco Calvise

Cinematography: Federico Annicchiarico

Composer: Gianfranco Marongiu

Editor: Rosa Santoro

Producer: Marco Calvise and Nicoletta

Cataldo

Cast: Francesco Carnelutti, Alessandra

Costanzo, Domitilla D’amico

HEADBUTT

Netherlands / 2017 / 09’11’’

Tobias (15) wants to restore the old relationship he had with his brother Lucas (18). While they used to do everything together, Lucas is depressed and has no interest in him anymore. When Tobias fantasizes that Lucas will commit suicide, Tobias has no other option than reach his isolated brother.

Bunnik his films portray the male struggle with his own vulnerability and the role the male body plays in this. His shorts have screened at numerous festivals (a.o. IDFA, Encounters, Minneapolis, Aesthetica, Uppsala, NYC Indie) and received awards worldwide. Currently he is post-production of his new short Blood Group and in development of a tv film in collaboration with network BNNVARA and editing a feature documentary.

Director: Daan Bunnik

Writer: Daan Bunnik

Cinematography: Benito Strangio

Composer: J.W. Minnaard

Editor: Daan Bunnik

Producer: Volya Films: Denis Vaslin & Fleur Knopperts

Cast: Felix Osinga, Nils Verkooijen

HOWLS

United Kingdom / 2017 /16’19’’

To escape her problems, Young mum Janey takes her fragile son Brodie to a woodland hut community in Scotland and door steps a random boy she has met. When hope of acceptance in the community quickly fades, she looses control, whilst Brodie finds solace in a mysterious wolf.

Catriona trained as a performer and theatre maker at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and worked professionally as an actor and drama practitioner for 4 years before going on to study film practice. Her first film ‘I’m In Away From Here’ was BAFTA nominated and ‘A Cuillin Rising’, was nominated for the British Council Award for Best New Short. She is currently working with THIRD Films, supported by the Scottish Film talent network. Catriona recently participated in Bellock residencies, supported by Creative Scotland, where she developed another feature project ‘Gift From God’. Catriona is a lecturer in film practice and acting for screen and at Edinburgh Napier University.

Director: Catriona MacInnes

Writer: Catriona MacInnes

Cinematography: Graham Boonzaaier

Composer: Parc En Ciel

Editor: Karel Dolak

Producer: Samm Haillay

Cast: Amy Bowden, Noah Graham, Nathan Byrne

ICARUS

Belgium / 2017 / 26’ 00’’

At the start of the 20th Century, on a tiny island topped with steep cliffs, there lives an isolated man. Despite the huge developments in modern aviation, this inventor is obsessed with achieving his dearest dream: to fly using nothing but his arms. For him, only a pure, light, innocent soul is capable of such a feat. 8-year-old Joseph seems to be the perfect candidate.

Nicolas Boucart was born on January 10, 1981 in Tournai. After finishing his film studies at INRACI, the Belgian Film School, in Brussels, he began a career as a scene shifter and cameraman on movie sets. Whilst honing his technical skills in the field, he quickly started to write and direct short fictional films. In 2016, after working as a technician on over fifty short and feature-length films, he devoted himself fulltime to writing and directing.

Director: Nicolas Boucart

Writer: Nicolas Boucart

Animation: Mikros

Cinematography: Alina Santos

Composer: The Buriers

Editor: Ewin Ryckeart

Producer: Anthony Rey, Fabrice

Préel-Cléach

Cast: Philippe Rebbot, Maxime Bessonov, Albert Chassagne

LITTLE HANDS

Belgium / France / 2017 / 15’ 00’’

Leo, 2, is the son of the director of an industrial plant. When employees find out that management is about to close the factory, Bruno, a more radical worker, abducts Leo to negotiate …

Rémi Allier is a young French writer and director, based in Brussels, Belgium. After studying film editing in Paris, he enters the IAD, a film school in Belgium (Louvain-la-Neuve). In 2012, he co-directs and co-write with Pablo Munoz Gomez a first Short film: Jan, who gets shown in many festivals in Belgium and France. The following year, Rémi directs Zinneke, his graduation film, which leads a good festival life around the world and has been awarded several times, after a world premiere in Locarno. Rémi just finished his new short film Little Hands, which has its world premiere in Telluride Film Festival 2017 (USA).

Director: Rémi Allier

Writer: Rémi Allier

Cinematography: Kinan Massarani

Composer: Léo Dupleix

Editor: Nicolas Bier

Producer: Pauline Seigland & Benoit

Roland & Lionel Massol

Cast: Emile Moulron Lejeune, Jan

Hammenecker, Steve Driesen, Sandrine Blancke

LITTLE NOAH’S LAST ADVENTURE

Netherlands / 2017 / 10’’00’’

Little Noah’s Last Adventure is a comical drama based on a childhood memory of the director. The short film is about Noah of six year old who learns from his father that the wild strawberries that he has eaten are poisonous. Too young to realise that there are still solutions to survive, he thinks he is going to die. In the time he has left, he tries to say goodbye to his parents and little sister who don’t understand what is up with little Noah. Little Noah’s Last Adventure is a film about discovering and saying goodbye and everything in the perception of a child.

Shariff Nasr is an award-winning director and writer with a talent for both dramatic and comical narrative. He began his career in advertising as a copywriter and utilizes those skills as a creative director with a strong cinematographic vision. He is now lead director of the feature film ‘Rotterdam, I love you’. Shariff has won various prizes, including ‘Best Commercial of 2009’ (Fonk), several ‘SpinAwards’ ‘Audience awards‘, a ‘Grand Prix’ and more…

Director: Shariff Nasr

Writer: Shariff Nasr

Cinematography: Remko Schnorr

Composer: Vidjay Beerepoot

Editor: Sander van der Aa

Producer: Roos Postmaa

Cast: Freddy Cole, Jochum ten Haaf, Amélie Onzon, Puck Andriesse

MARE NOSTRUM

France / Syria / 2016 / 13’ 24’’

On a Mediterranean shore, a Syrian Father makes a decision that puts his daughter’s life at risk.

Rana Kazkaz and Anas Khalaf are Syrians with dual French citizenship. Married, they are currently living in Amman (Jordan) after having left Damascus as a result of the on-going Syrian conflict. They are the authors and directors of five short films (Mare Nostrum, Searching for the Translator, Ham, Deaf Day, Kemo Sabe) and are currently working on their upcoming first feature film, The Translator.

Director: Anas Khalaf

Writer: Rana Kazkaz

Cinematography: Eric Devin

Composer: Kinan Azmeh

Editor: Monique Dartonne

Producer: Raphaël Alexandre, Nicolas Leprêtre (Georges Films), Anas Khalaf (Synéastes Films)

Cast: Ziad Bakri, Zayn Khalaf

NEXT TIME

Italy / 2016 / 15’’00’’

On a cold prehistoric night, a woman wanders too far from her camp... In the menacing woods, she discovers something that could change the fate of humanity... …

Adriano Giannini began his film career as a camera assistant at a very young age, working on more than 40 films between 1989 and 1999. Since 1999 he has dedicated himself to acting and has numerous film roles to his name. Furthermore, he has lent his voice to the Italian dubbing of many international artists. In 2008 he set up Ombla Production company. “Sarà per un’altra volta” is the second film he has written and directed.

Director: Adriano Giannini

Writer: Sergio Suozzi and Adriano Giannini

Cinematography: Daniele Massaccesi

Makeup Artists: Luigi Rocchetti and Lorenzo Tamburini

Vfx supervisor: Luca Della Grotta

Composer: Enrico Melozzi

Editor: Mauro Bonanni

Producer: Andrea Vinci and Adriano Giannini

Cast: Francesco Montanari, Veronica Gentili, Raffaele Gangale, Francesco Giannini, Andrea Paolini

PUSHING NIGHT AWAY

Norway / 2016 / 22’23’’

A meeting between Eddie, who wants to kill himself, and Kate, who is fighting to keep herself alive.

Jade (b. 1987) is from Norway, and graduated in 2014 from the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles with an MFA in Directing. Prior to this she completed her studies in Norway with a BA in Film and TV Production, specializing in Directing, and an MA in Film Analysis. Jade has written and directed several short films that have been officially selected by over 50 international film festivals worldwide, winning numerous awards and prizes including “Best Short Film”, “Best Director” and “Best Screenplay”. Based on her film production, Jade was awarded the Norwegian Government Grant for Artists in 2017 and 2015, and she is currently working on developing her first feature film.

Director: Jade Hærem Aksnes

Writer: Jade Hærem Aksnes

Cinematography: Michael Spencer Smith

Editor: Michael Spencer Smith

Producer: Siv Aksnes & Niels Peter Hærem

Cast: Julian Hærem Aksnes, Dagny Backer

Johnsen, Anton Styve

RABBIT PUNCH

United Kingdom/Ireland / 2017 / 15’00’’

Job is a 13 year old refugee in search of a new life. Brutalised at home and bullied at school, his only answer is to lash out at those around him. He is desperate to escape the reality of his life. When he finds himself in a head-to-head race with a van through the streets of Manchester to the local boxing club, his life takes an unexpected turn for the better. Coaches Trav and Dylan, are intrigued by this lightning fast boy and take him under their wing. Has he finally found a new home?

Keith Farrell spent his life in the past...or rather making films set in the past, for the last 15 years he has been making feature documentaries and series for both cinema and broadcast. He managed to pick up a few awards along the way. Rabbit Punch, is his first foray into contemporary drama. Keith Farrell is currently working on my first feature film, a contemporary drama set in the North of England.

Director: Keith Farrell

Writer: Hannah Salt

Cinematography: Colm Whelan

Composer: Louize Carroll

Editor: Siôn Roberts

Producer: Philip Meachem, Leah Blackaby

Cast: Jordon Wendl, Wil Johnson, Ciarán Griffiths, Rosina Carbone, Darwin Taylor

RIKISHI

France / 2017 / 19’ 34’’

Despite his solid build, Jason is a shy teenager. At the pool, a classmate bullies him, comparing him to a “Sumo”. Furious, he seizes the young man and tries to drown him. …

Julien Menanteau is a Paris-based director. He holds a Master’s degree in cinema from the University of Montreal and Paris-Sorbonne. In addition to the dramatic short “Rikishi”, his projects in progress include the television series “Barbès Palace”, produced by Mother Production and the documentary “Samaritans” with Gloria Films and France 3.

Director: Julien Menanteau

Writer: Julien Menanteau

Cinematography: Marine Atlan

Composer: Kai Engel

Editor: Jeremy Cot, Grégoire Pontécaille

Producer: Topshot Films & Popiul

Cast: Loic lacoua, Salomé Baranow, Valérie Lemaitre

SATURDAY

Albania / Colombia / Romania / 2018 / 26’30’’

The day after his return to Bogotá from a month-long trip, Dragos (40) arrives anxious to pick up his children Julian (13) and Marcos (7) from their mother´s place with whom he has just separated. Dragos learns that Julián, who was living with him before the trip has now decided to keep living permanently with his mother. Dragos is left with a disheartened sense of the futility of his life.

1996- 2000 Film Direction in National University of Theatre and Film “I.L. Caragiale”, Bucharest, Romania 2001-2002 Master in Film and Advertising Aesthetics in National University of Theatre and Film “I.L. Caragiale”, Bucharest, Romania 2004-2009 Teacher in different universities in Bogotá, Colombia. 2009- 2012 Doctoral studies in Media in the University of Bayreuth, Germany. 2103-present Professor, Audiovisual Department, Politécnico Grancolombiano, Bogotá

Director: Sokol Keraj

Writer: Sokol Keraj

Cinematography: Carlos Marciales

Composer: Ruzhdi Keraj

Editor: Carlos Marciales

Producer: Sokol Keraj

Cast: Kristian Keraj, Lukas Keraj, Dan Bordeianu

SERVAL AND CHAUMIER, MASTERS OF SHADOWS

France / 2016 / 20’ 00’’

1896. In a small French village, Jules Chaumier, professional magician, runs into Marcel Serval, his former disciple who left 10 years ago with his wife Jacqueline. They get into a fight, which should lead them to know who actually is the true “Maste …

Arthur Goisset has studied at La Fémis in production. He is now a producer and member of Topshot Films. He develops his own projects as author and director. Bastien Daret studied cinema at l’Ecole Normale Supérieure and then integrated la Femis in Paris. There he met Arthur Goisset with whom he started collaborating on diverse projects.

Director: Arthur Goisset & Bastien Daret

Writer: Arthur Goisset & Bastien Daret

Cinematography: Lucie Baudinaud

Composer: Manuel Peskine

Editor: Avril Besson

Producer: Arthur Goisset, Bastien Daret, Robin Robles, Étienne Larragueta, Damien Petit

Cast: Philippe Rebbot, Franc Bruneau, Jeanne Rosa

SHADOW BOXER

Denmark / 2017 / 22’00’’

The young daughter of a professional female boxer realizes that she can only bring her injured, wheelchair bound mom back into the ring, if she takes on the fight herself.

Director, scriptwriter, editor. Born 9 April 1978, Denmark. Andreas Bøggild Monies is a self-taught director, editor and writer. He started out as an editor, working on documentaries and feature films for various A-list directors (Selma Vilhunen, Ole Christian Madsen, etc) as well as directing his own documentary films. Shadow Boxer is his fiction directorial debut.

Director: Andreas Bøggild Monies

Writer: Tone Mygind Rostbøll / Andreas Bøggild Monies

Cinematography: Sine Vadstrup Brooker

Composer: Jacques Pedersen

Editor: Anna Heide & Andreas Bøggild Monies

Producer: Jeppe Wowk

Cast: Marijana Jankovic, Katinka Eversjahnsen, Rudi Køhnke

SO BE IT

Italy / 2016 / 19’00’’

A young girl hopes to make it to the day of her first Holy Communion, but the instability of her parents, seems to do all it can to prevent her from getting there.

After graduating at the Academy of Dramatic Arts, “Silvio D’Amico” in Rome Cristina Spina began working with some of the best Italian theatre directors: Luca Ronconi, Massimo Castri and Carlo Cecchi. She continued her education, and received a prestigious Masters of Theatre Arts at the Ecole des Maitres. Her directing career began in an advanced training course for directors and actors, run by Luca Ronconi. She went on to study Filmmaking at NYU, in New York. In 2016 she wrote and directed her first fully realized short film, “SO BE IT”. The film went on to win first prize at the RIFF Rome Independent Film Festival and at the Smita Patil Film Festival in Pune, India.

Director: Cristina Spina

Writer: Cristina Spina

Animation: Paola Gandolfi

Cinematography: Stefano Falivene

Composer: Riccardo Giagni

Editor: Adam Boese

Producer: Cristina Spina, Frank Pugliese, PAV

Cast: Benedetta Finocchi, Tommaso Ragno, Maria Roveran, Sandra Toffolatti, Ninni Giromella

THE CAMEL BOY

France / 2018 /15’13’’

Somewhere in the desert, a little boy is plunged by force into an intimidating and completely foreign new world: the world of camel racing. Will the distant hope of seeing his mother again give him the strength to overcome his fears and find his place in this hostile environment?

Born in Kaboul, Afghanistan, Chabname Zariâb is 7 years-old when she immigrates in France with her parents. She grows up in a very literary family and studies right, cinema, and real estate before working in the damage expert assessment field. In 2011, Chabname publishes her first novel, The afghan pianist, laureate of several literary awards, which first was a script for cinema. Then she heads for the writing of a documentary script. In 2015, she goes behind the camera for the first time, with her first short film When you hear the bells, which has had a great success in festivals in the whole world, by winning around fifty awards and which was notably nominated to the French Cesar 2017.

Director: Chabname Zariâb

Writer: Chabname Zariâb

Cinematography: Eric Devin

Composer: Hussein Zahawy & Marjan

Farsad

Editor: Guillaume Saignol & Vanessa Basté

Producer: Bien ou Bien Productions

Cast: Behzad Mahaq, Syrus Shahidi

THE GLASS PEARL

Finland / 2017 / 15’02’’

A 12-year-old boy plunders garbage cans in a suburb, searching for something that might give him a reward.

Tommi Seitajoki (born 1980) is a Finnish film director and screenwriter. His graduated as a director in 2006 and has since then made several award-winning short films, documentaries and TV-series.

Director: Tommi Seitajoki

Writer: Tommi Seitajoki

Cinematography: Pietari Peltola

Composer: Ludde Allén

Editor: Tommi Seitajoki

Producer: Claes Olsson

Cast: Alvar af Schultén, Fredrik Malmström, Joel Häggblom, Robert Kock, Petja Lähde, Monica Kulmala

THE TERRIBLE TALE OF HENRIETTA TATE

United Kingdom / 2017 / 15’25’’

Who is Bubble Girl? Bubble girl is the sad, silent mascot of Gummer Gooseberry soda pop. Bubble Girl is a vison of bubblegum pink loveliness, she smiles for the camera, but cries pink soda-pop diamond tears when no-one is looking. As she travels by train to advertise Gummer Gooseberry, under the watchful eye of Mr. Control and his son, something strange is afoot, and it’s not just her eye-makeup.

Tom is a writer/director based in London. After graduating with a BA in Communications (University of Technology, Sydney) he worked first in television then as a senior Visual Effects Artist on films including Harry Potter, Poseidon, Danny Boyle’s Sunshine and Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd. His foray into directing and writing was a short film entitled Sometimes the Moon is Velvet. This won First Prize Best Short Film at Rhode Island International Film Festival. Tom is currently developing his first feature film, The Girl with Glass Feet, based on the book by Ali Shaw.

