ALEKSANDRE (ALEKO) GABEDAVA is a Georgian film actor and producer. He graduated from Shota Rustaveli State University of Theater and CinemaBachelor of Theater.
He is the founder of Georgian Film Production, where he employs more than 300 employees within the framework of projects.
He worked on “5 Days of war” (2011), Project of Tbilisi City Hall and G&G Production, Project of the House of Justice of Georgia “Literacy Spreading Society”, “Love with an accent” (2012), French feature length film “Jacky in the Kingdom of Women” (2014), French feature film “The Search“ (2014), TBC TV advertising industry, “The Martini Shot” Ukrainian advertising company, еx. producer of the opening ceremony of the European Youth Olympic Festival, Ex. Producer Indian Movie “Garuda Vega” (2017), Ex. Producer Indian Movie “K12” (2019), Ex. Producer Disney Project “Doubleman”, Ex. Producer “Liza, Go on!” (2023), Ex. Producer “Just one drop”.
Основател на продуцентската компания Georgian Film Production, за чиито проекти
(2012), „Джаки в кралството на жените“ (2014), „Търсенето“ (2014) и редица рекламни кампании. Изпълнителен продуцент
филмите „Garuda Vega“ (2017 г.), „К12“ (2019 г.), „Doubleman“ (2023), “Liza, Go on” (2023), “Just one drop”.
ARMIN SCHNEIDER
ARMIN SCHNEIDER is the founder and managing director of the Young Talent Foundation Berlin (YTF Berlin). Founded in early 2022 the YTF Berlin is a non-profit organisation aiming to financially support young film talent in Germany of all nationalities and mentor them on their way into a professional career in the film industry.
In doing so, the YTF Berlin wants to ensure to not only financially support the projects but consult with the filmmakers to give them the expert help they need. By now, the YTF Berlin has supported more than 20 student short and feature films. One of the short films that the YTF Berlin has supported was “ISTINA – Truth” which won a Student Academy Award last October.
Armin Schneider can look back on a successful career in the German and international film business that has lasted for more than 30 years. For the last 20 years he was Head of European Publicity for Warner Bros Pictures in its headquarters in London. There he played a key part in the publicity campaigns of films by such iconic film directors like Stanley Kubrick, Clint Eastwood, Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan. Not to mention the eight films in the “Harry Potter” film series.
EMILIA STOEVA
Prof. Dr. EMILIA STOEVA is a cinematographer with years of experience with more than 40 documentaries, documentaries, scientific popular, corporate and advertising films.
He teaches film and TV cinematography at NATFIZ “Krastyo Sarafov” and New Bulgarian University.
She has lectured at the University of the Arts in Porto and Maltepe University in Istanbul. Regular participant in international conferences and seminars. Member of the jury of a number of film festivals. Prof. Stoeva has over 50 published articles in specialized publications. Author of terminological dictionaries and publications in the field of cinema. Member of the National Commission for Documentary and Popular Science Cinema and the Union of Bulgarian Filmmakers. Chairman of the Association “Akademika 21”.
GLEDIS BICA
ГЛЕДИС
БИКА
In 2006, while still in high school, GLEDIS BICA made documentary film ‘Drowned Dreams’ about the tragedy of several Albanian immigrants who died in an attempt to illegally immigrate to Italy. The film was selected to several festivals such as DokuFest, Zagrebdox, Glasgow Intl Human Rights Film Fest and others, and was the starting point of his career. Subsequently, he studied at the Marubi Film Academy in Tirana, graduating in 2011 in film directing.
In 2009, he founded the ‘First Step Association’, an NGO based in Tirana, and in October the following year he established the ‘First Step Film Festival’, an international event, which today bears the name KO:SH Film Fest and is widely known. From the event’s early beginning until today, he has been the festival’s Creative Director. He’s former board member of Nisi Masa, the European Network of Young Cinema.
In February 2015, he founded d’ART Production, a company now mainly known for the short films it has produced and the annual KO:SH Film Festival, which it also produces. As an independent producer, Gledis has so far accomplished 3 short films, all supported by public funds of the Albanian National Center for Cinematography. His latest short film as director ‘Good Cop, Bad Cop’ will be premiered this autumn.
GOCE CVETANOVSKI
Writer/Director GOCE CVETANOVSKI studied cinema in Paris, France.
His debut live-action feature “The Business of Pleasure”, premiered in 2023, has so far screened on over 30 festivals and received 9 international awards in USA, Italy, Peru, Bulgaria, Albania, Panama, Romania.
Goce is the first director and brand developer of Macedonia’s most popular animated series “Bibi’s world” with almost 100M views on Youtube. This is the fastest-growing child brand in the Balkans and the series has been sold to various territories.
Goce has worked on commercial projects for clients such as Ed Sheeran, Alcatel, Samsung and Faith No More.
Ed Sheeran, Alcatel, Samsung и Faith No More.
JIVKO KONSTANTINOV
ЖИВКО
КОНСТАНТИНОВ
JIVKO KONSTANTINOV graduated with a bachelor’s degree in “Philosophy” and master’s degrees in “Psychology” and “Journalism” at Sofia University. 15 years of experience in television journalism in media such as Nova TV, BTV and Euronews Bulgaria. Author of dozens of documentaries with international awards. Some of his most awarded films are those dedicated to life in Antarctica.
MADLEN CHOLAKOVA
МАДЛЕН
ЧОЛАКОВА
MADLEN CHOLAKOVA is an actress, theatre educator and journalist. Since 2003 she resided permanently in New York, USA. She graduated from the National Academy of Theater and Film Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria, and specialized in Drama and Theatre at London University, Birkbeck College, London, UK. In Bulgaria, she took part in numerous theatre productions and played leading roles in feature and television films. In the 90s she founded one of the first independent theaters in Bulgaria. She taught acting at NATFIZ, Sofia, Bulgaria, In the USA she continues to teach theatre, act on stage and produce performances. She takes part in holding a Bulgarian Film Festival in New York City and collaborates for a more visible cultural exchange between Bulgaria and the USA. Since 2009 she regularly reported from the Tribeca Film Festival for Bulgarian media. From 2015 until its closure in 2018, she was a NYC correspondent for BiT TV.
MAJA NOVAKOVIĆ
МАЯ
MAJA NOVAKOVIĆ is an Art History Master’s holder and Ph.D. candidate studying Sergei Parajanov’s poetics of heritage. She works at the Mathematical Institute of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Her debut film, THEN COMES THE EVENING, premiered at Visions du Reel (2019) and qualified for OSCARS® nomination by winning at the Full Frame Documentary Festival. It received over 50 awards, was screened at 130+ festivals, including Hot Docs, Jihlava IDFF, Camerimage, Sarajevo, etc. and made the Cinema Eye Honors nomination and Doc NYC:Short List. She is a Sarajevo Talents and IDFAcademy alumna.
Docs, Jihlava IDFF, Camerimage, Sarajevo
ents и IDFAcademy.
MARTIN MARKOV
MARTIN graduates at The National Academy of Fine Arts – BA in Illustration and an MA in Directing at the National Acadamy of Theatre and Film Arts. Meanwhile he enters the fields of advertising, where he played Creative Director for more then 20 years.
His love for cinema dates many years back. He hast two short animations made in 2003 and 2008. In 2016 he produced and directed his first live action short – Unconscious. In 2022 he produced and directed his second live action short –To Bury a Dragon which won Best National Film at In The Palace International Short Film Festival.
NICOLA PIOVESAN
НИКОЛА
ПИОВЕЗАН
NICOLA PIOVESAN was born in Venice, Italy, on the 1st of April, 1979. He graduated in Cinema in 2004, at Bologna University. As a filmmaker, he won more than 100 awards in hundreds of festivals worldwide (including the prestigious Italian Silver Ribbon and many Oscar Qualifying festivals), writing and directing short films, animations, documentaries and music videos. He’s also a teacher of Film Language and Screenwriting. Since 2013 he lives in Estonia, producing and directing movies with his company Chaosmonger Studio.
ValGrande: map for an impossible journey (2009), The Beardless Garibaldi (2010), Lagunemine (2012), Attack of the Cyber Octopuses (2017), Robot Will Protect You (2019).
Closed to the Light (2021)
PRIIT TENDER
PRIIT TENDER (born in 1971) is an award-winning filmmaker who has written, designed and directed over 20 animated films. He has worked with the most outstanding Estonian animation studios Eesti Joonisfilm and Nukufilm, making films both in 2D and stop motion. Priit’s latest film “Dog-Apartment” was shortlisted for Oscar. It has won over 35 awards, including the Grand Prix at Stuttgart International Animation Festival, BEST of the FESTIVAL AWARD at London International Animation Festival, BEST ANIMATION AWARD at Tampere Film Festival, GRAND PRIX at MONSTRA Lisbon Animation Festival and many others.
студиа Eesti Joonisfilm и Nukufilm,
филми. Последният
ROMANNA LOBACH
РОМАНА
ЛОБАХ
ROMANNA LOBACH was already acting in films at 11 years old and by 2013 she had graduated from Athens Conservatoire Drama School with a B.A. in acting. She has performed in over 25 feature films and shorts that have premiered in festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Rotterdam, and New York.
In 2018, she founded AKRAN Creative Company, a boutique production house where as a producer and creative director she’s developing multiple projects with emerging directors of bold and unique voice.
The past two years, she attended European Short Pitch, Torino Short Film Market, Brussels Co-Production Forum and Crossroads Co-Production Forum at Thessaloniki IFF with projects in development, while she has finished 10 films in two years, with the most recent of Manolis Mavris, Midnight Skin, which premiered in 62nd Semaine de la Critique in Cannes 2023.
She is an alumna of Berlinale and Sarajevo Talents, Locarno Industry Days and New Producers Room – Cannes Court Métrage and a member of the Hellenic Film Academy and Hellenic Producer’s Association.
Short
Thessaloniki
Semaine de la Critique
Berlinale
Sarajevo Talents, Locarno Industry Days и New Producers Room – Cannes Court Métrage, член
Hellenic Film Academy
Hellenic Producer’s Association.