Director: Tom Beckwith Phillips

Writer: Tom Beckwith Phillips and Claire Potter

Visual Effects Supervisor: Tony Landais

Cinematography: Federico Alfonso

Composer: Christopher O’Young

Editor: Sakky Barnor

Producer: Pollyanna Whitman, Megan Wynn,

Cast: Yumi Lambert, Mark Ryder, Jonathan Holby, David Verrey, William Ellis, Helen

Terry, Ralph Amoussou, Sanna Kelly, Wayne Kaplan, Kate Comer

ULISES

Mexico / 2018 / 07’52’’

Mermaids in a classical view, are not cute entities and are often associated with death forces. They are dangerous animals that dominate oceans based on their captivating voices. If they embezzle you with their call, they will do nothing but devour you. Ulises is a fisherman´s daily battle to try to appease his hunger in an obsessive struggle of men acting as a dominating force and trying to impose themselves to Mother Nature... This clash may well be seen as a sad battle to death between humankind and fantasy.

Jorge Malpica has mainly worked as a Director in advertising and also works as a Director, cinematographer and editor in documentaries and TV programs. Loves nature and diving. He started directing in 2000 and has been working in Mexico and in several countries around the world. To smoothen his skills with actors attended “Directing Actors” workshop by Judith Weston. “Ulises” is his first fiction project as a Director. He is actually finishing a documentary about aging “Viejos los Cerros” (Director, DOP and editor.

Director: Jorge Malpica

Writer: Jorge Bano

Animation: Enrique Sánchez

Cinematography: Tonatiuh Martínez Valdez

Postproduction: Ricardo Cortés

Editor: Jorge Malpica

Producer: Érika Ávila

Cast: Manuel Poncelis, Michelle Betancourt

WAVE

Ireland / 2017 / 13’45’’

A man wakes from a coma speaking a fully formed but unrecognizable language, baffling linguistic experts from around the globe.

Benjamin is an Oscar winning writer/director from Dublin. His first short film ‘Stutterer’ has played over 100 festivals at time of writing and has won over 25 awards including an Academy Award for best Live Action Short in 2016, a Cannes Young Director Award, a London Critic’s Circle Award, an Irish Film and Television Award, an Irish Young Director Award and Best Foreign Film at LA Shorts Fest. TJ O’Grady Peyton is an Irish director who graduated from the London Film School’s prestigious graduate program in 2010. Fresh into the professional ad space, he was shortlisted for the Young Director Award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2013 and 2015, later earning a People’s Choice Award at The Webby Awards in 2016.

Director: Benjamin Cleary, TJ O’Grady Peyton

Writer: Benjamin Cleary

Cinematography: Burschi Wojnar

Composer: Nico Casal

Editor: Nathan Nugent

Producer: Rebecca Bourke (Assembly)

Cast: Jarvis Cocker, TJ O’Grady Peyton, Emmet Kirwan

WAWA

Philippines / 2015 / 10’ 11’’

Story of a young boy’s journey as they lay his father to his final resting place.

Anj Macalanda is an independent filmmaker from Rizal, Philippines. She is a librarían by profession, and pursues her masters degree in Communication part-time. Anj achieves work-life balance through film, photography, yoga, and meditation.

Director: Anj Macalanda

Writer: Anj Macalanda

Cinematography: Arbi Barbarona

Composer: Arbi Barbarona, Domands

Reyes IV

Editor: Anj Macalanda, Theo Lozada, and Arbi Barbarona

Producer: Anj Macalanda

Cast: Frank Daniel Atutubo and April

Ramos

BEST

ANIMATION CATEGORY

A THOUSAND KISSES

Brazil / USA / 2018 / 16’ 00’’

Separated by the fear of prosecution in the Nazi Germany of 1933, a young Jewish couple in Berlin make loose plans to reunite on the safe tropical shores of Brazil.

Richard Goldgewicht was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro. Richard’s feature debut came in Rotterdam 2012 with the award winning animated documentary Pablo, on the life and times of graphic designer Pablo Ferro - the artist responsible for the look and feel of much of Stanley Kubrick’s and Hal Ashby’s work, and one of the men who first made film title sequences “a thing.” His other work includes award-winning shorts such as Blue Rondo (2000) and Tel Aviv (2004), as well as two other feature documentaries - Lost Town (2013) and Gameplay (2014), all sold internationally. The films cover a wide array of topics, ranging from music and graphic design, anti- semitism, US-Mexican relations, and the dystopian world of technology.

Director: Richard Goldgewicht

Writer: Darcy Brislin

Animation: Gustavo Wenzel

Composer: Emanuele Arnone

Editor: Richard Goldgewicht

Producer: Eitan Rosenthal

Cast: Christian Oliver and Elke Sommer

AND THE MOON STANDS STILL

Belarus / Germany / USA / 2017 / 10’’47’’

The presence of the moon affects all under its glow. But the witcher wants to destroy the peaceful world, he pierces the starts and causes the flood, and he even wants to eat the moon... The film explores the lunar cycle and the energies invoked by its radiance.

Born in Minsk, Belarus. Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Graduated from the Design Department at BSU (Minsk) and School-Studio “SHAR” (Moscow). Since 2003, Yulia has worked as а director, animator, illustrator and motion designer with her focus in the animated short film.

Director: Yulia Ruditskaya.

Writer: Yulia Ruditskaya, David Lindner

Leporda, Helen Simon, Katharina Köster

Animation: Yulia Ruditskaya.

Cinematography: Yulia Ruditskaya

Composer: Izzy Gliksberg

Editor: Yulia Ruditskaya

Producer: David Lindner Leporda

BERNARD

Poland / 2017 / 06’ 10’’

A short story about loneliness, maladjustment and the desperate need of closeness, set in a severe winter landscape. Bernard faces the stereotype of an animal predator, one you wouldn’t cross paths with. Feeling resigned, he tries to express the truth about his isolation, and suppress the call of nature in him.

Anna Oparkowska - graduated from Academy of Art in Gdansk with a diplomma in animation. Experienced illustrator and graphic designer. She’s been working with Grupa Smacznego for 5 years on such projects as Mami Fatale, Bear Me, Basia and others, in storyboarding, 2D animation, visual development. Bernard is her original short and her directorial debut.

Director: Anna Oparkowska

Writer: Anna Oparkowska, Łukasz Kacprowicz

Animation: Matteo Ciompalini (Mateusz Ciompała), Jakub Szczęśniak, Piotr Bartosik, Andrzej Kruczała, Anna Oparkowska

Composer: Mikołaj Trzaska

Editor: Tomasz Halski

Producer: Grupa Smacznego / GS

Animation

CARLOTTA’S FACE

Germany / 2018 / 05’00’’

Watching herself in the mirror, Carlotta each day views the face of a different woman.

Valentin Riedl is a physician and neuroscientist studying the complexity of the human brain. For his endeavor to merge abstract science with the artistic form of film. Frédéric Schuld studied at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne and founded the studio “Fabian&Fred” with Fabian Driehorst in 2011. He mainly works as a director and animator on short films, animation and documentaries. For both directors “Carlotta’s Face” is their first animated film as directors.

Director: Valentin Riedl, Frédéric Schuld

Writer: Valentin Riedl, Frédéric Schuld

Animation: Frédéric Schuld

Cinematography: Frédéric Schuld

Composer: Simon Bastian

Editor: Valentin Riedl, Frédéric Schuld

Producer: Fabian Driehorst

CONFINO

Italy / 2016 / 11’00’’

Sicily, fascist period. A shadow show performer is confined in an island with a lighthouse because during one of his show he uses his art to make fun of Mussolini. A fortuitous event along with his art will redeem him from loneliness and captivity.

Nico Bonomolo Born in 1974 in Palermo. After graduating in Law, he devotes full time to painting (his paintings are in many private and public collections), graphic design, illustration, up to experience, as selftaught, animated cinema. With his short films, he received numerous awards and approval in Italy and abroad. He lives and works in Bagheria.

Director: Nico Bonomolo

Writer: Nico Bonomolo

Animation: Nico Bonomolo

Composer: Gioacchino Balistreri

Editor: Nico Bonomolo

Producer: Nico Bonomolo, Lucky Red

ETHNOPHOBIA

Albania / Greece / 2016 / 14’20’’

Survival, clash and symbiosis go side by side; all accompanied by bursts of joy and pain as a result of man’s internal need to find and exaggerate differences when similarities are obviously greater.

Joan Zhonga is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts of Albania. He has worked in the film and TV industry as a director and animator and he currently works for the national Greek broadcaster, ERT. Throughout his career, he has written and directed 13 short films and tv specials some of which have been screened and awarded at the film festivals of Annecy, Prague, Hirosima, and others.

Director: Joan Zhonga

Writer: Petros Koskinas

Animation: Joan Zhonga

Cinematography: Joan Zhonga

Composer: Vanias Apergis

Editor: Irida Zhonga

Producer: Irida Zhonga, Manolis Sakkadakis

Cast: Thanassis Tsaltabasis, Giorgos Frantzaskakis, Afroditi Georgousi

FLATMAN

Switzerland / 2018 / 14’04’’

Flatman – a drawn character – comes to life, flees from his illustrator and falls in love with Caramelle. His longing for freedom clashes with the will of his creator. But is the designer’s will really as free as he believes? The boundaries between creator and creature fall apart and suddenly nothing is as it seems.

Philipp Bürge, born in 1974, lives and works in Berne, Switzerland. After an apprenticeship as a structural engineer he went on to study at the Swiss Jazz School, which brought him to found and manage a music school for eight years. He then became an advertiser and illustrator. Since 2003 he owns an advertising company. He taught himself the stop motion technique and released his first short film RECENTLY IN THE STUDIO in 2010. Between 2012 and 2018 his newest film FLATMAN was created.

Director: Philipp Bürge

Writer: Philipp Bürge

Animation: Philipp Bürge

Cinematography: Philipp Bürge

Composer: Philipp Bürge

Editor: Philipp Bürge

Producer: Philipp Bürge

Cast: Christine Hasler, Philipp Bürge, Paul Drzimalla, Francis Grand, Paolo Polesello, Erwin Wälti

FRAMED

Italy / 2017 / 07’00’’

Framed is a noir animated short-film, which investigates the role of the individual in society. In an anonymous police station, F.K. asks the Law for help in the attempt to report the abuses he has been through: his birth, his formation, his forced work. He will end up stuck in an endless nightmare.

Marco Jemolo (1985) graduated in History of Cinema at Università La Sapienza, writing a final essay focused on parallel worlds in animated movies and attended a three months filmmaking workshop at the New York Film Academy in 2007. Since 2006, he has been working in films, theatre and TV as a Director and Assistant Director. In 2013 Marco moved to London, where he lives and runs his video production company. His documentary Le città di Roma has been awarded with the Jury Prize at the ArtDoc Festival 2014 and has been screened at the MAXXI (Museo delle Arti del XXI secolo).

Director: Marco Jemolo

Writer: Marco Jemolo, Paola Savinelli

Animation: Nicoletta Cataldo, Grey Ladder, Eleonora Diana, Marco Jemolo, Linda Kelvnik

Cinematography: Umberto Costamagna

Composer: Alessandro Marrosu

Editor: Marco Jemolo

Producer: Nicoletta Cataldo, Grey Ladder, Eleonora Diana, Marco Jemolo

Cast: Guglielmo Favilla, Dario Penne

LOST PROPERTY OFFICE

Australia / 2017 / 09’ 45’’

Ed is a meticulous and thorough custodian of a large city transit’s Lost Property Office. In many ways Ed is as lost as the items he is tasked to look after. Alone, in the basement office, he is kept company by a tiny toy robot and an old gramophone. It also becomes clear that Ed been made redundant, it seems nobody needs the Lost Property Office much anymore. Rather than abandon his beloved Lost Property Office and all the forgotten relics he has cared for, he decides to re-appropriate them. What emerges from the darkened basement is wondrous and whimsical.

Daniel Agdag is a cardboard sculptor and filmmaker. He is a graduate of the VCA and has made several short films. He won the Dendy Award for “Most Innovative Short Film” at the Sydney Film Festival for his 6 min animated short Paper City Architects and was nominated for an AFI Award for “Best Short Animation”.

Director: Daniel Agdag

Writer: Daniel Agdag

Animation: Pierce Davison

Cinematography: Daniel Agdag

Composer/ Music: CW Stoneking

Editor: Melanie Etchell - Digital FX and Colourist

Producer: Liz Kearney

MERMAIDS AND RHINOS

Hungary / 2017 / 15’34’’

Eight-year-old Tilda’s memories of her family as surrealistic visions come into life: the circus member ex-mermaid grandmother, the erotically overheated mother and the disappeared father whose broken heart, anger and jealousy manifest as a rhino. The acts of present and the past are in constant metamorphoses and transformation. The characters overstep their own and the surrounding world’s physical borders. Tilda’s life is full of grotesque, bizarre characters hungry for love. The atmosphere of wistfulness, desire, passion and sorrow frame the story.

Education: 2002-2008 MOME, animation department, 2006 ESAD, Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. Awards for her films: Best Animation Jury Award, 4th Delhi Shorts International Film Festival, 2015; Best Animated Short Film, San Diego International Kid’s Film Festival, 2015; Grand Prix Early Melons, Early Melons Festival, Bratislava; The Best Figurative Decision Open St. Petersburg Film Festival.

Director: Viktória Traub

Writer: Polett Dus, Dorka Gergely, Traub

Viktória

Animation: Viktória Traub

Composer: Chris Allan Tod

Sound design: Zoltán Vadon

Editor: Brigitta Bacskai, Lajos Polecsák

Producer: Polett Dus

NOCTURNE

Germany / 2016 / 05’19’’

At night the forest creatures gather to gamble, putting their innermost at stake.

Anne Breymann is an independent director, puppet maker and animator based in Berlin. Since graduating from the Kassel School of Art and Design she has been working as a freelancer for international animated film and tv productions. She received Artist in Residence grants from the Netherlands Institute for Animation film, the Abbey of Fontevraud in France and the Finnish Saari Residence.

Director: Anne Breymann

Writer: Anne Breymann

Animation: Anne Breymann

Cinematography: Björn Ullrich, Anne Breymann

Composer: Adam Pultz Melbye, Paul Stapleton

Editor: Anne Breymann

Producer: Anne Breymann

SOPHIA

Canada / 2017 / 10’54’’

The short-film Sophia, is a modern fairy tale of sorts, it conveys the universal story of how easy it is to become a prisoner of one’s own illusion.

Zsofia Opra-Szabo is an emerging new filmmaker with background in theatre design. Originally from Hungary, Budapest, Zsofia is interested in crossing the boundaries between theatre, film and puppetry. Her stop-motion animation short-film was influenced by her original experimental art project. For her project “Sophia”, Zsofia has received funding from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts as well as Edmonton Arts council and FAVA- Film and Video Society, Alberta. Currently, Zsofia is working as a stop motion animation filmmaker and works as a theatre designer in Alberta.

Director: Zsofia Opra-Szabo

Writer: Zsofia Opra-Szabo

Animation: Zsofia Opra-Szabo

Cinematography: Zsofia Opra-Szabo

Composer: Gregory Mulyk

Editor: Zsofia Opra-Szabo

Producer: Eva Colmers

THE GAP

Belgium / Netherlands / 2016 / 14’41’’

Man is a cubical shaped figure who rectifies all bumps and humps in order to keep his desolate world flat. His confrontation with a little red ball, that loves to create gigantic holes, messes up his ideal of a perfect straight world.

Patrick Vandebroeck studied animation at the RITCS in Brussels. After graduating in 1994, he started as an all-round animator in a famous animation studio in Brussels on different idents for TV and commercials and later he became director. In 1998 he received his first CCB award for best graphics in a commercial. In the projects he did after were also more live action involved in mixture with graphics and animation. Since 2000 he directed various international corporate movies and won different golden awards at international corporate festivals. The Gap is his first short.

Director: Patrick Vandebroeck

Writer: Patrick Vandebroeck, Raf Wathion

Animation: Sam Verschraegen, Marie-laure Guisset, Maarten Van Rooy

Composer: Ted Milton, Sam Britton, Will Worsley

Editor: Patrick Vandebroeck, Raf Wathion

Producer: Viviane Vanfleteren, Marco

Levantaci, Marc Thelosen, Koert Davidse

THE HERMIT

Spain / 2018 / 15’00’’

Strong storms ravage an inhospitable place, in the middle there’s a strange warrior, armed and prepared for combat but he suffers a rare metamorphosis before a world for which he’s not prepared.

Raúl Díez, was born in Asturias, Spain. He develops his activity in the city of Valencia, Spain. He is a specialist in stop motion with international awards. In 1997 he founded Pasozebra Company with his brother Daniel Díez. In 1999 he develops chapters for Sesam Street (CTW). In 2003 he filmed the short film Sr. Trapo / Mr. Cloth, with the prize of the Goya Spanish Film Academy, for best animated short film. In 2004 he filmed the series for Disney, Felix At The Machine, USA Parens Award. In 2005 he was awarded the gold prize for advertising effectiveness. In 2018 he films the short film El Ermitaño / The Hermit, with the nomination of the Goya Spanish film academy, for best animated short film.

Director: Raúl Díez

Writer: Raúl Díez

Animation: Francisco F. Dapena, Raúl Diez

Cinematography: Raúl Díez

Composer: Sergi Rajadell

Editor: Raúl Díez

Producer: Daniel Díez

WEASEL

Slovenia / 2017 / 11’ 35’’

A hungry Weasel attacks a flock of birds living on a last standing tree. The flock in the treetop is trying to keep the tree in balance, while persistent Weasel tries to climb up its trunk. Fragile balance of the tree is in danger and Weasel’s stomach gets louder. It manages to climb into a trunk and induces panic and fear in the treetop. But then a catastrophe turns into something completely unexpected.