UMUT CAN TÜRKMEN
UMUT CAN TÜRKMEN is a Board Member of the Izmir Cinema Culture and Education Association. He works professionally in the fields of video production and translation. He has worked for Izmir Cinema Culture and Education Association’s projects such as Unesco, Spaces of Culture, and Hilfsfond 2021. At the same time, he has been working as the International Coordinator of the Oscar Qualifying Izmir Short Film Festival, Turkey’s biggest and most prestigious short film festival, since 2019, and has been in constant contact with cinema professionals, especially from European cinema. As a programmer, he recently collaborated and curated a selection of Francaphone films for the French Institute’s Francaphone Film Festival in Turkey and attended the 70—International Oberhausen Short Film Festival as a special guest within the framework of the IVP programme.
VESSELA DANTCHEVA
ВЕСЕЛА
ДАНЧЕВА
VESSELA DANTCHEVA is a producer, director and creative force behind some of the most popular independent Bulgarian animated shorts over the last 15 years. She is the locomotive behind Compote Collective, founded in 2008 and one of the leading animation production companies in Bulgaria at the moment for artistic and independent short films.
The collective is a platform of animation artists with strong individual styles and a creative hub of more than 15 animation directors. Over the last 15 years the Collective has produced 17 short animated films, selected at + 650 international film festivals and acclaimed with more than 70 awards.
Vessela is also a lecturer in animation at New Bulgarian University and the National Academy of Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria. She is frequently invited as a guest lecturer at various European universities, jury member of animation festivals and pitching events, member of national and international cultural organizations and advocate for Bulgarian animation talents.
ZDRAVKO RUZHEV
Assistant professor ZDRAVKO RUZHEV is a teacher in the “Audiovisual Production” department of National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts “Krastyo Sarafov”. He teaches disciplines such as “Camera assistance”, “Television technique and technology”, “Frame composition”, “TV reality format”, “Special visual effects” since 2018. He works actively as a director of photography in a number of Bulgarian TV shows and documentaries. In 2022, he won a scholarship from the French government for high research level at the Louis Lumiere French Film School, Paris. In 2023, he defended his PhD thesis “Programmable lighting systems in the screen arts”.
He is the author of the book “Aesthetics of Kinetic Light in Cinema and Television”. Zdravko Ruzhev participated in several scientific forums in the country and abroad. He is the author of scientific publications in Bulgarian and foreign editions.
ACROSS THE NAKED HILLS / ПO
BULGARIA / БЪЛГАРИЯ / 2023 / 27’
In a remote countryside region, Zhana, a quiet girl under the oppressive guardianship of foster manipulative father Danail, finds solace in visiting a scrawny dog, chained in an abandoned quarry. Their secret bond is shattered when Danail catches Zhana caring for the dog, plunging her into fear and doubt. As tensions escalate, Zhana gathers the courage to confront her oppressor, sparking a chilling confrontation that tests Zhana’s resilience and determination to escape her suffocating existence.
After earning his BA in Film Studies at Cambridge, where he developed a fascination with 16mm film format, DIMITAR pursued an MA in Film Directing at Screen Academy Scotland. His graduation film, ECCE HOMO (2014), has been showcased at numerous international film festivals. In 2019, Dimitar completed Home Far Away, a short film featured in an anthology created for Plovdiv - European Capital of Culture 2019. Currently, he is working on the script for his debut feature film titled ‘Magdalena’.
Director: Dimitar Kutmanov
Writer: Dimitar Kutmanov
Cinematography: Kaloyan Bozhilov
Editor: Dimitar Kutmanov
Producer: Veselka Kiryakova – Red Carpet
Cast: Katalin Stareyshinska, Nikolay Urumov
AND THAT’S FOR THIS CHRISTMAS /
BULGARIA / БЪЛГАРИЯ / 2024 / 14’41’’
While preparing the details for his own funeral, an elderly man realizes that he will be celebrating Christmas alone. Unable to fall asleep, he decides to spend the holiday at the grave of his deceased wife.
PETER VULCHEV is a Bulgarian director, writer and producer. For the past ten years Peter created numerous short and documentary films, music videos and social campaigns. His films have strong international recognition and have been presented at prestigious film festivals. Peter is currently working on several short projects, a debut feature film and TV series.
https://vimeo.com/888796689
Film - https://www.instagram.com/andthatsforthischristmas_film/ Production company - https://www.instagram.com/equal_film/ Director - https://www.instagram.com/petervulchev/ Producer - https://www.instagram.com/nevelinvulchev/
Facebook:
Film - https://www.facebook.com/AndthatsforthisChristmasShortFilm Production company - https://www.facebook.com/equalfilm.official/ Director - https://www.facebook.com/peter.vulchev Producer - https://www.facebook.com/nevelin.vulchev/
Director: Peter Vulchev
Writer: Peter Vulchev
Cinematography: Kiril Prodanov
Editor: Nevelin Vulchev
Producers: Nevelin Vulchev and Peter Vulchev
Cast: Lubomir Buchvarov
BULGARIA / БЪЛГАРИЯ / 2024/ 11‘30‘‘
After an extended period at home, a woman embarks on an adventure outside, attracted by the thought of getting a cake. Her journey to the bakery fraught with unexpected challenges. The once-simple task becomes a test of her resilience as she faces obstacles that complicate her mission.
След дълъг период в дома си, една жена предприема приключение във външния свят, водена от мисълта за парче торта. Пътешествието до пекарната я посреща с неподозирани
Born in 1985 in Yambol, Bulgaria. Graduated Masters Degree in “Film directing” in New Bulgarian University. A writer and director of short films “Room number three”,”Trampoline” and “Millions of cats” and the documentary film “An hour of theatre”. Also worked as assistant director of international documentary projects.
Director: Petya Andreeva
Writer: Petya Andreeva
Cinematography: Nikolay Stefanov
Composer: Georgi Strezov
Editor: Tanya Petkova
Producer: Petya Andreeva Cast: Iva Sveshtarova, Georgi Naldzhiev, Ivan Panayotov Режисьор:
Музика:
EVERYTHING TASTES STRANGE TODAY /
BULGARIA / БЪЛГАРИЯ / 2023 / 11’50’’
A twelve-year-old girl and her brother are play-fighting in their family house’s idyllic garden, in the outskirts of Sofia city, on another endless, hot, summer day. This time, however, something between them suddenly shifts. The film captures on 16mm the first encounter of a young girl with her feminine nature and desires. В
KRISTINA SPASSOVSKA is a Bulgarian writer-director, born in Geneva, Switzerland. She graduated from EICAR, Paris, with her short film Motherland, selected for the Zagreb FF and the Sofia FF, and won the Film Critics award at the Kutaisi FF. Kristina is a Talent Sarajevo alumni, currently in post production of her next short The Reptiles and in development of her debut feature 40, Maria Luisa Blvd., both funded by the Bulgarian National Film Center.
Director: Kristina Spassovska
Writer: Kristina Spassovska
Cinematography: Ivan Chertov
Composer: GerganaKarisheva
Editor: Kristina Spassovska
Producer: Kristina Spassovska (Bellevue Kino)
Cast: Petra Piskuliiska, Kalin Marinov, Vyara Milanova
https://vimeo.com/930163390
https://www.instagram.com/kristinaspassovska
(Bellevue Kino)
FAMILY PORTRAIT OF THE BLACK EARTH /
BULGARIA /
/ 2023 / 10‘
After undergoing cancer surgery an old lady is desperate to find a replacement for her missing breast and entrusts her husband with the task. In the ensuing funny camaraderie wholesomeness breeds love and hope.
Director: I. Popov-Zaeka
Writers:
I. Popov-Zaeka, M. Minchev; based on a short story by Y. Beleva
Art Directors: N. Radulovikj, I. Popov-Zaeka
Character Design: I. Popov-Zaeka, K. Petrov
Production Design: A.V. Stoeva, N. Radulovikj
Chief Animation Supervisor: S. Georgiev
VFX Supervisors: K. Petrov, G.Harkov
Animation, 3D Modeling, Texturing: S. Georgiev, N. Jisheva, A.Petrov, N. Radulovikj, K. Petrov, A. V. Stoeva, G. Harkov
Composer: K. Petrov
Editor: M.Donchevska
Producers:
ROBO Lab, E. Kostova Foundation
Executive Producers: Y. Chorbadjiysky, V. Kostov
IVAN POPOV, also known as “The Rabbit” (Zaeka), is a film director and creative leader with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of animation and advertising. Throughout that time, he has worked on major campaigns for leading international brands, created animated shorts, and designed immersive visuals and SFX concepts for music videos and dance performances. In 2013 Ivan founded ROBO Lab, which has grown to become one of the leading animation and post-production studios in Bulgaria.
https://vimeo.com/852616950
BULGARIA, SWEDEN / БЪЛГАРИЯ,
/ 2024 / 20’56’’
Iskra wakes up in a black, soot-covered apartment. She cleans the soot all day while her grandfather burns old papers all night. New soot settles on the walls and Iskra wakes up to another day of cleaning. While feeding her only friend, a chicken who lives on the balcony, Iskra sees a young man. His arrival angers Grandfather but sparks a longing inside Iskra. A fight between them escalates. Iskra jumps off the balcony. Her dress gets stuck. She remains floating in limbo between past and future.
SNEJINA LATEV is an artist and filmmaker, born in Bulgaria, living in NYC and Stockholm. Her work in film and television started over fifteen years ago, while working as a creative director at VH1. More recently, she was a part of two documentary features; Walking on Water, a documentary film about the artist Christo’s Floating Piers installation in Lake Iseo, directed by Andrey Paounov, and Moments Like This Never Last, a biopic on the late artist Dash Snow, directed by Cheryl Dunn.