Timon Leder (1986) works in animation and pedagogy. He upgraded his academic knowledge in animation directing school in France (La Poudriere). During his studies, his debutant animated short Work (with Urban Breznik) circled on more than 25 festivals. When studying, Timon created 9 animated shorts and animated many others, wrote a degree on children’s comprehension of film language, and cooperated on creation of the first manual for animation for schools and kindergardens. Podlasica/Weasel is his first professional animated short film.

Director: Timon Leder

Writer: Timon Leder, Kaja Balog

Animation: Timon Leder, Zarja Menart, Lea Vucko

Composer: Mateja Staric, Matija Krivec

Producer: Jure Vizjak

WOOLWORLD

Poland / 2018 / 10’00’’

Have you ever wondered what live would be in a world made of wool? In Woolworld, people, animals and everything that surrounds them is made of wool and all is closely tied together. The only person capable of making sure that Woolworld functions smoothly is Mr. Wooly. He is, however, old and tired and he wants his life to change. Unfortunately... his wish gets granted.

She is a director of more than 100 animated films of which more than 25 realized with and for children. Born in Lublin (POLAND). Studies at the Department of Multimedia Communication at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan. In 2003 defended her MA diploma – specialized in animated film. In 2011 received her PhD of fine arts (film animation) in MCSU in Lublin.

Director: Joanna Polak

Writer: Joanna Polak

Animation: Joanna Polak

Cinematography: Joanna Polak

Composer: Mariusz Ostański

Editor: Joanna Polak

Producer: Joanna Polak

Cast: Tomasz Bielawiec, Marcin Jakóbczyk, Kinga Ludwik, Marta Micał

YELLOW

Slovakia / 2017 / 06’45’’

Yellow is a metaphoric story of young women who struggles between self-control and spontaneity, sorrow and joy, violet and yellow. Violet represents her effort and self-control. She is an opera singer and she loves music but in sake of her career she sacrifices her desires, her joy and vital energy – literally she looses her breath.

Ivana Šebestová graduated from animated film at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. Her master’s film Lionardo Mio (2005) won the Bologna European Festival of Film Schools. She gained many national and international awards for her short films Four (Štyri, 2007) and Snow (Sneh, 2013). Together with Katarína Kerekesová she created an educational film for the Slovak National Museum How I Went with Grandpa to Visit the Ancestors (Ako som šiel s dedkom na návštevu k predkom, 2010). Ivana Šebestová illustrated several books for children and currently she is working on TV special Mimi & Lisa Christmas Lights Mystery.

Director: Ivana Šebestová

Writer: Ivana Šebestová & Katarína Moláková

Animation: Ivana Šebestová, Martina Frajstaková

Composer: Michal Novinski

Producer: Katarína Kerekesová, Ivana Laučíková

BEST NATIONAL FILM CATEGORY: FICTION

CLOTHES

Bulgaria / 2016 / 23’ 23’’

The short film ‘Clothes’ follows the relationship between two brothers, who have recently lost their father. The loss unites them and they made their first attempts to overcome the alienation, accumulated over the years, while collecting and throwing out the clothes of their father from their family home.

Vesselin Boydev was born in 1974 in Sofia. He graduated directing for puppet theater at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in the class of professor Slavcho Malenov and specialized film and TV directing in the class of academic Lyudmil Staykov. Vesselin is an author and director of more than 25 puppet shows (for adults and kids) presented at festivals in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Germany, Turkey, Russia, China. In 2018 he was awarded with IKAR award for best puppet theatrical play. The short fiction “Drehi” (“Clothes”) is his debut film.

Director: Vesselin Boydev

Writer: Vesselin Boydev

Cinematography: Vesselin Hristov

Composer: Vlado Kovachev

Editor: Stoyan Velinov

Producer: Katya Trichkova/Contrast films

Cast: Dimitar Nikolov, Fillip Avramov, Nelly Monedjikova

KOLIVA

Macedonia / Bulgaria / 2017 / 24’ 10’’

Dana’s daily routine of a housewife is shaken when her long gone lover shows up on the traditional pig slaughter day …

ANDREY is born 1985 in Macedonia. He graduated film directing at NATFA in Sofia, Bulgaria. His short documentary NOTHING IN THE AIR, premiered at SOFIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. His graduation project KINDER SURPRISE, was awarded the Audience Award at the SIFF. A medium length musical comedy SHUSH.. SING TO ME premiered at the VILNIUS IFF2014 and is already enjoying a cult status in Bulgaria. The same year he participated BERLINALE TALENTS and SARAJEVO TALENTS. His short script “FICUS” was selected in the program SARAJEVO, CITY OF FILM and will be produced and premiered at the upcoming edition of SARAJEVO IFF 2018.

Director: Andrey Ilievski Volkashin

Writer: Andrey Ilievski Volkashin

Cinematography: Kiril Prodanov

Composer: Igor Vasilev Novogradska

Editor: Nevelin Vulchev

Producer: Elena Staniseva (VEDA FILM Productions MK), Krastyo Lambev (Concept Studio, BG)

Cast: Labina Mitevska, Joana Popovska

LEA

Bulgaria / 2017 / 09’ 30’’

Lea is a story about broken relationships and their consequences, intertwined with the love affair between a man and a young girl. …

Pavel Pavlov is a director based in Sofia, Bulgaria. His work is concentrated on short movies, music videos and commercials.

Director: Pavel Pavlov

Writer: Thea Denoljubova

Cinematography: Viktor Tzankov

Composer: Pavel Pavlov

Editor: Pavel Pavlov

Producer: Pavel Pavlov

Cast: Aya Mutafchieva, Maria Sotirova, Koyna Ruseva, Stefan Denoljubov

REFLECTIONS FULL OF LIFE

Bulgaria / Netherlands / 2017 / 26’ 30’’

Teenage girl Kim is looking for true love, when she accidentally finds a door to a parallel reality and finds out that some love stories only happen in other dimensions.

Marieta Petchanska is a script writer, film director, music video director and a journalist. She lives in Barcelona and works as a creative director at Mala Rodruigez and a senior editor at Playground Magazine.

Director: Marieta Petchanska

Writer: Marieta Petchanska

Animation: Corrado Podda

Cinematography: Dimitar Nedelchev

Composer: Ivo Paunov

Editor: Marieta Petchanska

Producer: Denis Mujovic

Cast: Kristina Kulish, Galin Naidenov, Lubomir Simeonov

ROBBERY

Bulgaria / 2017 / 27’ 15’’

Sofia at night, quiet neighborhood, old house. A young man and his pregnant girlfriend are committing a robbery. Things get out of control, there’s somebody in the house. Are the valuable paintings the only reason they are robbing this house exactly?…

Maria Nikolova is a Bulgarian director and writer. She’s directed the children TV shows “Fairy tales about physics”, “Fairy tales about astronomy” and “Hello, Mr. Jasmin”, broadcasted by the Bulgarian National TV, the short film “Yellow Dog” and the documentaries “The Magic Mirror of Lyuben Zidarov” and “DAGA –Stories in Pictures”. She has several international prizes as screenwriter and director.

Director: Maria Nikolova

Writer: Maria Nikolova

Animation: Sotir Gelev

Cinematography: Wojteh Todorow

Editor: Maria Nikolova

Producer: Penko Gelev, Sotir Gelev

Cast: Vasil Banov, Alexander Uzunov, Martina Peneva

SHAME

Bulgaria / 2017 / 24’ 00’’

Macho is a poor boy, who skips school to work on a construction site. The only ray of light for him is his girlfriend, Donna .Yet, she is ashamed of his mother, who works as janitor in their school. Macho has to choose between his mother and his love, and he finds his own way to deal with his emotions.

Born in 1988, graduates as film director in 2014.

He worked as assistant director in numerous Bulgarian and foreign film productions and commercial videos. In recent years his articles on films by Jean-Luc Godard, Bruno Dumont, A. Sokurov, Mike Leigh, Inarritu have been published in cultural newspapers and magazines.

Awarded Best debut for 2017 for his novel “Hersey, two rhinoceros” and in 2018 received EFA nomination from Clermont-Ferrand ISFF with his short film SHAME.

Director: Petar Krumov

Writer: Petar Krumov

Cinematography: Georgi Georgiev

Editor: Elena Seimenova

Producer: Rossitsa Valkanova

Cast: Zdravko Moskov, Monika Asparuhova

TIMMY

Bulgaria / Germany / Belgium / 2018 / 15’ 00’’

When an alienated mother returns to Bulgaria to abduct her own 12-years-old son, she learns that it is not always easy to avoid making the same mistakes. She is determined not to leave her son again. Is it possible to leave your child… twice?

Lyubo Yonchev is award winning director, writer and producer born on 16.02.1983 in Pleven, Bulgaria. He graduated film directing from New Bulgarian University. His professional debut is the short fiction film “SHOOTING STAR” which has been nominated for the 29th European Film Awards 2016, selected and awarded at many international festivals. Lyubo Yonchev becomes a member of the Bulgarian Association of Film Directors. Since 2016 he is a member of European Film Academy. In 2017 Lyubo Yonchev has been selected as participant in 11th Talents Sarajevo.

Director: Lyubo Yonchev

Writer: Lyubo Yonchev

Cinematography: Rosen Savkov

Composer: Alexander Kostov

Editor: Lyubo Kirov

Producer: Lyubo Yonchev, Ivo Nikolov, Irina Gurova, Fabian Driehorst

Cast: Silvia Petkova, Konstantin GerginovTimmy, Stoyan Tsvetkov

TRIALS

Bulgaria / 2017 / 28’ 28’’

Rumen (21) was born in Syria, where his mother was killed, because his father is a Bulgarian, a Christian. Rumen grows in Bulgaria, raised by his father Bogdan 64. He wants to enter the Police Academy. Two days before the exam, Rumen is involved in a quarrel between his best friend Viktor and Syrian refugee. Half Syrian, half Bulgarian, Rumen was faced with a difficult choice. Rumen becomes a victim of his own prejudice and, instead of the ranks of the Police Academy, gets arrested.

Boya Harizanova was born on May 10th 1981 in Ruse, Bulgaria. After graduating as a journalist at Sofia University, she entered the National Academy of Theater and Film Arts in Sofia as a film director. During her educational years in NATFA she filmed four documentaries and two feature movies. Each of them is selected at national and international film festivals.

Director: Boya Harizanova

Writer: Boya Harizanova

Cinematography: Viktor Roev

Composer: Ivo Ignatov

Editor: Bohós Topakbashian

Producer: Petar Harizanov

Cast: Haled Kanhush, Yazan Hakim, Tammam Hakim, Georgy Gotsin

TRIALS

Bulgaria / 2017 / 13’ 00’’

Victor wakes up in a parking with a plastic bag on his head. A beautiful girl is sitting on a chair in the distance. They are surrounded by many ugly men who quietly observe Victor’s motions. One by one, he makes small steps to reach her but he should not wake up the Mask.

Lyubomir Pechev graduated in Film and TV directing in National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts. His works were selected for numerous festivals such as: Semaine de la Critique 2010, Festival de Cannes; 33 VGIK International Festival; Trieste Film festival; International Video Art Festival of Casablanca; Vukovar film festival; Festival for independent cinema; Festival International de Esculas de cine; Sofia International Film Fest; Bulgarian Feature Film Festival Golden Rose; He works as a director for B2Y productions and has directed many music videos, documentaries, commercials.

Director: Lyubomir Pechev

Writer: Lyubomir Pechev

Cinematography: Petko Lungov

Composer: Adrian Gougov

Editor: Bogomil Georgiev

Producer: MIlena Kaleva, Alexander Kenanov

Co-producer: Angel Ivanov

Cast: Leonid Yovchev, Iva Yankulova, Antoni Davidov

TRUST EXERCISE

Bulgaria / 2018 / 06’ 46’’

Music reporter Milla and cameraman Bobby return from a rock concert. Bobby has had a long time crush on Milla. But she has neither noticed his interest, nor is looking for a relationship. With her headphones always on, she is inaccessible to his attempts to win her over. When finally there is a chance for him to reveal his feelings, she relentlessly puts him to a Trust exercise. Will Bobby pass the exam?. …

In 2000 Vilma Kartalska finished her acting studies at Theatre College “Luben Groys”. Since 2012 she works as a producer, director, scriptwriter in the field of short films. Her project “Janne of Love” won multiple international awards. In 2015 she founded the production company “Raiza Vilm Productions”Ltd. At the moment she is completing her MA in Directing Film&TV at New Bulgarian University.

Director: Vilma Kartalska

Writer: Vilma Kartalska

Cinematography: Ivailo Tsvetkov

Editor: Lyubo Kirov

Producer: Vilma Kartalska

Cast: Vilma Kartalska, Stoyan Tsvetkov

BEST NATIONAL FILM CATEGORY: ANIMATION

BANGO VASSIL

Bulgaria / 2016 / 08’ 41’’

On the afternoon of January 14th a girl claims, that it is the New Year’s eve! Is it true? This is the story of one unexpected and different New Year’s Eve, the journey of two kids on the shoulder of a giant and the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Milen Vitanov was born 1978 in Prague (Czech Republic) and raised in Sofia (Bulgaria). He spent many days and nights drawing on his first self-made light box. He graduated Animation from the University of Film and Television HFF ‘Konrad Wolf’ in Potsdam (Germany) in 2007. He committed himself to the alchemy of 2D/3D mixtures.

Director: Milen Vitanov

Writer: Vera Trajanova, Milen Vitanov

Animation: Marie Josephine Tucholski, Ulf Grenzer, Milen Vitanov

Cinematography: Olaf Aue

Composer: Ivo Papazov

Editor: Jens Prausnitz

Producer: Milen Vitanov, Samuel Weikopf

Cast: Donka Emilova, Martin Tchotchev, Georgi Djilianov

GRANDMOTHER

Bulgaria / 2017 / 06’13’’

A house, a tree, a grandmother- somewhere far away. A film about the little things, a film about the things that we love. A story so close and authentic that makes us think: what do we lose in our permanently busy daily lives. And what do we sacrifice by moving to the big city, looking for a better life.

education: 1992-1997 National school of fine arts “Ilia Petrov” 1997-2005 National academy for theater and film arts “Krastyo Sarafov” master‘s degree: animation director, class of Donyo Donev.

Director: Roza Kolchagova

Writer: Roza Kolchagova

Animation: Dimitar Dimitrov

Cinematography: Dimitar Dimitrov

Composer: Samuel Pocreau

Editor: Dimitar Dimitrov

Producer: Neli Gacharova

HAPPINESS

Bulgaria / 2018 / 06’ 00’’

A film about the crushing power of the ordinary, everyday life, which inevitably devours the dreams, the love, and the belief in the extraordinary. A life which means death to the artist.…

Dimitar Dimitrov was born on March 30th 1975 Sofia Buglaria. He gets his Master degree as an Animation Director at NATFA in 2003 graduating from Professor Donyo Donev‘s class.

Director: Dimitar Dimitrov

Writer: Dilyan Elenkov

Animation: Dimitar Dimitrov

Cinematography: Dimitar Dimitrov

Composer: Samuel Pocreau

Editor: Dimitar Dimitrov

Producer: Neli Gacharova

Cast: Samuel Pocreau, Leonid Yovchev

THE RETARDED CHILD

Bulgaria / 2016 / 0’ 59’’

Story about extraordinary child in ordinary world / Film painted on smartphone.

Dimitar Dimitrov was born on March 30th 1975 Sofia Buglaria. He gets his Master degree as an Animation Director at NATFA in 2003 graduating from Professor Donyo Donev‘s class.

Director: Dimitar Dimitrov

Writer: Dilyan Elenkov

Animation: Dimitar Dimitrov

Cinematography: Dimitar Dimitrov

Composer: Dimitar Dimitrov

Editor: Dimitar Dimitrov

Producer: Neli Gacharova

Cast: Dimitar Dimitrov

UGLY FAIRY TALE

Bulgaria / 2017 / 11’ 00’’

Innovation handmade embroidery. Man and Woman spend their days in pointless arguments. One day their little House is fed up with their never ending quarrels and runs away.

Radostina Neykova is Assoc. Professor, PhD in the Institute of Arts Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Science and teaching “Dramaturgy of animated film” and “Animation techniques” in the NATFA. Radostina is the director of the awards wined animated shorts. And illustrator of children’s books in Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Director: Radostina Neykova

Writer: Radostina Neykova, Georgi Merdzhanov

Animation: Radostina Neykova, Liliana Stojanova

Cinematography: Blagoy Kostov

Composer: Petko Manchev

Editor: Radostina Neykova, Nina Altaparmakova

Producer: Hristo Hristov

DOCUMENTARY & EXPERIMENTAL COMPETITION

BEST DOCUMENTARY CATEGORY

CHILDLESS

Bulgaria / 2018 / 10’ 10’’

Unable to give birth, a woman raises her adopted children who then care for her as she approaches her 100th birthday.

George Nicholas is a Bulgarian-American filmmaker, born in 1987 in Bratislava, Slovakia. He graduated from Bulgaria’s National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts in 2011. Since 2012, he has been living in Los Angeles with his wife and creative partner, Eliza Bonev.

Director: George Nicholas

Writer: George Nicholas

Cinematography: George Nicholas

Composer: Hristo Gerdzhikov, Kostadin

Gerdzhikov

Editor: George Nicholas

Producer: George Nicholas, Eliza Bonev

Cast: Bisera Stancheva

EN LA BOCA

Switzerland / 2016 / 25’ 00’’

In Buenos Aires, the Molina family lives and works in the shadows of the legendary Boca Juniors stadium. Selling fake tickets to the soccer games, they constantly get in conflict with the corrupt police. As her family sinks deeper into this underworld, the mother tries in vain to keep them all from falling apart.