Director: Snejina Latev
Writer: Snejina Latev
Cinematography: Nathan Corbin
Composer: Saunder Jurriaans and Danny Bensi
Editor: Snejina Latev, Simon Carlgren
Producer: Mario Adamson, Aleksandar Aleksiev, Boyan Dechev, Paulina Knobloch, Snejina Latev, Nadezhda Tsvetkova
Cast:
Ani Ellen Åkerman Sarkisian, Nikola Dodov, Max Strömbeck
BULGARIA
/ БЪЛГАРИЯ / 2023 / 24’41’’
Stella is a social worker sent on a signal to check a house in the suburbs of Sofia. The young woman falls into the world of 9-year-old Scarlet and her negligent mother, who in order to survive gets involved with the wrong people. Beneath the child’s innocence, charm and vivid imagination, Stella begins to slowly uncover chilling details and dark secrets of life at home. Will she be able to fight the corrupt system and the criminal world of the mother to save the girl?
Director: Maria Bobeva
Writer: Maria Bobeva Cinematography: Aniri
Composer: Vasko Ivanov - Dexter
Editor: Tsvetomir Tsanov
Producer: Maria Bobeva, Petro Dushkov, Stanislava Ivy
Cast:
Eleonora Ivanova, Nika Ignatieva, Mira Boyajieva, Pavel Hristov, Sergey Ivanov – Dodo, Stanislava Ivy, Venci Venc‘, Petro Dushkov, Petko Kamenov - voice
MARIA BOBEVA is a Bulgarian-born, Los Angeles-based, award-winning director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. After several successful years on the stage in her homeland, she decided to pursue a film career in Hollywood, where she participated in numerous productions. In 2017, she started writing her own screenplays, and later directing and producing them. Her short films “Audition” and “Blinks” have been highly acclaimed on the international festival scene.
https://vimeo.com/911868402?share=copy
https://www.instagram.com/scarlet_short_film/
TALKING HEADS OR MEN OF DUTY OR THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT PROPAGANDA / ГОВОРЕЩИ
BULGARIA / БЪЛГАРИЯ / 2023 / 13’40’’
“Words, words, words.” Two rivalling and ludicrous street preachers have discovered The Truth we are all seeking. They preach it to everyone but to no avail. By Fate’s irony the preachers run into each other at the same preaching spot – a monumental tragedy. This terrible misfortune is further complicated by their dogmatic assertions about whose truth is truer. They indulge in an incoherent and nonsensical philosophical war of morals, stooping to base insults and filth.
“Думи, думи, думи.” Двама съперничещи си и нелепи улични пропо-
Director: Kristiyan Petrov
Writer: Kristiyan Petrov
Cinematography: Kiril Prodanov
Animation: Archive used: Duck and Cover (1952) (Public Domain)
Composer: Songs used: “Care Of Cell 44” performed by The Zombies; “Men Of Duty” performed by Peter Chernev
Editor: Kristiyan Petrov
Producer: Rosen Kamenov, Kristiyan Petrov
Cast: Kitodar Todorov, Leonid Yovchev, Deyan Krastev
KRISTIYAN PETROV is a young writer and director. Having always been interested in films, he began exploring the medium of film by editing videos. TALKING HEADS OR MEN OF DUTY OR THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT PROPAGANDA is his short film debut. Character dramas are the kind of films he writes. The Human Condition has always intrigued him. Kristiyan’s screenplays depict flawed and desperate characters, exploring themes such as dysfunctional families, alienation, love, loneliness and redemption.
Duck and Cover (1952) (Public Domain)
Of Cell 44”
Zombies;
https://vimeo.com/928030757
TWO TIMES TWO / 2 Х 2
BULGARIA, GERMANY / БЪЛГАРИЯ,
/ 2023 / 15‘
Two equal stories complement each other in a free meditation on the topic of violence.
Две
Director: Andrey M. Paounov
Writer: Andrey M. Paounov
Cinematography: Vasco Viana
Editor: Sylvia Katzarska and Victoria Radoslavova
Producer:
Elitza Katzarska, Andrey M. Paounov, Herebert Schwering Cast: Samuel Finzi, Yan Lozov, Alen Hristov
Bulgarian writer and director ANDREY M. PAOUNOV directed several award-winning documentaries including “Georgi and the Butterflies”, which won the Silver Wolf in Amsterdam in 2004, “The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories” (2007), selected in Cannes, and The Boy Who Was a King (2011). His latest documentary film Walking on Water, following renowned artist Christo, premiered at Locarno Festival 2018. Andrey’s first feature film January premiered at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in 2022 and received the Best Director Award at the 26th Sofia International Film and Golden Rose National Film Festival Special Jury Prize.
YOU DON’T EXIST /
BULGARIA / GERMANY
Sarah’s relationship through her phone leads to an estrangement from her real partner. As she immerses in a parallel life enabled by technology, she undergoes the phases of being in a relationship through a device.
After she completes her studies in “Theater and Cinema Sciences” in Berlin and YANA VIKTOROVA kickstarted her film career in 2010 as an assistant director on large-scale international productions filmed across Europe, Canada, the USA, and Bulgaria. After 12 years on the film set, she wrote “You don’t exist” which became her directorial debut.
Elisa, an aspiring actress, goes to talk about her experience to a journalist. During the interview she becomes aware of what she has gone through and the guilt she is carrying. Based on a true story. Елиса, изгряваща
SARA MARTÍNEZ SANZ (Spain, 1992) began her professional journey by dedicating herself to dance before diving into acting. She studied in Spain, Los Angeles, London and Rome. She is the co-founder of La Extraña Compañía, a theater company, and founded The Acting Studio Madrid, an acting training school where she directs actors in camera work with her own scripts. As an actress, she has participated in features, shorts, TV shows and theater plays. “8th February” is her first short as a director.
Producer: Natalia Ruiz, Sara Martínez Sanz, Amanda Ferrer
Cast: Sara Martínez Sanz, Willy Toledo, Javier Godino
A GOOD BOY / ДОБРО
FRANCE, BELGIUM / ФРАНЦИЯ,
/ 2023 / 19’21’’
Max, 16 years old, is a high level swimmer with a professional future. Between training sessions and outings with friends, he lives the life of a normal teenager. But when one afternoon the police arrive during training to question his coach, his well-adjusted life begins to fall apart and the image of the good boy he embodies begins to crack dangerously.
Cast: Igor van Dessel, Sandrine Blancke, Steve Driesen, Mara Taquin
After a degree in cinema and audiovisual studies at the Sorbonne, in parallel with which he worked as a film critic for various university media, PAUL VINCENT DE LESTRADE entered INSAS in the directing section. The common thread of his documentaries and fiction films is a series of portraits that question the violence to which we sometimes subject ourselves on a daily basis and the choice we are given to let it happen or to do something else with it.
https://www.instagram.com/paulvdelestrade/
AGUAMIEL / МЕДЕНА
MEXICO, USA / МЕКСИКО, САЩ / 2024 / 13’
Tensions rise as an angsty teenage daughter pines for her mother’s attention while she searches for her own fulfillment in life and love. Напрежението
SAGE BENNETT is a writer and director. She got her start in filmmaking as an editor and has since gone on to direct commercials, music videos, and narrative work. Her most recent short Placebo just premiered on NOWNESS to international acclaim. Sage is passionate about work that brings people together through the shared human experience.
Composer: Lino Ocando, “Castigame Bien” Original Song by Tania Nava
Editor: Jonathan Pellicer
Producer: Alan Suarez, Denise Mendoza, Carlos Eichelmann Kaiser, Alexandra Bas
Cast: Mayra Batalla, Miriam Rodriguez
ALARMS / ТРЕВОГА
FRANCE / ФРАНЦИЯ / 2024 / 16’43’’
Pierre is diligently overseeing the completion of the tumultuous construction site under his responsibility. An eco-district is due to arise from this bustling construction site. But for now, Pierre is ensuring that progress doesn’t come at the cost of safety.
NICOLAS PANAY directed “Breakpoint”, his first short film, in 2022. It is a powerful social drama about nowadays textile factory workers confronted with the pernicious mechanisms of our globalized economy, and the intractable moral dilemmas it entails. After its world premiere in Clermont-Ferrand, the film has now been selected in nearly fifty festivals. It has won several awards, and has been in the race for the Oscars 2024. “Alarms” is his second short film and a social thriller.
Writer: Nicolas Panay Cinematography: Giovanni C. Lorusso
Editor: Antoine Flandre
Producer: Philippe Wendling Cast: Thomas Couman, Laurence Côte, Emine Meyrem
AMANDA, YOU LIED / ЛЪЖЕШ,
SPAIN / ИСПАНИЯ / 2024 / 16‘17‘‘
Amanda and Virgi are two inseparable friends, but nothing will ever be the same again, when one afternoon, a man crosses their path.
Аманда
EVA LIBERTAD is a scriptwriter, director and producer. Her eclectic training and diversity of artistic interests have shaped a career that moves between stage and film. Since 2016 she leads the production company Nexus CreaFilms where she writes and directs projects such as “Sorda”, a short film nominated for the Goya 2023 and with more than 60 national and international awards.
NURIA MUÑOZ is a producer and director. She graduated in psychology and audiovisual communication. She founded the production company Nexus CreaFilms, after working in various media, and has evolved from producing commissioned projects, through the production of her own works to embarking on the production of films by other directors.
The 24 year old Ádám lives the calm life of a small-time pot dealer in his late-grandma’s apartment, in the outskirts of Budapest. Bence, his 14-year-old half-brother who just left home and is looking for refuge at Ádám’s place.
24-годишният Адам живее спокойния
Бенце, 14-годишният му полубрат,
MÁRK BELEZNAI is a Budapest based film director. His main focus is directing, but he studied editing, cinematography and scriptwriting as well. He also works as a projectionist in a small art-house cinema called Cirko-Gejzír. He’s focusing on everyday characters who have a deep desire to connect with someone else, but have a hard time doing so. His first notable short film, ‘Agapé’, which was made with fellow students at Budapest Metropolitan University, has been accepted for the Cinéfondation selection of Festival de Cannes, and won several awards worldwide. His subsequent short, ‘Another Nest’ was selected in various Oscar and European Film Award qualifying festivals, such as Interfilm Berlin, Leuven Intl. Short FIlm Festival, In The Palace Intl. Short Film Festival.