Matteo Gariglio is a Swiss documentary filmmaker and photographer, born in Lucerne, Switzerland. He studied visual communications with specialisation on video at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. In 2015 he graduated from the Universidade Lusofona de Humanidades e Tecnologias in Lisbon, the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest and the LUCA School of Arts in Brussels in the frame of the Docnomads Master Course in documentary filmmaking.

Director: Matteo Gariglio

Writer: Matteo Gariglio

Cinematography: Andi Widmer

Composer: Dominik Blumer, Thomi Christ, Roman Lerch

Editor: Thais Odermatt

Producer: Matteo Gariglio

IT’S NOT SILENCE

Finland / 2018 / 25’ 00’’

Far north, in the isles of Svalbard, is a small town called Pyramiden that was once the finest model of communism. Now the former home of Soviet workers is almost empty - but not completely abandoned. Every year thousands of tourists come to see the town of Pyramiden. Nine people live in Pyramiden to serve the tourists. The residents of Pyramiden live without Internet or telephone connections. It’s Not Silence is a story of people who have chosen a slower way of life. The abandoned houses filled with items from the past raise a question: what is truly worth concentrating on in our lives?

Joonas Salo (b. 1991) is a Finnish photojournalist who started his career as a freelancer photographer in 2011. Currently he works as a staff photographer for Finland’s biggest newspaper. It’s Not Silence is his first documentary film. It was born out of his interest in abandoned places.

Director: Joonas Salo

Writer: Joonas Salo

Cinematography: Joonas Salo

Composer: Tommi J. Vieno

Editor: Joonas Salo

Producer: Joonas Salo

JOE BOOTS

USA / 2017 / 29’ 50’’

Under the impression of the 9/11 attacks Joe Boots, the film’s protagonist, joined the military right out of high school. Shortly after, he was deployed to fight in Iraq. After returning to his hometown of Pittsburgh, he realized that his war experiences left him permanently changed. Joe tells the story of his slowly unraveling trauma and what it feels like to live with invisible wounds that others can hardly empathize with. The film seeks to illuminate the inner conflicts that veterans experience throughout their reintegration by following Joe’s individual struggle and life in Pittsburgh.

Florian Baron took first steps as a filmmaker in high school. 2004-2006 he lived in Japan and worked on film and video art projects. 2007-2012 studied Directing at the University for Film and TV “Konrad Wolf” in Potsdam. He directed “RADIO TAXI” for ARTE and graduated with “THE FINAL CALL”. In 2015 he funded the production company Machnitzky Filmproduktion.

Director: Florian Baron

Cinematography: Johannes Waltermann

Composer: Fatima Camara, Jana Irmert

Editor: Maja Tennstedt

Producer: Florian Baron

Cast: Joe Boots

MERYEM

Netherlands / 2017 / 15’ 50’’

Filmed during the battle of Kobani, this film reveals the women at the heart of the fight against IS. With stoical perseverance and the aid of American airstrikes, these women are leading the fight for freedom.

Reber Dosky (1975, Dohuk/Kurdistan) is a Kurdish-Dutch filmmaker. Living in The Netherlands since 1998, he went studied film direction at the Netherlands Film Academy. He completed his studies with The Call (2013), about the impact of war and displacement on the relation between a father and a son.

Director: Reber Dosky

Writer: Reber Dosky

Cinematography: Reber Dosky

Composer: Taco Drijfhout, Huibert Boon

Editor: Rémi van der Heiden

Producer: Jos de Putter

MON AMOUR, MON AMI

France / Italy / 2017 / 14’ 30’’

Daniela and Fouad live in Gubbio. She is from Bari and he is from Casablanca. Now that Fouad needs a residency permit, in order to get access to the health assistance he needs, he proposes to Daniela. She seems fine with the idea but just a few days before the wedding, the ambiguity of Fouad’s feelings starts worrying her. Is it possible to stage a wedding with someone who really loves you?

After a BA in Law and film studies at Marco Bellocchio’s workshops, Adriano moved to France and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts at EICAR, The International Film School of Paris. In 2004, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Nenad Didzarevic at EICAR, and is currently Head Professor of the Fast Track Section and Professor of Film Analysis. He is also a lecturer at the Istituto Marangoni (Paris), the Libanese Academy of Fine Arts (Beirut), and the IHB Artmedia (Casablanca).He lives in Paris and works as a freelance director and screenwriter.

Director: Adriano Valerio

Cinematography: Diego Romero Suarez-Llanos

Editor: Alice Roffinengo

Producer: Pauline Seigland, Lionel Massol, Marco Alessi, Giulia Achilli

Cast: Daniela Brandi, Fouad Miftah

NATURAL LIGHT: VIVI’S STORY

Canada / 2017 / 08’ 52’’

Culinary photographer Vivi D’Angelo reveals her relationship with the subject of her art.

Ivy is a filmmaker with a BA.H in film studies from Queen’s University. While working for NHK in Tokyo, Japan, she made Kore Kara: From Now On (2013) a documentary about kids affected by the 3/11 tsunami. In 2014, she graduated from L’institut national de l’image et du son in Montreal, Quebec. As for her short fiction films, L’Olivier (2014) was acquired by the CBC/SRC while Point de mire (2014) screened at many festivals worldwide. Natural Light: Vivi’s Story (2017) is her second documentary.

Director: Ivy Yukiko Ishihara Oldford

Writer: Ivy Yukiko Ishihara Oldford & Feven Ghebremariam

Cinematography: Ivy Yukiko Ishihara

Oldford

Composer: John Gredin & Jean-Philippe Côté

Editor: Ivy Yukiko Ishihara Oldford

Producer: Ivy Yukiko Ishihara Oldford

Cast: Vivi D’Angelo

RAKIJADA - DISTILLATED VILLAGE TALES

Serbia / Switzerland / 2016 / 18’ 45’’

From the heart of Serbia comes a story of an Eastern Asterix and Obelix saga: Every May-Rakijada takes place - championship that is all about who can drink the most. A portray of a sleepy Chetnik village that shines a new light on the Serbian soul.

1977 born in Belgrade. From 2007 lives and works as a Director and DOP between Switzerland and Serbia. Nominated for the Swiss Film Award 2016/2018 - Best Short. Winner Film Award of Central Switzerland and Zurich Film Award. Member of the Swiss Film Academy and Pro Short. Currently working on his first feature documentary and several shorts.

Director: Nikola Ilić

Writer: Nikola Ilić

Animation: Samuel J. Bucheli

Cinematography: Nikola Ilić, Brand Ferro

Composer: Heidi Happy

Editor: Rolf Hellat

Producer: Laurin Merz

ROAD TO GLORY

Switzerland / 2016 / 15’ 00’’

Yoann is a talented young boxer from Lausanne’s working-class Bourdonnette neighbourhood. With the support of his family and his coach, he travels to Copenhagen to pursue the world championship title belt.

Bruno Pereira was born in Portugal, he moved to Switzerland in 1994. He produced a handful of commercials howned in cinemas and television. He is one of the “Studio Meublé” founding member. He’s specialised in creating humoristic web series. Luc Godonou Dossou was born in Paris, he moved to Switzerland in 2002. Fashion designer, he created his own concept “I AM SHY”, gathering fashion, music and cinema. He met Bruno on a “web serie” shooting. His first ever short-fiction movie of 15 minutes named “Juste une danse” was made in 2015 with Darius Kehtari and Chantal Baroin as actress.

Director: Bruno Pereira, Luc Godonou

Dossou

Writer: Luc Godonou Dossou

Cinematography: Bruno Pereira, Luc

Godonou Dossou

Composer: Bruno Pereira

Editor: Bruno Pereira

Producer: Bruno Pereira, Luc Godonou Dossou

SAND MEN

United Kingdom / 2016 / 13’ 56’’

Neculai, Aurel and Raj all left their homes in Romania for the same reason - to seek a better life for their family. Now, in Britain, with their loved ones depending on them, they survive by creating sand sculptures on London’s streets.

Tal Amiran is an award winning director and editor based in London, UK. His films have screened at numerous festivals including AFI Docs, Cinequest, Big Sky Documentary Film festival, Savannah Film Festival and Brooklyn Film Festival, winning Best Documentary Short at several festivals including Sarasota Film festival and London Short Film festival. Tal’s films have been showcased by Vimeo Staff Pick and Nowness as well as being acquired by the BFI National Archive. Tal is also a lecturer on the Film and Moving Image BA at Norwich University of the Arts, UK.

Director: Tal Amiran

Cinematography: Tal Amiran

Composer: Oli Harrison

Editor: Tal Amiran

Producer: Tal Amiran

THE THEFT

Sweden / 2018 / 15’ 04’’

An anthropology student travels to the pacific island of Samoa - where private property does not existto study its economic system, which she admires. But, barely arrived in the hotel, her clothes get stolen. The theft sets her off on a furious odyssey to emotionally and intellectually comprehend the meaning of “sharing” – an odyssey that brings her from sea turtles to the winner of Samoan Idol, has her received by the prime minister and barely avoiding a tsunami, and finally forces her to join the local soccer team. THE THEFT is an ironic documentary about why we in the West love our possessions and are bad at sharing our resources.

Anna and Louise are sisters and have worked together in theatre, anthropology, photography and now in film. The Theft is their first film, which they shot on a research grant, doing anthropology in the Pacific. Anna works in film and theatre as producer, director, writer and actor.

Director: Anna Nevander, Louise Nevander

Writer: Anna Nevander, Louise Nevander, Mariachiara Salvi

Cinematography: Louise Nevander

Composer: Giorgio Giampà

Editor: Mariachiara Salvi

Producer: Anna Nevander

Cast: Tuilaepa Malielegaoi, Mark Sinone, Unasa Vaa, Anna Nevander, Louise Nevander

UNLOCK THE STAGE

Bulgaria / 2017 / 26’ 48’’

Nasko leaves his home in Bulgaria to study in the United States, and instantly falls in love with acting. During a trip back to his native country, he stumbles upon an abandoned theater in his grandparents’ village. With a vision to revive this forgotten stage space, Nasko organizes an international team of volunteers. However, there is a limited time frame and the majority is very sceptical. “Unlock the Stage” is a captivating tale about the bonds of tradition and friendship, the transformative power of dreams, and the courage to follow life’s most unexpected paths.

David Julius Roston is an independent filmmaker who focuses on social issues. Although David was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, he has worked on numerous international documentaries. He is currently developing ways to intertwine media and the arts as tools for public health interventions.

Director: David Julius Roston

Writer: David Julius Roston, Nasko Atanasov

Cinematography: David Julius Roston, Gabriela Gomez, Petar Krastanov

Composer: Adriel Borshansky

Editor: David Julius Roston

Producer: Nasko Atanasov

VULTURE’S LOVE

Bulgaria / 2016 / 06’ 07’’

Krasimir Manev, has been employed to guard the endangered species of Egyptian Vultures in Rusenski Lom Nature Park, Bulgaria since 2012. Through his masterful storytelling, Manev paints a picture of the love life of the vultures from his three years of observations of these mystical birds. Recounting the peculiarity of each couple’s courting rituals and care for their young, Manev reveals a rarely seen perspective of the prey birds that have traditionally been associated with ferocity and death.

Maia Iotzova is an artist and a filmmaker whose work explores our intimate connections in a world fragmented by social and political forces. She draws on her intercultural perspective and mixes art, documentary and experimental cinema techniques. Iotzova’s films and art project have been presented in festivals and exhibitions in North America, Australia, Asia and Europe. Her recent film ‘Green Dream’ (50 min, 2015) was awarded Best Feature Film at the 6th International Eco Fest, Romania, 2016.

Director: Maia Iotzova

Cinematography: Maia Iotzova

Editor: Maia Iotzova

Producer: Maia Iotzova

WHOLE TO PART

Iran / 2017 / 12’ 00’’

The gigantic iron statue of a despot is removed from the town square. The statue is smelted and the steel enters people’s life in form of different objects. Despotism enters people’s life in smaller scale and continues its existence.

DOB 31 jul 1985 Status Single Education 2005-2008 Art University –Tehran, Iran Bachelor Cinema: Director 2014 European Documentry Network – Tehran, Iran Certified documentary production workshop –Cinema Verite Festival

Director: Vahid Hosseini Nami

Writer: Vahid Hosseini Nami

Cinematography: Saeed Mohammad Panah

Composer: Mehran Pourmandan

Editor: Vahid Hosseinni Nami

Producer: Vahid Hosseini Nami (Iranian Young Cinema Society)

STUDENT COMPETITION

BEST STUDENT FICTION CATEGORY

14.74 OR THE PURSUIT OF MEDIOCRITY

Germany / 2017 / 16’ 30’’

Being normal just for once. That is the biggest wish of Damian, who has a heart disease. Because he turned 14.74 today, he wants his first proper kiss, as it is then that the average boy gets his first French kiss. Most preferably from the beautiful neighbour’s daughter Rosalie. She, however, is not interested in a boring evening on the couch watching films, thus the two of them break into a outdoor swimming pool. Damian does not know yet, that this night might have more in store than just the first kiss.

Antoine Dengler was born on 25th of August 1987 in Cologne/Germany. He grew up in Brühl near Cologne and did his graduation in Bonn. After his civilian in 2008 service he decided to work in the filmindustry. He worked as Script/Continuity and 1. AD for many production companies in Germany und Europe. Since 2012 he is studying Directing at the Filmakademie Baden – Württemberg.

Director: Antoine Dengler

Writer: Regina Dietl

Cinematograph: Christine Luedge

Composer: Marcel Walter

Editor: Moritz Poth

Producer: Tobias Ebner

Cast: Amelie Herres, Mateo Wansing Lorrio

A STATE OF EMERGENCY

France / 2016 / 12’ 00’’

This is a movie about a society in fear. It is the story of two soldiers in the everyday life of Paris guarding an official building. An abandoned bag, curious passants and a crazy tramp move the situation into its climax. The lines between normality and real danger disappear.

Born in Hamburg, Germany he discovered late his passion for cinema, but very early for telling storys. After his graduation from school he travelled several years in italy, spain and france, gaining his live with occasional work. When the wish appeared becoming a director he startet to do several internships in different departements such as working for a television company in Hamburg, the Schauspielhaus Hamburg theatre or filmequipment rentals. Since 2012 he studies fiction directing on the filmakademie Baden-Württemberg

Director: Tarek Roehlinger

Writer: Tarek Roehlinger, Andrej Sorin

Cinematography: Rafael Starman

Composer: Nicolai Krepart

Editor: Moritz Poth

Producer: Marisa Meier

Cast: Moussa Sylla, Remy Ferreira, Julien Courbey, Ridwane Bellawell

AAMIR

United Kingdom / 2017 / 16’ 22’’

13-year-old Aamir is stranded alone in the largest unofficial refugee camp in Europe. When he is befriended by Katlyn, a thinly stretched volunteer, she becomes Aamir’s last hope for salvation.

Vika was born in the Soviet Union during the perestroika. But as her popstar mother and physicist father fled the country, she spent her early years as an immigrant in Northern Ireland. Her short AAMIR has been nominated for the BAFTA 2018 Best British Short Film award.

Director: Vika Evdokimenko

Writer: Vika Evdokimenko, Oliver Shuster

Cinematography: Robbie Ryan

Composer: Ala Riani

Editor: Vika Evdokimenko

Producer: Vika Evdokimenko , Emma Stone

Cast: Alan Asaad, Jasmine Blackborow, Samia Rida, Ako Ali, Arian Rashid, Fahan Salman.

APLOMB

Germany / 2018 / 09’ 26’’

The middle of nowhere. She cuts grass. He photographs clouds. Two spirits colliding for one afternoon.

David Thibaut was born 1994 in Heidelberg, Germany. His first experiences in directing took place at the youth theatre of the german avant-grade theatre Volksbühne in Berlin, followed by several short films. Currently he’s studying at Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF in Potsdam.

Director: David Thibaut

Writer: David Thibaut

Animation: Jonas Riemer

Cinematography: David-Simon Groß

Composer: Marcus Sander

Editor: Lisa Friedhofen

Producer: Katrin Kreppel

Cast: Marie Bloching, Maximilian Mundt

APPLES

United Kingdom / 2017 / 18’ 15’’

When a young village misfit starts a job at the local apple orchard, the already cold relationship with his grandfather is challenged. A coming-of-age short drama that follows a story of a mixed-race loner living with his grandfather in a small seaside village in the 1990s.

Milda Baginskaite is a Lithuanian director and screenwriter. After finishing MA in Film Directing at the Northern Film School, UK, Milda has moved to Manchester and works as a freelance filmmaker from there. Her short films “Apples” and “7 Planets” have screened at a number of international film festivals.

Director: Milda Baginskaite

Writer: Milda Baginskaite

Cinematography: Avinash Govindasamy

Composer: Ben Stanbridge

Editor: Joel Maudsley

Producer: Pilar Cartro Benavides

Cast: Kieran Urquhart

ARIANA FOREVER!

Germany/ 2015 / 23’ 00’’

Margarita, the 13 years old introverted outsider of the school observes the beautiful Ariana on a class trip. All the boys want to be around her and all the girls want to be like her. Also Margarita feels the aura of fascination that surrounds Arian.

KATHARINA RIVILIS was was born on 22.08.1985 in St. Petersburg. In 2003-2007, she studied acting at the renowned UNIVERSITY OF FILM AND TELEVISION Potsdam-Babelsberg (also HFF Potsdam), in Germany. Since then, she has been acting in film and television productions and at theatres like Volksbühne Berlin and Thalia Theater Hamburg. Parallel she dir.