La Cañada Real, Europe’s largest slum on the outskirts of Madrid, has been without electricity for over a year. In the firelight, Toni, a 13 yearold boy, discovers that his best friend Nasser is leaving forever. Amongst Roma legends of a possible future, Toni looks for a way to stay connected to him.
Ла
та на огъня Тони, 13-годишно момче, открива, че най-добрият
GUILLERMO GARCÍA LÓPEZ is a filmmaker born in Madrid. His first film, Frágil Equilibrio, premiered at IDFA and won the Goya for Best Documentary Feature in 2017.
His new film Aunque es de Noche premiered at the Festival de Cannes Official Selection – Short Film Competition 2023 and won the Best Fiction Short Goya in 2024.
Director: Guillermo García López
Writer:
Guillermo García López, Inbar Horesh
Cinematography: Alana Mejiá González
Editor: Victoria Lammers
Producer: Marina García López, David Casas Riesco, Pablo de la Chica, Justin Pechberty, Damien Megherbi
BEAKS / С НОКТИ
FRANCE / ФРАНЦИЯ / 2023 / 22’30’’
In the north of France where cockfights are still authorized, 22 years old Anaïs gets into heavy debts after her father, a former fighting roosters’ breeder, passes away. As she needs to quickly find money, the young woman has no choice but to dive into the world of cockfights and make Balthazar, her father’s last rooster, fight.
Director: Xavier Demoulin
Writer: Xavier Demoulin and Louise Dubois
Cinematography: Alexandre Cabanne
Composer: Stéphane Gassot
Editor: Mona-Lise Lafant
Producer: Archibald Martin
Associate Producers: Théo Laboulandine and Hélène Mitjavile
Cast: Anaïs – Laurena Thellier, Tom – Raphaël Thiery, The cockfights’ organizer –Michel Masiero
After a Bachelor in Cinema at the University Paris 1 in 2006, XAVIER DEMOULIN directed in 2014 his first short movie, L’étang, produced by Good Fortune Films. Selected in many festivals, L’étang is awarded best short movie at the FMK International Short Film Festival (Podernone, Italy), and it obtains the Afficionado Ficcion price at the Ciné de Bogota Festival (Bogota, Colombia). In 2022, Xavier Demoulin co-writes with Louise Dubois Beaks and Nails, a short movie produced by Melocoton Films.
BOXES / КУТИИ
NORTH MACEDONIA
Lidija juggles a risky double life: a devoted mom and a drug dealer. When a fatal error jeopardizes her relationship with her suppliers, she faces the terrifying prospect of exposing her daughter to danger and her secret to her husband, Nikola, a police officer. Balancing on the edge of disaster, Lidija must navigate a dangerous path to safeguard her family and maintain her precarious facade.
Лидия
ANGELA DIMESKA is a screenwriter and director born on the 31st of May, 1998 in Skopje, North Macedonia, where she currently resides. She has studied both psychology and film directing. In 2021, Angela completes her first short film Wigs. This film has its premiere on several national and international festivals where it receives multiple awards. In 2023, Angela completes her second short film Boxes, supported by the North Macedonia Film Agency. Currently she is developing her third short film.
Eesa and Mokhtar are two miners who get into a fight. Eesa pushes Mokhtar to the ground, and Mokhtar falls down. Mokhtar‘s oxygen tank hits the ground, releasing a lot of oxygen. No one notices what happens to Mokhtar‘s oxygen tank. While everyone is working in the mine, Eesa realizes that methane gas is leaking in the tunnel. Eesa helps several workers, but Mokhtar dies in the accident due to his empty oxygen tank. Eesa blames himself for Mokhtar‘s death, which he believes would be accepting responsibility for murder. Now Eesa must choose between lying and becoming a hero or telling the truth, which would make him a killer.
SAMAN LOTFIAN is an Iranian cinematographer and photography director who is mostly known for his work in ATLAN and CONCRETE MAN documentaries, and the gripping feature films such as DROWN and WHEN THE MOON WAS FULL. The short film COAL is the first production that has been directed by him which has won the grand audience award in Clermont Ferrand festival.
Leona, grappling with her father‘s departure, is taken to Zadar by her mother, Petra, who aims to distract from her own scandalous affair. There, Leona meets Andre, a vacationing teen from California, and Kris, a passing digital nomad, leading to complex interactions that challenge Leona‘s relationships and self-perception. Amidst the turmoil, Leona navigates her emotions, rebellious tendencies, and the complexity of new connections, culminating in a night that forces both mother and daughter to confront their choices and each other.
IVAN MALEKIN is a prolific producer, director and editor. Founder of Nexus Production Group, he has been making films since 2007, his work spanning from Australia to Europe to America, including improvised feature films like „Friends, Foes & Fireworks“ (2018), „In Corpore“ (2020), and „Machination“ (2022), alongside the global web series „Life Improvised“. Ivan, who transitioned to improvisational cinema in 2016, is also an educator in the craft, offering courses online and in-person. He published his debut book „Improv for Indie Filmmakers“ in 2021.