Director: Katharina Rivilis

Writer: Katharina Rivilis y Julia Penner

Cinematography: Claudia Schröder

Composer: Franziska Henke, Thomas Rozès

Editor: Guillaume Guerry

Producer: Roxnana Richters

Cast: Rebecca Schulz Anna-Luna Scheffel

ARSENIC

USA / 2017 / 13’ 39’’

An intern at a local newspaper is sent to write a story on a suicide investigation at a strip club. But as she tries to deepen into the story, she winds up getting romantically involved with one of the strippers attached to the case.

Vanesa was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has been in love with movies since her childhood, and her passion for empowering women has become her mission as a filmmaker. She went to college at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, California, where she currently resides.

Director: Vanesa Prieto

Writer: Vic Martonne

Cinematography: Valentina Martinico

Composer: Vic Martonne

Editor: Julio Garcia Escames

Producer: Vic Martonne, Nicole Fahel

Cast: Vic Martonne, Isabelle Menard, Orlando Pineda, Anele Morris, Marilyn Flores.

ELISA

Germany / 2016 / 15’ 53’’

At night Elisa, 9, scratches herself raw, which drives her mother insane. However rather than to see this as a sign that something is wrong, she demands Elisa stop. Does the mother’s anger provoke further scratching, or is it the other way around? The little family begins to break apart and Elisa’s mother clumsily attempts to keep their life in order, but it has gotten out of control. An undefinable force is splitting them apart.

Kristina Shtubert was born in Orsk, USSR. Whilst studying psychology at the Moscow State University of Lomonosov (1998-2004), she attended film direction courses at the Class of Alexander Proshkin in Moscow. After university diploma, she worked as journalist and video editor for different productions until 2005. Currently studying film directing at the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin (dffb).

Director: Kristina Shtubert

Writer: Ines Berwing, Kristina Shtubert

Cinematography: Nicola Hens

Composer: Chatschatur Kanajan

Editor: Adrienne Hudson, Wolfgang Gessat, Stefanie Kosik, Kristina Shtubert

Producer: Margarita Amineva

Cast: Susanne Wuest, Anastasia Triller

EVIL DEEDS

Poland / 2016 / 24’ 00’’

Max - ten year old son of hospital cleaner, has been caught trying to steal a patient’s wallet. The old pensioner decides not to report the theft, instead asks Max to complete three tasks. Those turn out to be much more challenging than Max would ever expect.

Piotr Domalewski holds two M. F. A. degrees from the Acting Department at The Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts in Cracow and Bialystok Acting Department of The National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, and is currently a graduate student in Directing at the Krzysztof Kieslowski Faculty of Radio and Television at the University of Siles.

Director: Piotr Domalewski

Writer: Piotr Domalewski

Cinematography: Bartłomiej Gocał

Composer: Marcin Nenko

Editor: Tymoteusz Wiskirski

Producer: Krzysztof Kieślowski Radio and Television Faculty of the University of Silesia in Katowice

Cast: Jan Peszek, Olaf Marchwicki, Katarzyna Krzanowska, Filip Perkowski

FEDRA

Belgium / 2017 / 13’ 31’’

A young undocumented woman is trying at all costs to contact her father, who is held in a closed centre.…

Malo Bara was born in Britanny (France) in 1986. After studying Philosophy he lived in Oceania and South America several years before to settle in Belgium. He studied video courses in Agnès Varda School (Bruxelles).

Director: Malo Bara

Writer: Malo Bara

Cinematography: Giancarlo Rocconi

Composer: Nadège Ouedraogo

Editor: Jérôme Erhart

Producer: Malo Bara

Cast: Erkia Aït El Malek Nadège Ouedraogo

FIST

France / 2017 / 21’ 00’’

Bilal is a violent outsider who lives in the middle of nowhere, between drinking, fucking and fighting. He thinks with his fists. One day, he comes across a worthy rival. The two will lock horns in confrontation. …

Sarah is a self-taught filmmaker who first focused on body language and editing. She began directing in 2013, took part in alternative festivals, then joined La Fémis to lead a committed, sensitive and multi-cultural auteur cinema. She graduated in 2017. Alongside the development of her first feature film, she is about to shoot two new shorts by the end of the year.

Director: Sarah Al Atassi

Writer: Sarah Al Atassi, Naïla Guiguet

Cinematography: Evgenia Alexandrova

Composer: Julien Rosamond

Editor: Sarah Al Atassi

Producer: La Fémis

Cast: Michel Mhanna Santoni, Michel Biel, Lola Dubus

FRIENDLY SPORT MEETING

Czech Republic / 2017 / 17’ 57’’

Futnet is a typical Czech sport. Almost every village hosts amateur futnet tournament from time to time. And these tournaments are not just about sport. It’s saturday, beautiful summer weather and one of these tournaments begins in a small village. Futnet is played, rump is being roasted and everybody is drinking beer. Monday is still far away so no one has to worry about anything. At least until the moment when gypsy team called Jamaicas appears.

Adam Koloman Rybanský is a student of Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). He was in Angers Premier Plans Film Festival in 2015 with his first school film Uvidíme? Uvidíme... Přátelské setkání nad sportem is his bachelor’s film.

Director: Adam Rybansky

Writer: Adam Rybansky

Cinematography: Petr Pospíšil

Editor: Matěj Sláma

Producer: Ondrej Sejnoha

Cast: Vítězslav Bouchner, Martin Šesták, Zdeněk Godla

FUCKING DRAMA

Austria / 2017 / 17’ 04’’

A young couple admits to see an off theater play in a mysterious dark basement. The play begins as ‘arty’ as expected – some people film it amused with their phones. But the mood changes, when Manfred Amour, the author of the play enters the cellar.

Michael Podogil was born 1985 in Vienna. During his time as a student at the Technical University of Vienna, he accomplished small film projects and attended the filmschool in Rockport ME (USA). Since 2009 he is studying directing at the Vienna Film Academy in the class of Michael Haneke and Wolfgang Murnberger. Besides his work as an director for TV and commercials he is teaching „Film“ and „Photography“ at a local school and works creative for the „Burgtheater Vienna“. His short films are screened on festivals all over the world. 2015 he received the „Carl-Mayer-Förderpreis“ - one of the most important scrips writing awards in Austria - at the Diagonale in Graz.

Director: Michael Podogil

Writer: Michael Podogil

Cinematography: Jakob Fuhr

Composer: Norbert Bichler, Nils Kirchhoff, Karim Weth

Editor: Sebastian Schreiner

Producer: Lukas Zweng

Cast: Lena Kalisch, Michael Pink, Henrietta Rauth, Markus Freistätter, Manuel Girisch, Ino Matsou, Anna Starzinger

GENEK

Russia / 2017 / 14’ 47’’

This is a story of a lone parent, bringing up a 15 years old daughter. He is a policeman and has a rough view of life. Who’s truth will win in fathers and sons’ conflict, that’s a question. …

Raushaniya Rakhimova graduated from the Moscow Film School (master Alexey Popogrebskiy) in 2016. She finished the scriptwriting workshop of Yuriy Korotkov in 2014. She shot a lot of commercials and music videos.

Director: Raushaniya Rakhimova

Writer: Valeria Zadeeva

Cinematography: Dmitry Shebunin

Composer: Anatoly Prokhorov

Editor: Tatiana Batalova

Producer: Raushaniya Rakhimova

Cast: Sergey Shnyrev, Evgeny Popovich, Nika Zdorik

IRON HANDS

USA / 2017 / 11’ 00’’

As a 12-year-old girl prepares for her final test trying out for the traditionally all-boys Chinese youth Olympic weightlifting team, she makes an unlikely connection with the gym’s reclusive groundskeeper.

Johnson Cheng is an award-winning NYC-based Chinese American filmmaker hailing from the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County.

Director: Johnson Cheng

Writer: Johnson Cheng

Cinematography: Shipei Wen

Composer: Zeke Khaseli, Yudhi Arfani

Editor: Johnson Cheng

Producer: Tianqi Zhuo

Cast: Zixuan Liu, Xing Lian, Tao Wei, Jianbin Huang, Dunhua Kang, Jiaming Wang, Aonan Wu, Zhaoshun Xie

LABELLED

Russia / 2017 / 24’ 07’’

Eric, an autistic boy, lives in a world that people are born into with labels mapping out their destinies. Hostages to their labels, people gradually lose human qualities, such as kindness, patience, compassion. Eric’s label is a blank. His subtle perceptions are walled in by misunderstanding and prejudices of the surrounding world. Is there a place in it for the likes of Eric? …

Violetta was born on the 18th of February, 1991, in Iralsk town. She’s been passionate about literature since the very childhood and growing up started to pay attention to film making industry. In 2015 Violetta started the highest school of directing in St Petersburgh.The hobby became her work.

Director: Violetta Moshkova

Writer: Violetta Moshkova, Pavel Mishnev

Cinematography: Anna Rozhetskaya

Composer: Anatoliy Simonov

Editor: Georgiy Danielyantz

Producer: Pavel Mishnev

Cast: Alexander Yakimenko, Ekaterina Reshetnikova, Stanislav Oskolkov

LIKE WOLVES AND LAMBS

France / 2018 / 12’ 14’’

2024. The EU it’s a distant dream that is quickly vanishing. British citizens are forced to emigrate to escape to France. Here the far right government actively promotes nationalism, racism and discrimination. Blaise carries illegal immigrants throughout the border (Belgium-France) hiding them in the back of his van. This is the last trip to pay back a debt that he had with the people that run the immigration business. Robin, a young immigrant part of the last trip, starts to follow him to get back a necklace that Blaise took as a payment. The two will form a fragile bond in a merciless world.

Frederico Troisi is graduate of “University of Rome LA SAPIENZA” and during his studies he did filmmaking courses at the London Film School and at the Prague Film School and directed 2 shorts. At 23 he moved to Paris to get his Master at the “École Internationale de Création Audiovisuelle et de Réalisation” where for 2 years he directed 2 more shorts and worked in key positions in more than 25 shorts.

Director: Federico Troisi

Writer: Federico Troisi

Cinematography: Guido Raimondo

Composer: Stéphane Scharlé

Editor: Federico Troisi

Producer: Rhonda Constantin

Cast: Eric Moscardo, Alix Benezech, Stefen Eynius,Djaziri Rachid, Bruno Aimet, Louise Denyer, Jérôme Thevenet, Marie Alice Fontana, Sam Olfain

LILY’S PAIN STORE

China / 2017 /25’ 00’’

A girl goes to a Store of Pain in search for the most unique one that will fulfill the emptiness in her heart, only to find the dark secret of the Pain Store that makes her rethink wha her heart truly desires.

Chen Li (1989, China) is a student in the MFA film program of New York University, Tisch School of Art Asia. After spending 4 years studying international journalism in undergraduate, he realized his passion in film and went to the NYU film program, where he’s been exploring the art of visual language and experimenting though film ever since.

Director: Chen Li

Writer: Chen Li

Cinematography: Tatjana Krstevski

Editor: Vanja Kovačević Chen Li

Producer: Yiwen Wang

Cast: Guo Yue, Lau YihChiao

MILK

Poland / 2017 / 15’ 00’’

Ewa takes her daughter to their lake house to prepare for her birthday party. Julka brings along her boyfriend. The mother disapproves of his presence and wants him to leave. However, the hardest battle she will have to fight is the one with herself. …

Urszula Morga graduated in Film and TV Production at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Faculty of Radio and Television. She worked as an assistant director, production manager and radio reporter. Since 2006 she has owned the Esy-floresy animation studio. The author of numerous music videos repeatedly nominated for the Yach Film Award. In 2014, she was awarded the Wooden Yach Award. In 2016, she graduated from the Directing Department of the Gdynia Film School. “Milk” is her diploma film.

Director: Urszula Morga

Writer: Urszula Morga

Cinematography: Bartosz Mikołajczyk

Producer: Gdynia Film School

Cast: Agnieszka Warchulska, Magda Maścianica, Mateusz Więcławek

MILLIMETERLE

Switzerland / 2016 / 15’ 45’’

Measuring their power and proving themselves is part of the boys’ everyday life. Even for the 13-year old gentle-natured Yannik. Until his best friend’s upcoming sexual curiosity suddenly puts him in a threatening situation. Where is the line between game and reality and what happens if that line is crossed? …

Pascal Reinmann, born 1989 near Bern, Switzerland. After the obligatory schooltime, he completed an apprenticeship as a carpenter and in 2009 he finished the technical baccalaureate. 2012 - 2016 he studied “BA in Film” and since September 2016 “MA Cinematography” at the Zurich Univeristy of the Arts.

Director: Pascal Reinmann

Writer: Pascal Reinmann

Cinematography: Ramon Königshauser

Composer: Domi Chansorn

Editor: Marína Horváthová

Producer: Filippo Bonacci

Cast: Maurice Schnieper, Thierry Brunnschweiler

MIMICRY

Germany / 2018 / 26’ 21’’

MimiCry follows the young student Mimi on her quest to find life, love and herself. As a sexual and spiritual road-movie without cars, MimiCry is the first movie ever made about the still unknown phenomenon of the Girlfags in today’s queer spectrum.

Jennifer loves to write stories that are on the one side scenic, but also have a touch of experimental quality in it. Her main focus are well written and versatile characters, people who struggle with their lives. Jennifer is applying for her master studies now in Berlin, Hamburg or Ludwigsburg.

Director: Jennifer Von Schuckmann

Writer: Jennifer von Schuckmann

Cinematography: Felix Harjans

Composer: Lion Reggentin, Daniel

Sandrina

Editor: Leonard Ostermeier, Jennifer von Schuckmann

Producer: Jan Czmok

Cast: Freya Kreutzkam, Peter Beck, Maximilian Gehrlinger, Carole Jachtmann, Bardo Böhlefeld, Jannik Görger, Aetschy, Andrea Rudolf, Deborah Muriel Blum, Testa Steron

NEW BRONX

Poland / 2017 / 14’ 59’’

Natalia, a boyish and impulsive teenager, lives in a rough part of Gdansk (Poland), nicknamed „Nowy Bronx“ (eng. New Bronx). The area coined it’s name from local kids due to it’s graffiti. Her crush on a popular neighborhood boy becomes an obsession and she is prepared to do anything to get close to him. But, when she finally reaches her goal, everything suddenly changes...

Filip Ignatowicz (born 1990 in Gdańsk) is a polish visual artist and filmmaker. Filip is a graduate of the Faculty of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk (2014). Filip is also a graduate of Gdynia Film School – NEW BRONX (2017) is his graduation movie. Since 2017 Filip works as a full time assistant professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk.

Director: Filip Ignatowicz

Writer: Filip Ignatowicz

Cinematography: Sławomir Witek

Composer: Adam O.S.T.R. Ostrowski (courtesy of Asfalt Records)

Editor: Filip Ignatowicz, Dorota Roś

Producer: Gdynia Film School (Leszek Kopeć, Jerzy Rados)

Cast: Paulina Kaczyńska, Angnieszka Platta, Łukasz Gawroński, Sandra Niklas, Anna Kociarz

PALEONAUT

Japan / 2017 / 16’ 00’’

A scientist studying the first human time traveller falls in love with her subject. But if her research succeeds they will become separated by eons of history. She must find a way to connect with him across the ages or lose him forever.

Raised in Oklahoma, Eric McEver relocated to Tokyo during college to pursue a passion for Noh theatre. Working as an actor, translator, game developer, and animation producer, he developed an offbeat cinematic vision fusing the languages and idiosyncrasies of his two homes. 2010-2012 he created The Sansaku, a bilingual, genre-fusing triptych of experimental films. He further honed his skills at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and wrote, produced, and directed shorts in Japan, Singapore, USA and China. Recently completed “A Utopia” and he is currently working on 2 feature films and an animated co-production with France and Taiwan.

Director: Eric McEver

Writer: Eric McEver

Animation: Hsiao-Shan Huang

Cinematography: Emilie Silvestri

Composer: Robert Tunstall

Editor: Eric McEver

Producer: MuFei Xu

Cast: Tomoko Hayakawa, Yasushi Takada, Eric Boardman, Balaji Manohar

SERAFIM

Bulgaria / 2017 / 15’ 12’’

The homeless Serafim rejects the material possessions in life having understood that when a man dies, he presents himself before God only by his soul.

A director, actress and performer in television broadcasting. One of her documentary films was sold to some television channels in Bulgaria. All films are highly valued, as an evidence of this is the nomination of the film “The Lamb bleats” for Creative Portrait at The European Media Festival The Eight Muse in Sofia 2007. The script “Friends” was awarded for second best screenplay in Film school 2015 in Nu Boyana Film Studio. In 2014 – 2016 Masters’ student in the Master class of prof. Djulgerov in Film and TV Directing at New Bulgarian University. “RANDEZVOUS” has been selected for the National Festival of Cinematography art “GOLDEN EYE” 2016 in Popovo town, Bulgaria.

Director: Vanya Doneva

Writer: Vanya Doneva

Cinematography: Kiril Prodanov

Producer: Milena Stoykova

Cast: Ivailo Hristov, Vasil Banov, Polin Lalova

SHADOWS

Bulgaria / 2018 / 27’ 00’’

Among the sea and the wind. Lea meets Val in the middle of nowhere. But the only thing he needs is her patience.

Victoria Karakoleva is a film director born in Sofia, Bulgaria on 10.09.1992. In January 23, 2018, she got her degree from NATFA – “National Academy of Theater and Film Arts” in Sofia. She has several short student films from which two of them were selected for the Bulgarian “Golden Rose” film festival.

Director: Victoria Karakoleva

Writer: Victoria Karakoleva

Cinematography: Rosen Savkov

Composer: Kottarashky

Editors: Victoria Karakoleva, Martin Savov

Producers: Victoria Karakoleva, Ivo Nikolov, Lyubo Yonchev

Cast: Luizabel Nikolova, Blagoi Boichev

SHORT DISTANCE

Poland / 2017 / 20’ 00’’

A short-tempered running coach is granted temporary custody of his athletic younger brother from a juvenile correctional facility. The complicated relations between the brothers will have an huge influence on their collaboration towards the common aim.

Born in Citta di Castello, Italy in 1983. After science studies, he moved to Poland in 2013 where he started the MA in directing at the Polish National Film School in Lodz.

Director: Giovanni Pierangeli

Writer: Giovanni Pierangeli, Marek Baranowski

Cinematography: Filip Lyman

Editor: Filip Dzięgiel

Producer: The Polish National Film School in Lodz

Cast: Cezary Łukaszewicz, Mateusz Więcławek

SIRENE

Netherlands / 2017 / 26’ 12’’

SIRENE is a film about confusion, friendship and becoming who you are. The 15-year old Kay lives a boy’s life in between roaring motorcross bikes. When the enchanting Melody sails into his life on a big boat, Kay gets even more tangled up in his own confusion...

Zara attended the Netherlands Filmacademy from 2013 till 2017. In her first year she made a full feature film co-directed by Muck van Empel. In 2016 she made the coming-of-age film LIV, which got selected for Go Short International Short Film Festival and was Short of the Week. Her graduation film SIRENE won several prizes and is currently travelling along filmfestivals.

Director: Zara Dwinger

Writer: Randy Oost

Cinematography: Douwe Hennink

Composer: Nelson Ogliastri

Editor: Tessel de Vries

Producer: Liora Notoadikusumo, Pina Balk & Maxime Rozestraten

Cast: Thor Braun Olivia Lonsdale

SKIN

Australia / 2017 / 17’ 04’’

SKIN is a fantasy drama based on Celtic folklore of selkies. Selkies are seals that can shed their fur and walk ashore as humans. Ilias, a lonely fisherman stumbles upon a group of selkies dancing and celebrating in their human forms in front of a fire. After accidentally startling the group, they grab their furs and return to the water.

Left alone and scared is a beautiful selkie woman who is unable to find her fur, therefore cannot return to the sea. Being taken in by Ilias, a romantic relationship begins to develop and he gives her the name, Anika. Although a love begins to develop, not everything is as it seems, leading them both to experience their ultimate fate…

Emma Blakey is a writer, photographer, director and production designer from the Gold Coast, Queensland. She is a filmmaker with a passion for bringing stories to life through the marriage of human and natural world elements. Coming up with the initial idea and story behind Skin and the selkie myth she went to Jason who then turned it into the script that they used to create SKIN.

Director: Emma Blakey, Jason Lance

David

Writer: Isobel Jones

Cinematography: Lucas Lindgren

Composer: Fotini Box

Producer: Isobel Jones

Cast: Sharnee Tones, Gabriel Stoltz

SNOWGIRL

Bulgaria / 2016 / 27’ 39’’

A mysterious girl appears in the lives of an elderly childless couple and a troubled young man and transforms their understanding about love and life. Loosely based on the Russian fairy tale about Snegurochka, this story is about miracles and trusting the divine forces at work in our lives, and at the same time a poignant metaphor for global warming.

Ilina Perianova is an awarded director, scriptwriter, producer and actress from Sofia, Bulgaria. She has studied theatre acting and directing in France and Bulgaria and has taken part in multiple plays during her studies. In 2016 Ilina graduated from the MA program in Fiction Film Directing in the Baltic Film and Media school in Tallinn, Estonia.

Director: Ilina Perianova

Writer: Ilina Perianova

Cinematography: Andrey Kulpin

Composer: Björn Norralt

Editor: Nadya Prakhova, Baris Demir, Ilina Perianova

Producer: Yagama aka Marianna Perianova, Ilina Perianova, Maria Kriisa

Cast: Ekaterina Egorova, Evgenyi Gaichuk, Helen Rekkor, Aleksandr Zhilenko

SOLO

Switzerland / 2018 / 14’ 41’’

As a young and talented musician, sensitive and introverted Florence is facing an important day. But, her mind is in her way - she knows that only she by herself can stand up for what she really wants.

Yves De Prà grew up in Lucerne and studied Sociology at the Universität Luzern and later Film at the University of Arts of Zurich (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste). Since 2016 he produces commercials as a freelance film maker, while working on his own short and documentary film projects.

Director: Yves De Prà

Writer: Yves De Prà

Cinematography: Rafael Kistler

Composer: Jan Willem de With

Editor: Yves De Prà

Producer: Filippo Bonacci

Cast: Johanna Köster, Mira Anais Rojzman, Christian Heller, Barbara Grimm

SON OF ICARUS

Belgium / 2016 / 21’ 37’’

Will is fascinated by the sky and the call of the void ; he’s getting ready to perform a new perilous exploit by springing from the top of a tower. But his father comes back in his life.

Born April 23, 1991 in Villeneuve Saint-George, France, Jérémy Adonis followed scientific studies until 2013 where he graduated with a Civil Engineering degree in Lyon. No longer interested in this vocation, he decided to move in Belgium to study his first passion: cinema. Fascinated by technology and by the frame, he follows a path in the « image class » at the HELB Prigogine INRACI where he directed his first short film for the 2nd year. Enriched by this experience, Jeremy concluded his last year of study by directing his graduation film: The son of Icarus. He finally graduated with Distinction in June 2016.

Director: Jérémy Adonis

Writer: Jérémy Adonis

Cinematography: Paloma Sermon-Daï

Composer: Clément Delsaut

Editor: Nathanaël Havez Producer: Dominique Standaert

Cast: Jonathan Aize-Leyton, Amélie

Remacle, Guy Theunissen, France Bastoen, Julien Vargas

THE GIRL

Bulgaria / 2017 / 10’ 29’’

An ambulance is called at a deserted quarry to pick the corpse of a drowned girl. The youngest medic confronts his two older colleagues for their cruel behavior until an unexpected discovery is about to test his own ethics

Petar Minov was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria. He graduated from the National Academy of Theater and Film Art as a film editor. Now he is finishing his master’s degree in film directing at NBU. “The Girl” is Petar Minov’s first short film as a director.

Director: Petar Minov

Writer: Petar Minov

Cinematography: Dimo Minov

Editor: Petar Minov

Producer: Georgi Nikolov

Cast: Filip Trifonov, Marin Yanev, Lyudmil Hristov, Svetoslav Georgiev, Ivan Mihalkov

THE LIFE OF ESTEBAN

Belgium / 2017 / 15’ 49’’

Esteban grows up with his single mother and doesn’t know who his father is. In search of his identity, he discovers that swimming is a metaphor for life itself. The remarkable life story of a young man who is destined to become an Olympic swimmer.

Inès Eshun was born in France and moved to Belgium when she was six years old. She has Belgian, Estonian and Ghanaian roots. Her previous short film ‘Bright Lights’ was selected for Film Fest Ghent and Ciné Public festival. Her short ‘The Flood’ was selected for DIFF, Dhaka International Film Festival. She was one of the three laureates of the prestigious Flemish writing competition ‘Babylons Interuniversity Prize’ with her short story ‘Broken Water’. She graduated with great distinction from the Master Program in Film directing at RITCS, Royal Institute for Theatre, Cinema & Sound in 2017.

Director: Inès Eshun

Writer: Inès Eshun

Cinematography: Dries De Clercq

Composer: Alan Van Rompuy

Editor: Sarah Coeurnelle

Producer: Inès Eshun

Cast: Noah Mavuela, Mathis Mavuela, Joshua Tassin, Zion Kiala, Tine Cartuyvels, Goua Grovogui, Lamine Diouf, Bram Van Der Kelen

THE SUITCASE

Switzerland / USA / 2017 / 21’ 00’’

The ordinary life of a Boston bred baggage handler is turned upside down when he steals a suitcase that contains terrorist plans. Inspired by true events on 9/II.

Raised in South Boston, MA Abi Damaris Corbin entered college at age fourteen, graduating with a Master of Arts in Performance Studies. Her desire to grow as a creator led her to the University of Southern California’s graduate production program.

Director: Abi Damaris Corbin

Writer: Abi Damaris Corbin

Cinematography: Jon Keng

Composer: Nathan Matthew David

Editor: Chris Witt

Producer: Elena Bawiec, Jean de Meuron, Erik Weaver

Cast: Mojean Aria, Joseph D. Reitman, Charley Rossman

WHEN DEMONS DIE

Germany / 2016 / 18’ 45’’

8-year old Joshua has never left his home for dangerous creatures live outside their isolated farmhousethe Gorgers. But when his father Aaron mysteriously disappears Joshua is forced to go outside. A decision that will change his life forever for something is closing in on the little boy. Fast.

Daniel Rübesam was born in Frankfurt am Main and discovered his passion for movies at the age of 16. In 2016 finished his studies at the Filmakademie Baden-¬Wuerttemberg with the film WHEN DEMONS DIE for which he won the “Studio Hamburg Nachwuchspreis 2016” and was shortlisted at the YOUNG DIRECTOR AWARD 2016 in Cannes. After a nomination for the prestigious FIRST STEPS Award his film premiered at L.A. Shortsfest and was selected for SITGES International Fantastic Film Festival, the HOFER Filmtage and many others. In 2017 the film was shortlisted for the BAFTA Student Film Awards.

Director: Daniel Ruebesam

Writer: Daniel Ruebesam

Animation: Fabian Fricke (VFX)

Cinematography: Roland Stuprich

Composer: Jasmin Reuter

Editor: Linda Bosch

Producer: Felix Faißt, Fabian Baier

Cast: Jonathan Ohlrogge, Crispian Belfrage

CHAMPIONS

Germany / 2016 / 8’00”

On the day of the football European Championship finals 2016, a group of Kurdish children from a refugee camp in Northern Iraq, tries to contact the FIFA. The children call the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland to register their team for the football World Championship in 2018. “Champions” was filmed 2016 in a refugee camp between Erbil and Mosul, where Kurdish and Syrian refugees from Kobane are accommodated.

Anastasija was born in 1988 in Berlin and grew up in Moscow, South England and Germany. She studied acting at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock and during her studies produced own plays and performances. 2013 she founded in Berlin the artist’s group “flying pig corporation”. In 2014 she received the Proskenion Nachwuchsförderpreis for performing arts. After 2 years as a theatre actress in major roles, she become Directing student in Ernst Busch School Berlin. Anastasija is a member of the Young Berlin Council in the Maxim Gorki Theatre Berlin.

Director: Anastasija Bräuniger

Writer: Anastasija Bräuniger

Composer: Mathias Gauerke

Editor: Franziska von Berlepsch

Producer: Anastasija Bräuniger

Cast: Tufan Abubakr

EDUCATION

Poland / 2016 / 20’ 00’’

In one elementary school children are told to learn Julian Tuwim’s poem “Science” by heart as homework. The poetic phrase is sometimes incomprehensible, some words require explanation, but parents come to their aid. Unfortunately, not all metaphors can be explained in an unambiguous way and poetry clashes with the prose of life, in particular when a football match of Legia Warszawa is broadcast on television. Some will get Bs, some will fail, but everyone will learn something from this lesson.

Born in 1991 in Dąbrowice. She is a student of Film Directing at the Film School in Łódź. Before she began her education in Łódź, she had completed a documentary course at the Wajda School, where she developed her first short documentary Brothers (2010). Her subsequent feature and documentary studies, including Sisters (2011), Droga mleczna (2014)

Director: Emi Buchwald

Writer: Emi Buchwald

Cinematography: Tomasz Gajewski

Editor: Anna Gontarczyk

Producer: Marcin Malatyński

HOW TO BECOME A POPE?

Poland / 2017 / 16’ 00’’

A warm-hearted comedy about a ten year old boy who wants to become a Pope. The protagonist is an altar boy, who finds out about an audition for a part of John Paul II in a musical. What is he going to learn?

Justyna Mytnik was born in 1988. She is a Polish writer/director. She graduated from the University of Edinburgh with MA in History of Art and English Literature. She graduated from Directing at the Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School in Lodz.

Director: Justyna Mytnik

Writer: Justyna Mytnik, Milosz Kasiura

Cinematography: Milosz Kasiura

Editor: Dorota Roś

Producer: Agata Golanska

Cast: Michal Stawski

KIS

Russia / 2016 / 18’ 00’’

The story of life of an Orthodox priest, living in the Russian province where his closest friend is a cat named Kis!

Svetlana was born in 1988 in Kaliningrad, Russia. In 2009 she graduated from The Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS). Qualificated as Тheater and Film Actress. In 2010 understood, that she wants to be a film director. In 2016 she graduated from the Film directing department at the Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov (VGIK). Now she is writing a feature-length scrip for her debut.

Director: Svetlana Bolycheva

Writer: Svetlana Bolycheva, Eugene Orlov

Cinematography: Lubov Morozova

Editor: Svetlana Bolycheva

Producer: Svetlana Bolycheva, Eugene Orlov

Cast: Priest Konstantin Michailov and his cat Kis

KSENIA PETERBURGSKAYA

Denmark / 2017 / 23’ 15’’

A young russian woman tells her friend about the russian saint Ksenia Peterburgskaya. Ksenia lost her love when she was very young and became insane with grief. In the films colored rooms, we meet other young women, who on each their way are all touched by faith. Their lives are heavy or fantastic, full of light and darkness, grief or rare happiness. The russian word авось (avos’) describes people, who turns to their destiny. You can say they are credulous, but you can also say they believe in the good.

Sybilla Tuxen b. 1990 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Studied documentary directing at The National Film School of Denmark 2013-2017.

Director: Sybilla Tuxen

Writer: Sybilla Tuxen

Cinematography: Jacob Sofussen

Composer/Sound: Stefan Garfield Rasch

Holm

Editor: Lars Sigsgaard Berg

Producer: Karen Kristensen

Cast: Julia Pronina, Zinet Ritschel, Marina Vorobyeva, Sybilla Tuxen

SUEDWESTWIND

Germany / 2018 / 18’ 37’’

The south of Namibia, far from the comfort zone of safari lodges: an endless desert, dust, dry weed. For more than a hundred years a strange community resists the heat and the wind. They are outsiders, brought there by the colonialists from Germany and South Africa, nowadays they are close to extinction. A post-apocalyptic perspective on civilization and nature, where we discover moments of subtle comedy, tragedy and existential silence.

Since 2012 Annika Sehn ist a student of the documentary film department at University of Film and Television Munich. As part of her studies, she realized several short documentary films with an experimental approach, which were shown at festivals and in exhibitions. Alongside she works as a freelance filmmaker and author for television and theatre productions.

Director: Annika Sehn

Cinematography: Denis D. Lüthi

Editor: Annika Sehn

Producer: Annika Sehn, HFF München

THE MUSIC STOPS HERE

United Kingdom / 2017 / 20’ 25’’

When our cities develop, why is culture the first to go? The Music Stops Here is the story of an iconic music venue’s final days before a government rail scheme forces it to close, despite the protestations of its regulars…

Video editor and producer, video journalist, filmmaker & writer. He produces self-shot news broadcast packages for That’s Manchester TV (and raw footage uploaded to BBC daily), documentaries for online and festival viewing, online articles and blogs, background research and scripting for factual films and infographics: research and copy for Neo Mam Infographic Design Agency, Manchester.

Director: Adam Farkas

Producer: Alec Herron

THE SANDMAN

USA / 2016 / 18’ 45’’

A doctor walks the line of his own morality as he participates in executions, while personally opposing capital punishment.

Lauren Knapp is a nonfiction storyteller who works across platforms to share true and compelling stories. She has been working in film, television, radio, and virtual reality since 2006 and her stories have been featured on the PBS NewsHour, PRI’s The World, The Atlantic, The New York Times, WQED, and The Allegheny Front.

Director: Lauren Knapp

Writer: Lauren Knapp

Cinematography: Lauren Knapp

Composer: JP Coakley

Editor: Lauren Knapp

Producer: Lauren Knapp

BEST STUDENT ANIMATION CATEGORY

GREATER THAN

Germany / Switzerland / 2017 / 09’ 00’’

In a foreign world every organism lives in their own cube. They grow there till they feel the borders of its walls. To free themselves, they must break those borders. But who dares to? The protagonist Herma goes on this risky journey. Leaving his cube behind he finds himself confronted with a world he doesn’t understand. From time to time the sound of an impact breaks through the silence ... …

Co-directors Kate Haase, born in Gera, GDR, in 1986, and Sebastian Hühnel, born in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1986, both studied Arts and Design at the Nuremberg Institute of Technology Georg Simon Ohm and at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Lucerne, Switzerland. “Greater Than” is their third collaboration.

Director: Kate Haase, Sebastian Hühnel

Writer: Kate Haase, Sebastian Hühnel

Animation: Kate Haase, Sebastian Hühnel

Cinematography: Sebastian Hühnel

Composer: Verena Marisa

Editor: Kate Haase

Producer: Roland Fischer

HAPPY END

Czech Republic / 2015 / 05’ 43’’

A black comedy about death with a happy ending. A splendid chain of unlikely encounters. Hunters, a tractor driver, a disco boy, and a corpse.

Jan Saska (1987, Prague) is a Czech animation director and comics author. After graduating from Tomáš Baťa University in Zlín (Classical Animation studies), he continued his studies at Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). Happy End is his graduation film.

Director: Jan Saska

Writer: Jan Saska

Animation: Jan Saska, Stanislav Sekela

Cinematography: Jan Saska

Composer: Martin Klusák

Editor: Jan Saska

Producer: Kamila Dohnalová

I - ONE OF YOU

Bulgaria / 2018 / 05’ 15’’

The inclusion of different children in the normal world and everyday life is difficult, but not impossible.

Eva Georgieva has graduated the National Academy of Theater and Film Arts “Krastyo Sarafov” in 2013, majoring in Animation. She has worked as an artist, illustrator, animator, director, designer. She has participated in animations, special effects, design as a student in animated and feature films at NATFA.

Director: Eva Georgieva

Writer: Eva Georgieva

Animation: Eva Georgieva

Cinematography: Eva Georgieva

Composer: Alex Valeriev

Producer: Fool Moon Wolf – Pavel Pavlov

LIGHT SIGHT

Iran / 2016 / 07’ 34’’

M.E., the imprisoned character in a room is attracted to a hanging light and tries to catch it. But the room itself becomes an obstacle on his way. …

Seyed M. Tabatabaei has a BSc. in Architectural Engineering from Ajman University, UAE. In 2006, he won the first prize of Emaar’s “Hill’s Drive Row House Development” architectural competition, held among a number of GCC countries. Besides working as a professional architect and 3d visualizer in a number of architectural firms in Dubai, his passion for multimedia activities encouraged him to devote a major amount of his time to photography, film editing and production of short documentaries. He was admitted to study MA. in Animation at Tehran University of Art. Light Sight is presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for this degree. He is currently studying Master of Design with concentration on virtual reality at Concordia University, Montreal.

Director: Seyed M. Tabatabaei

Writer: Seyed M. Tabatabaei

Animation: Seyed M. Tabatabaei

Cinematography: Seyed M. Tabatabaei

Composer: Amir Pourkhalaji

Editor: Seyed M. Tabatabaei

Producer: Simin Farrokh Ahmadi

MASTERCLASS

Poland / 2018 / 06’ 28’’

Animated film, about the formation of the Master -inspired by the work of Roman Polanski. Surrealistic picture with elements of macabre absurdity situation, metaphorical struggle of matter in shaping man and creator. Once “body substance” slides off the window, like the hero of the film “The Tenant.” Paradoxically, another collapse is shaping up a human figure who finally performs a master perfect somersault and strongly landed on the ground. The fully formed pratagonist is Roman Polanski - famous film director.

Grażyna Trela - screenplay writer and director. Three-time winner of the HARTLEY-MERRILL Screenplay Competition. Ewa Drzewicka, Dominika Fedko, Weronika Kuc, Małgorzata Jachna, Małgorzata Jędrzejec, Aleksandra Rylewicz - Graduates of the Graphic Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, working with animation and design graphics.

Director: Ewa Drzewicka, Dominika Fedko, Weronika Kuc, Małgorzata Jachna, Małgorzata Jędrzejec, Aleksandra Rylewicz, Grażyna Trela

Writer: Grażyna Trela

Animation: Ewa Drzewicka, Dominika Fedko, Weronika Kuc, Małgorzata Jachna, Małgorzata Jędrzejec, Aleksandra Rylewicz, Grażyna Trela

Editor: Weronika Kuc

Producer: Animated Film Studio, Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts

NOBODY

Iran / 2016 / 09’ 17’’

A White Cat lives in a city of black residents. No one pays attention to him because he looks different. …

Elham Toroghi was born in 1988 in Neyshabur (Nishapur), Iran. She has an M.A in Animation from Tarbiat Modares University. She works as a director, writer, producer, storyboard artist, layout designer, character and space designer, animator, editor and received numerous awards from domestic and international festivals in the fields of graphics, cartoon and animation, and has designed space and character of several animation projects including a feature called The Puzzle of Wheat (2013) by Yashin Nahani. Nobody is presented as partial fulfillment of her M.A graduation project.

Director: Elham Toroghi

Writer: Elham Toroghi

Animation: Elham Toroghi

Cinematography: Elham Toroghi

Composer: Milad Movahedi

Editor: Elham Toroghi

Producer: Elham Toroghi

REM

Poland / 2017 / 03’ 00’’

REM: the stage of sleep which invokes dreams. The film attempts to depict these hypnagogic visions, which are presented without narration. Fragments of the unconscious overtake and dismantle one another, in the process obliterating the dream from memory.

Born in 1992 in Lublin. Currently Animation and Special effects student in Lodz Filmschool. In 2012 he graduated High School of Fine Arts in Naleczow on Toy design profile. Interested in graphic design and animation.

Director: Artur Hanaj

Writer: Artur Hanaj

Animation: Artur Hanaj

Cinematography: Adrian Jaszczak, Artur Hanaj

Editor: Artur Hanaj

Producer: The Polish National Film School in Lodz

THREE WOMEN ON A BENCH

Poland / 2017 / 03’ 50’’

Small town. Three women are sitting on a bench in front of an old apartment building. They are laughing and critically judging people until they notice something. …

Born in 1995 in Krakow (Poland). Graduate of the School of Art in Nowy Wisnicz. Student of animation at the Film School in Lodz.

Director: Karolina Borgiasz

Writer: Karolina Borgiasz

Animation: Karolina Borgiasz

Cinematography: Karolina Borgiasz

Editor: Karolina Borgiasz

Producer: The Polish National Film School in Lodz

WHAT HAS TO BE

Singapore / 2017 / 10’ 45’’

Husband and Wife grapple with the tragic death of their firstborn as they await the arrival of their second. Their recollections reveal a dark, repressed history within the space they call home.

Director/Animator Jerrold Chong graduated with a BFA in Animation at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). An avid lover of cinema, he is fascinated by the power of animated cinema as abstract visual metaphor. He is driven by a desire to expand boundaries of the medium and tell sincere stories that examines the depths of everyday life and the complexities of the human experience. His films have screened at numerous international film festivals, including the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival in Bristol, Animatricks Animation Festival in Helsinski, Short Shorts Film Festival in Tokyo and Bucheon International Animation Festival in Korea. He participated in the Doc’s Kingdom International Seminar on Documentary Film in Azores, Portugal in 2013. He hopes to write and direct a feature film in the future.

Director: Jerrold Chong

Writer: Jerrold Chong, Jia Lee

Animation: Jerrold Chong, Andre Quek, Mark Wee, Li Yihua

Cinematography: Jerrold Chong

Sound Designer: Lim Ting Li

Editor: Jerrold Chong, Jia Lee

Producer: David Lee, Eternality Tan

Cast: Sivakumar Palahkrishnan, Rebekah

Sangeetha Dorai

YOUME KNOWS WHAT MEYOU WANTS

Germany / 2016 / 02’ 26’’

„Youme knows what Meyou wants“ is a personal, intuitive, tactile and sexy study of the human body. It consists of several animated scenes combined in the form of a short movie. Using clay as main material for a stop-motion based animation leads to a very intuitive, haptic approach to the realm of sexuality. By leaving porn clishees behind, it forms a positive critique to socially standardized ideas of love. „YkwMw“ is a multimedia collaboration of Mona Keil (video) and Martin Recker (sound).

Mona Keil works with experimental visual art, focusing on animated movies. As her main interest lies in an analog approach to visuell material, her work includes stop-motion, cutout animation, claymotion. She studies visuell communication at the Bauhaus-University in Weimar.

Director: Mona Keil

Writer: Mona Keil

Animation: Mona Keil

Cinematography: Mona Keil

Composer: Mona Keil

Editor: Mona Keil

Producer: Bauhaus-University Weimar

ON FOCUS

ACADEMY AWARDS OSCAR®

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, also known as simply the Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion pictures. The Academy’s corporate management and general policies are overseen by a Board of Governors, which includes representatives from each of the craft branches.

The roster of the Academy’s approximately 6,000 motion picture professionals is a “closely guarded secret”. While the great majority of its members are based in the United States, membership is open to qualified filmmakers around the world. The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, are a set of 24 awards for artistic and technical merit in the American film industry, given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, to recognize excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy’s voting membership. In 1932 AMPAS initiated a short subject awards. This name for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film was introduced in 1974. Best Animated Short Film is an award given annually since the 5th Academy Awards, covering the year 1931–32, to the present. The present title also began with the 1974 awards.

2018 BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM OSCAR® NOMINEES

DEKALB ELEMENTARY

USA / 2017 / 20’ 24’’

Inspired by a 911 call placed during a school shooting incident in Atlanta, Georgia. …

Reed Van Dyk is a Los Angeles based writer/director. His most recent film DEKALB ELEMENTARY won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2017 Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival and a Special Jury Award in Acting at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival. The film will play festivals in Nashville, Quebec, Portugal, Spain, Israel, Lebanon, and Ukraine in the coming months. Reed’s first short film THE CONSERVATORY won a 1st Place Student Emmy Award (“Best Comedy”) -- and his last film AMATEURCOUPLE premiered in front of Sundance hit OBVIOUS CHILD at the Melbourne International Film Festival. Reed has a B.A. in Theater Arts from Cornell University and an M.F.A. in Film Directing from UCLA.

Director: Reed Van Dyk

Writer: Reed Van Dyk

Cinematography: Jon Peter

Editor: Reed Van Dyk

Producer: Reed Van Dyk, Cory Desrosiers, Christopher Leavins, Enrique Diaz, Morgan Peterson, Ricardo Ramirez

Cast: Del Hunter-White, Bob Mitchell, Tarra Riggs, Champagne Powell, Shinelle Azoroh

MY NEPHEW EMMETT

USA / 2017 / 19’ 00’’

In 1955, a Mississippi preacher tries to protect his 14-year-old nephew, Emmett Till from two racist killers out for blood. Based on true events.…

Kevin Wilson, Jr. is a Student Academy Award Winning filmmaker and a 3rd Year MFA Candidate in New York University’s Graduate Film Program. Wilson first emerged as a rising talent in 2009 when he directed multiple sold out performances of his debut play “The Emmett Till Story,” a brutal depiction of the 1955 murder of Emmett Till. Since that time, he has directed a number of award winning short films. Starring veteran actors, Jasmine Guy (A Different World) and The Late, L.B. Williams (Juice), “My Nephew Emmett” is Wilson’s Pre-Thesis film at NYU. He is currently in development for his debut feature film, which is scheduled to go into production in the summer of 2018.

Director: Kevin Wilson, Jr

Writer: Kevin Wilson, Jr

Cinematography: Laura Valladao

Editor: Alex DeMille

Producer: Kevin Wilson, Jr

Cast: Dorian Davis, Jasmine Guy, Emily Hooper

THE ELEVEN O’CLOCK

Australia / 2016 / 14’ 00’’

A psychiatrist earnestly tries to help his delusional patient, but his efforts are complicated by the fact that the patient believes himself to be the doctor. With each trying to out-analyze the other, their session spirals out of control.…

Derin Seale is a Cannes, One Show and NY Festivals Gold winning director. He was raised in a family of cineastes and spent a lot of his formative years on set. He started directing action sequences in the Hollywood features ‘Cold Mountain’ and ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’, putting him in great stead to create work of visually epic proportions. This was never more evident than in his short film that helped the nation of Qatar win the hosting of the 2022 Football World Cup. Based in Australia, Seale also works internationally, directing campaigns in the US and Europe.

Director: Derin Seale

Writer: Josh Lawson

Cinematography: Matt Toll

Editor: Drew Thompson

Producer: Derin Seale, Josh Lawson, Karen Bryson

Cast: Josh Lawson, Damon Herriman, Jessica Wren

THE SILENT CHILD

UK / 2017 / 19’54’’

The Silent Child centers around a profoundly deaf four year old girl named Libby who is born into a middle class family and lives in a world of silence until a caring social worker teaches her the gift of communication.…

Born In Staffordshire, Chris began his career as an actor. He worked on various television and film projects with some of the world’s best directors such as Joel Schumacher, Oscar winning director Roman Polanski and was part of the main cast of Bafta award winning film, Pride directed by Matthew Warchus. Although an actor Chris watched and learnt from the directors intently, even taking a notepad on set to jot down nuggets of information. Using the knowledge he learned, Chris founded the UK’s leading showreel production company at the age of 20. Slick Showreels have been producing a wide range of work including showreels, music videos, pilots, short films and documentaries ever since.

Director: Chris Overton

Writer: Rachel Shenton

Cinematography: Ali Farahani

Editor: Emily Walder

Producer: Rebecca Harris, Danny Ormerod, Julie Foy

Cast: Rachel Fielding, Philip York, Rachel Shenton

WATU WOTE / ALL OF US

German / Kenya / 2017 / 24’ 00’’

For almost a decade Kenya has been targeted by terrorist attacks of the Al-Shabaab. An atmosphere of anxiety and mistrust between Muslims and Christians is growing. Until in December 2015, muslim bus passengers showed that solidarity can prevail. …

Influenced by theatre throughout her youth, Katja Benrath pursued that career in her early professional life. She became a theatre tailor and worked for Pina Bausch’s dance company. Following, she completed her studies in Singing and Acting in Vienna, Austria where she also discovered filmmaking. Her first short films (“Babydoll”, “No one pukes in Heaven” & “Tilda”) have been playing successfully on many international festivals. During her master studies at Hamburg Media School she directed “Where have you been” and “Secrecies”. WATU WOTE, her graduation project, is her first film based on a true story.

Director: Katja Benrath

Writer: Julia Drache, Alexander Ikawah (consulting writer)

Cinematography: Felix Striegel

Editor: Julia Drache

Producer: Tobias Rosen

Cast: Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, Mahad Ahmed

2018 BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM OSCAR®

NOMINEES

DEAR BASKETBALL

USA / 2017 / 06’ 00’’

On the eve of his retirement from basketball, NBA legend Kobe Bryant describes his love for the game, which began when he was a young child. From his youthful dreams of glory to his 20-year career, Bryant describes how he and basketball have given each other all they have. …

Glen Keane was born on April 13, 1954 in Abington, Pennsylvania, USA. He is known for his work on Beauty and the Beast (1991), Tarzan (1999) and Tangled (2010). Often animates the hero or heroine (Ariel in The Little Mermaid (1989), the Beast in Beauty and the Beast (1991), the title characters in Aladdin (1992), Pocahontas (1995), and Tarzan (1999)). Animates using large graphite pencils resulting in bold, powerful drawings.

Director: Glen Keane

Writer: Kobe Bryant, Brian Hunt

Animation: Bolhem Bouchiba, Glen Keane, Minkyu Lee, Aidan Terry

Editor: Drew Guy, Joseph Vele

Producer: Gennie Rim

Cast: Kobe Bryant

GARDEN PARTY

France / 2016 / 06’ 50’’

A luxurious villa and its grounds have become home to amorous, hungry and accident-prone frogs and toads. While they enjoy the bounties on offer, including caviar and macaroons, the amphibians uncover the whereabouts of the villa’s owner.

Illogic Collective, 6 French 3D artists created Garden Party during their studies at MoPA, animation school in France. This short film is their graduation film.

Director: Florian Babikian, Vincent Bayoux, Victor Caire, Théophile Dufresne, Gabriel Grapperon, Lucas Navarro

Composer: Romain Montiel, Steve Sidewell

Producer: Julien Deparis, MoPA

LOU

USA / 2017 / 06’ 42’’

When a toy stealing bully ruins recess for a playground full of kids, only one thing stands in his way: the “Lost and Found” box.

Dave Mullins joined Pixar Animation Studios in September 2000. His first project was working as a pre-production animator on the Academy Award®-winning film, “Finding Nemo.” From there he went on to animate on a number of Pixar feature films including “Monsters Inc.,” “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille.” Mullins was an animator on the Golden Globe®-winner, “Cars” and the short film “One Man Band” and worked as directing animator on another Academy Award®-winner, “Up.” Mullins then was tasked as a supervising animator on, “Cars 2,” and additionally contributed his animation skills to “Brave,” “Inside Out” and “The Good Dinosaur.” Most recently, Mullins made his directorial debut on Pixar’s new short, “Lou,” which opened in front of “Cars 3” in Summer 2017.

Director: Dave Mullins

Producer: Dana Murray

NEGATIVE SPACE

France / 2017 / 05’ 30’’

Based on a 150-word poem by Ron Koertge, “Negative Space” is a short animated film that depicts a father-and-son relationship through the art of packing a suitcase.

Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata are a filmmaking duo based in Baltimore, USA. Collaborating for over a decade as “Tiny Inventions”, they have directed short films, TV commercials, music videos and comics. Produced by Ikki Films and Manuel Cam Studio in France, “Negative Space” is their fourth professional film.

Director: Max Porter & Ru Kuwahata

Writer: Max Porter & Ru Kuwahata

Animation: Sylvain Derosne, Eric Montchaud, Ru Kuwahata

Cinematography: Max Porter

Producer: Nidia Santiago & Edwina Liard, Jean-Louis Padis

REVOLTING RHYMES

UK / 2016 / 29’ 00’’

REVOLTING RHYMES interweaves Dahl’s retellings of classic fairy tales with playful twists and surprising endings. It is based on the book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake, the animation was created at Magic Light’s Berlin studio and at Triggerfish Animation Studios in Cape Town. …

Jakob Schuh graduated in Dramaturgy from LMU in Munich and then direction/animation at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg. He is co-founder of Studio Soi animation house and has been involved as a director and designer in many award-winning animations. He has worked as a caricaturist and illustrator for Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Jan Lachauer studied at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and the Gobelins, lécole de l’image in Paris. His debut as co-director of ROOM ON THE BROOM was Academy Award nominated in 2014 and won many prestigious awards worldwide.

Director: Jakob Schuh & Jan Lachauer

Producer: Martin Pope & Michael Rose

EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS

The creation of the European Film Academy (EFA) was the initiative of a group of Europe’s finest filmmakers brought together on the occasion of the first European Film Awards Ceremony held in November 1988. EFA was finally founded in 1989 as the European Cinema Society by its first president Ingmar Bergman and 40 filmmakers to advance the interests of the European film industry. Wim Wenders was elected as first chairman of the association which two years later was renamed European Film Academy.

The European Film Academy (EFA) now unites more than 3,000 European film professionals with the common aim of promoting European film culture. Throughout the year, the EFA initiates and participates in a series of activities dealing with film politics as well as economic, artistic, and training aspects. The programme includes conferences, seminars and workshops, and a common goal is to build a bridge between creativity and the industry. These activities culminate in the annual presentation of the European Film Awards, which are presented jointly with EFA Productions gGmbH. In a total of 23 categories, among them European Film, European Director, European Actress and European Actor, the European Film Awards annually honor the greatest achievements in European cinema.

COPA-LOCA

Greece / 2017 / 14’

This is the story of Copa-Loca, an abandoned Greek summer resort. Paulina is the girl at the heart of Copa-Loca. Everyone cares for her and she cares about everyone – in every possible way.

Christos Massalas was born in Greece in 1986. He studied Film Theory at Kingston University, London and Filmmaking at the London Film School, LFS. His short films have been screened and won awards at many international film festivals, including Locarno, Tampere, BFI, São Paulo, Uppsala, Thessaloniki and Silhouette. He was also granted Artist Residencies in Serbia and Norway. He is currently based in Athens, where he is developing “Broadway”, his feature-length debut.

Director: Christos Massalas

Writer: Christos Massalas

Cinematography: Konstantinos

Koukoulios

Composer: Σtella

Editor: Christos Massalas

Producer: Chrisos Massalas

Cast: Elsa Lekakou(Paulina), Jenny Hiloudaki (Paulina’s mother), Pavlos lordanopoulos, Talat Iqbal

EN LA BOCA

Switzerland / Argentina / 2016 / 26’

In Buenos Aires, the Molina family lives and works in the shadows of the legendary Boca Juniors stadium. Selling fake tickets to the soccer games, they constantly get in conflict with the corrupt police. As her family sinks deeper into this underworld, the mother tries in vain to keep them all from falling apart.

Matteo Gariglio is a Swiss-Italian documentary filmmaker and photographer, born in Lucerne, Switzerland. He studied visual communications with specialisation on video at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Furthermore he holds a Master in Documentary Film Directing from Universidade Lusofona de Humanidades e Tecnologias in Lisbon, the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest and the LUCA School of Arts in Brussels. Matteo Gariglio has worked on projects in different languages and many countries across the world. His projects evolve around the human conditions of people living on the verge of modern society.

Director: Matteo Gariglio

Writer: Matteo Gariglio

Animation: Mathias Wesselmann

Cinematography: Andi Widmer

Composer: Dominik Blumer, Thomi Christ, Roman Lerch

Editor: Thais Odermatt

Producer: Matteo Gariglio

Cast: Molina Family

FIGHT ON A SWEDISH BEACH!!

Sweden / 2016 / 15’

EPIC BEACH FIGHT!! This is what happens when you yell sieg heil and call someone’s wife a whore. He had it coming.

Simon was born in 1984, in the coastal town of Varberg (where his film was shot). His studies / work in film range from Los Angeles to Gothenburg, where he graduated with a master from the Valand Academy of Film in 2013. ”Fight on a Swedish Beach” is his first project with Plattform Produktion.

Director: Simon Vahlne

Writer: Simon Vahlne

Cinematography: Maximilien Van Aertryck

Composer: Eddie Nilsson

Editor: Simon Vahlne, Alex Danielson

Producer: Alex Danielson, Ellen Hallin

Cast: Stefan Holmberg (Stefan), Lotti

Sjödin (Lotti), Hugo Nylén (Hugo), William Davidsson (William), Helena Jansson (Helena), Krister Thunberg (Krister), Ulla Zachrisson (Ulla), Daddy Musesa (Daddy)

INFORMATION SKIES

South Korea / Netherlands / 2017 / 24’

Information Skies is a post-truth essay in which live action and animation shape a new cinematic aesthetic. The film follows a young couple who believe to be living a perilous and heroic life. When the haunting of traumatic loss exposes their fantasy as fake, they immerse themselves further into their selfbuilt world.

Metahaven’s practice spans art, filmmaking, and design to provoke new imaginaries that are equally bound to aesthetics, poetics, and politics.

Director: Daniel van der Velden & Vinca Kruk

Writer: Daniel van der Velden & Vinca Kruk

Animation: Janna Ullrich (Metahaven)

Cinematography: Remko Schnorr

Composer: James Whipple (M.E.S.H.)

Editor: Daniel van de Velden (Metahaven) & Vinca Kruk (Metahaven)

Producer: Anna Laederach

Cast: Georgina David, Artur Chruszcz

LOVE

Hungary / France / 2016 / 15’

LOVE is a short film describing affection in 3 different chapters, through an impact on a distant solar system. Abstract haiku-like situations reveal the change in atmosphere on one planet, caused by the change of gravity and light. This pulsing planet makes the inhabitants become one with each other in various ways.

Réka Bucsi, born in 1988, is a hungarian independent animation filmmaker. She received her BFA and MFA at the animation department of Moholy¬-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest. Her graduation film Symphony no. 42, got Shortlisted for the 87th Academy Awards. Her films were screened at official shorts competition Berlinale, SXSW, Sundance, Annecy, and won over 50 international awards. 2013/2014 she attended Animation Sans Frontiéres (ASF), the European Animation Production Workshop. She was one of the artists in residence at the Open Workshop in Viborg, and at Q21 in Vienna. Her new short film LOVE is a French¬Hungarian co-production. Réka is represented as a director by Passion Pictures.

Director: Réka Bucsi

Writer: Réka Bucsi

Animation: Réka Bucsi, Cyrille Chauvin, Nicole Stafford, Thibaud Petitpas

Composer: David Kamp

Producer: Marc Bodin-Joyeux, Gábor OsváthGabriel Abrantes / Herma Films

THE ARTIFICIAL HUMORS

Portugal / 2016 / 29’

Film about humor, anthropology and artificial intelligence. It focuses on how humor is central to human relationships across, used as a form of social control, and one of the most complex forms of communication. Blending a certain Hollywood aesthetic with documentary approaches, the film tells the story of an indigenous girl who falls in love with a robot that is a rising stand-up comedian in Brazil.

Gabriel Abrantes`s art works has been exhibited at the MIT List Center for the Visual Arts, the Palais de Tokyo, the Centre Pompidou, the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva and Museu Serralves. His films were in competition at festivals such as La Biennale di Venezia, the Berlinale, Locarno International Film Festival and IndieLisboa and won many awards.

Director: Gabriel Abrantes

Writer: Gabriel Abrantes

Cinematography: Jorge Quintel

Composer: Aamourocean (Ulysse Klotz)

Editor: Margarida Lucas

Producer: Gabriel Abrantes / Herma Films

Cast: Margarida Lucas (Andy Coughman), Amanda Rodarte (Jo Yawalapiti), Gilda Nomacce (Claude Laroque), Ivo Müller (Hans)

THE CIRCLE

Turkey / 2016 / 14’

‘In Mesopotamia, there are children of different ethnicities, religions and languages. Zelal, 7 years old petite girl, is an ethnic Kurd as well as religiously an Ezidi (Yazidi). An ordinary school day turns into a life changing event for Zelal and her introvert admirer, Zeki, after their Turkish teacher introduces the letter of the week ‘O’…

Kurdish born on 1976 in Turkey, she lived in Istanbul, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Athens, Vienna, Venice, Kiev, San Diego and Moscow. She graduated in Human Rights and Democratization from European Inter University Consortium on Human Rights and Democratization, Venice. Many years she worked as human rights expert for United Nations, lecturer on human rights in the university and an activist for social initiatives. After a serious injury, she was in long bed rest when started advocating human rights and reaching public through medium of films. ‘Hevêrk’ is her debut film in 2016.

Director: Rûken Tekeş

Writer: Rûken Tekeş

Cinematography: Deniz Eyüboğlu

Editor: Özcan Vardar

Producer: Rûken Tekeş

Cast: Delila Kaya (Zelal), Emircan Kaya (Zeki), Şehmuz Demirtaş (Bekir), Müfit

Aytekin (Teacher)

THE DISINHERITED

Spain / 2017 / 19’

Los Desheredados is a portrait of the director’s father facing the end of his family business. Pere Ferrés is 53 years old and owns a small bus company. Lack of money forces him to drive clients who destroy his vehicle to bachelor parties, but he is not prepared to lose his dignity.

Laura Ferrés graduated in film direction from ESCAC (Spain). A Perro Flaco is her degree’s final project, a fiction short film selected by 60 festivals around the world such as SEMINCI 2014 (Spain) and Montreal World Film Festival 2015 (Canada). Los Desheredados, a hybrid between fiction and documentary featuring the director’s father and grandmother, is her second short film and it was premiered at the Semaine de la Critique - Cannes 2017, where it won the Leica Cine Discovery Prize for Best Short Film in Competition. Recently, it also won the Best European Short in Curtas Vila do Conde Film Festival, being therefore nominated for the European Film Awards.

Director: Laura Ferrés

Writer: Laura Ferrés

Cinematography: Agnès Piqué Corbera

Producer: Valérie Delpierre

Cast: Pere Ferrés (Pere), Mari Álvarez (Mari)

THE PARTY

Ireland / 2016 / 14’

Belfast 1972. Laurence welcomes his cousin and man-on-the-run Mickey to a party of drinking, dancing and young love. By morning, reality catches up with them.

Andrea is currently directing COMING HOME for BBC with Christopher Ecclestone and recently directed three episodes of brand new BBC3 drama-thriller Clique. Her most recent short film The Party was nominated for a Bafta for Best British Short 2017 and has screened at festivals internationally, also winning the nomination for the European Film Award at the Cork Film Festival amongst other festival prizes. After making her first short film The Flyer, for which she was nominated for a Bafta Scotland new talent award, Andrea studied Directing at the NFTS. She was selected for Channel 4’s Coming Up scheme, gaining her first broadcast credit. She took part in the EIFF talent lab in 2016 to further develop her first feature project.

Director: Andrea Harkin

Writer: Conor MacNeill

Cinematography: Piers McGrail

Composer: Gareth Averill

Editor: Catherine Creed

Producer: Farah Abushwesha, Emmet

Fleming

Cast: Anthony Boyle (Mickey), Niall McNamee (Lawrence), Eileen O’Higgins (Alison)

TIMECODE

Spain / 2016 / 15’

Luna and Diego are the parking lot security guards. Diego does the night shift, and Luna works by day.

Juanjo Giménez has directed a few shorts, including “Rodilla” (2009), “Nitbus” (2007), “Maximum Penalty” (2005) and “Indirect Free Kick” (1997), all of them awarded at national and international festivals. He’s the director of the feature films “Tilt” (2003), awarded in Rome, Las Palmas and Ourense, “Dodge and Hit” (2010), co-directed with Adan Aliaga, best documentary in Alcances Film Festival Cadiz and Courmayeur Noir, and “Contact Proof” (2014), also premiered in Alcances. He’s also the founder of the production companies Nadir Films and Salto de Eje. Some of their productions are “My grandmother’s house” (Adan Aliaga, 2005), Joris Ivens Award at IDFA, “Stigmata” (also directed by Adan in 2009) Pilar Miró Award for Best First Film in Seminci-Valladolid, and “Anas, an Indian film” (Enric Miró, 2009) awarded at Documenta Madrid, Alcances and premiered at Karlovy Vary.

Director: Juanjo Giménez

Writer: Pere Altimira, Juanjo Giménez

Cinematography: Pere Pueyo

Composer: Iván Céster

Editor: Silvia Cervantes

Producer: uanjo Giménez, Arturo Méndiz, Daniel Villanueva

Cast: Lali Ayguadé (Luna), Nicolas Ricchini (Diego)

UGLY

Germany / 2017 / 12’

An ugly cat struggles to coexist in a fragmented and broken world, eventually finding a soul mate in a mystical chief. Inspired by the internet story ‘Ugly the Cat’.

Nikita Diakur is a Russian-born film maker based in Mainz, Germany. He studied Animation at the Royal College of Art in London, where he produced “Fly on the Window” that went on to screen at international film festivals such as Zagreb, Annecy and Edinburgh. Diakur is now making short films influenced by prominent internet stories and animated via the process of computer simulation.

Director: Nikita Diakur

Writer: Nikita Diakur

Animation: Gerhard Funk, Nicolas Trotignon, Phil Maron, Bastian J. Schiffer

Cinematography: Nikita Diakur

Composer: Enrica Sciandrone, Cédric Dekowski, Felix Reifenberg

Editor: Nikita Diakur

Producer: Nikita Diakur

Cast: Redbear Easterman

WANNABE

Austria / Germany / 2017 / 30’

Coco is 17 and feels a desperate need to become famous even though she seems to lack the necessary talent. She is willing to do anything for recognition and avoid becoming an everyday ‚loser‘. She skips school to attend castings, music videos shoots, and to film YouTube clips but faces one humiliation after another and is quickly pushed to her limits. With her „Coco Channel“, she tries to expand her notoriety on the internet and create the successful, loved, and confident character she wishes she really could be.

His first student film SHADOWBOXER won several awards, ZERO- G (2016), has run over 100 festivals in its first year and received many prizes and awards. Jannis Lenz Bachelor degree film at the Filmacademy Vienna, WANNABE, is nominated for the European Film Awards 2017 by Clermont-Ferrand.

Director: Jannis Lenz, Andi Widmer, Matthias Writze

Writer: Jannis Lenz, Andi Widmer, Matthias Writze

Cinematography: Andi Widmer

Editor: Alexander Rauscher

Producer: Winnie Küchl

Cast: Anna Suk (Coco), Simone Fuith (Mutter), Julia Plach (Jenny), Mathias Dachler (Paul), Merlin Leonhardt (CastingPartner), Markus Schleinzer (Caster)

WRITTEN / UNWRITTEN

Romania / 2016 / 20’

Outside a maternity ward, a Roma family is announced their underage daughter has just had a baby girl. Pardică (50) doesn’t seem to celebrate the moment; he is very displeased with this early pregnancy, for which he blames his wife. However, things become even tenser when a hospital employee asks them to sign some papers and discovers issues related to their IDs and their status as parents of the underage new mother. The imminent danger of state authorities separating them from their daughter determines Pardică to take action. …

Adrian Silișteanu graduated Cinematography in Bucharest. Studying also Digital Cinematography at National Audiovisual Institute in Paris, he worked for a short period as Digital Imaging Technician. He shot all of the Romanian director Adrian Sitaru features and shorts. He was cinematographer for the 2 seasons of Romanian version of HBO TV series “In treatment”. He also filmed many other movies including few feature films and the EFA awarded short “Superman, Spiderman or Batman”.

Director: Adrian Silișteanu

Writer: Claudia Silișteanu

Cinematography: Adrian Silișteanu RSC

Editor: Costi Zaharia, Mircea Olteanu

Producer: Anamaria Antoci, Adrian Silișteanu

Cast: Sorin Mihai (Pardică), Elena Ursaru (Minodora), Alina Șerban (Giuberina)

YOU WILL BE FINE

France / 2017 / 15”

Give it time. You’ll get over it. Jean celebrates his birthday, gets drunk and recalls the dreadful weekend that led to his break-up with Mathilde.

Céline Devaux is a director and illustrator born in 1987. After her studies in Literature and History, she continued at L’Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs of Paris. Her final film project, Vie et Mort de l’Illustre Grigori Efimovitch Raspoutine, was selected by multiple festivals in 2013 and has won several awards, notably at the Festival International of Clermont-Ferrand and at the Festival Premiers Plans of Angers. She lives and works in Paris on several plastic projects, movies, animated movies and illustrations (notably for the weekly « The 1 »). Her latest short film, Sunday Lunch, supported by Arte France, the CNC and the Paris Cinema Mission of the Paris City Hall, was selected in Cannes Official Competition and has won many awards, including the Cesar of the best animation short film in 2016.

Director: Céline Devaux

Writer: Céline Devaux

Animation: Céline Devaux, Rosalie Loncin

Cinematography: Paul Guilhaume

Composer: Flavien Berger

Editor: Raphaëlle Martin-Holger

Producer: Ron Dyens

Cast: Victoire Du Bois (Mathilde), Swann Arlaud (Jean)

YOUNG MEN AT THEIR WINDOW

France / 2017 / 18’

Two graphic designers at work, by mistake, start playing with an empty scanner’s possibilities. They venture into assumptions, eventually open up to each other, and let go of the strange images, until they let go of themselves.

Born in 1985 in Athens, he attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, and Le Fresnoy in Lille. His shorts films have been screened and awarded in numerous festivals – New Directors New Films in NY, Angers, Documenta Madrid, Janela, Olhar de Cinema, Vila do Conde, Mar de Plata – while his last two ‘Manodopera’, and ‘Young men at their window’ both premiered in Locarno film festival 2016 and 2017, where the latter won the EFA Award for Best European Short Film. Based on ‘Manodopera’, he’s preparing his first feature ‘No God, no Master’, a twisted, class-related film noir of endless demolition and renovation work, between reality and fantasy, in a Athens basement flat.

Director: Loukianos Moshonas

Writer: Loukianos Moshonas

Cinematography: Mauro Herce

Editor: Loukianos Moshonas

Producer: Emmanuel Chaumet

Cast: Quentin Maussang (Quentin), Charles Dugoujon (Charles)