Cast: Lucija Milojčić, Mia Zara, Ivano Črep, Dejan Marcikić
DUSTLIGHT / ПРАШИНКИ
GREECE / ГЪРЦИЯ / 2023 / 20’06’’
At an impasse in life, Matina returns to the family home to clear out her late mother‘s things. As she shifts through her mother’s belongings, she’s thrown into memories, as past and present collide, and she begins to embrace her grief leading to a personal epiphany.
CHRYSSANTHI is a Greek director and writer. She has completed six short narrative films and also works as a TV Director/Producer. She loves to tell female-led stories about complex relationship dynamics, transformative moments, and unsettled characters seeking connection. In January 2024 she was selected by Directors UK for the 2024 Inspire Mentoring Scheme. Chryssanthi is currently developing several short and feature projects and a female ensemble TV series.
17-year-old Cemre has been preparing for the competition of provincial swimming team for years. After a good workout, her trainer advises her to go easy on herself before the race. However, Cemre‘s efforts to spare time for her high school exams, boyfriend and family will not make it possible for her to follow her trainer’s advice. After a sleepless night, Cemre will be late for the competition due to a traumatic incident. Nevertheless, her attitude towards this incident will also be unexpected.
неочаквано.
Turkish screenwriter and film director. In 2021, his debut film Geranium which he directed and scripted, won the best debut film, best cinematography and best actress awards at the 40th Istanbul International Film Festival, best debut film in 31th Film Festival Cottbus and the 32nd Ankara Film Festival.
Deniz Ulku, Ilayda Elif Elhih, Fatih Sevdi, Deniz Celiloglu, Doga Karakas, Ozlem Baskaya, Sumaya Teoman, Huseyin Alkıivilcim, Ali Inanc, Caner Ozdemir
FAKE SHOT / ФЕЙК
ITALY / ИТАЛИЯ / 2023 / 20’00”
Emily and Breazy are two siblings who dream of breaking into the trap scene. Singing isn‘t enough though; soon they‘ll have to prove themselves as criminals worthy of their lyrics.
Director: Francesco Castellaneta
Writer: Margherita Arioli, Francesco Castellaneta, Valentina Morricone
Cinematography: Marco Minghi
Composer: Pietro Berchiatti
Editor: Davide Orrù
Producer: CSC Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia
FRANCESCO CASTELLANETA (Terlizzi, 1998) after graduating from high school, enrolled at the RUFA Academy of Fine Arts (Roma University of Fine Arts). After completing his bachelor‘s degree, he had experiences as a cinematographer and director of independent short films. In 2023 he graduated in „Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia“.
ICELAND / ИСЛАНДИЯ / 2023 / 05’13’’
At a busy downtown café, a woman zones out during a business meeting. A drifting seagull hits the window. The customers notice the incident but shortly stop paying attention. The woman tries to ignore the event too but is unable to shake it off as she notices the seagull is still alive but greatly suffering. She heads outside to euthanize the bird. Some children watch and yell at her for trying to kill the seagull. She eventually twists the bird‘s neck and the children move on back to their games. While she buries the bird in a nearby flower bed, her colleagues and the customers stare at her.
GUNNUR GUNNUR is an Icelandic / German actress and director, currently based in Reykjavik. Through stories she aims to mirror and dissect human actions and desirers in daily life, using both the tools of theatre and film. Gunnur has created, acted in and been part of the creative process of numerous projects, she is an EDDA AWARD nominee and has received other recognition.
FOR PEOPLE IN TROUBLE /
UNITED KINGDOM /
/ 2022 / 16’05’’
Jenny and Paul meet at a pub. Quickly, they fall in love. The beginnings of their relationship blossom against a world that‘s falling apart. Jenny becomes radicalised; Europe moves further to the Right; martial law is in place.
ALEX began working as an actor in THE IMITATION GAME, then leading BLACK MIRROR SHUT UP AND DANCE and Netflix series THE END OF THE F‘ING WORLD. Recent film work includes THE LAST DUEL, Hadžihalilović‘s EARWIG and Star Wars’ ANDOR.
A hot summer day. A half-unpacked house. A mother who needs room to breathe, and a child who needs space to exist. As the afternoon heat turns oppressive, time seems to move entirely differently for each person.
Горещ
MARIE-PIER DUPUIS graduated from UQAM in 2016 and has been editing documentary and fiction films ever since. She has always been drawn by narrative structures in which form and content converge. Recently her interests—poutine, microwaved coffee and Quebec reality TV—have led her to screenwriting and directing. Produced by Némésis Films in summer 2022, L’été des chaleurs is Dupuis’ first short film.
On a bright winter morning, Trevor and Elsa share breakfast in their Montreal apartment. Trevor interrupts the silence with a simple, „You good?“ disrupting the balance of their relationship.
Amidst a sudden surge of deaths during a new pandemic, a funeral director eagerly embraces the influx of business, seeing it as a twist of fate. However, encounters with clients who pass judgment—like one disdainful of his daughter‘s playful presence in the funeral home—prompt him to ponder the moral ambiguities of his trade.
По време
възможност.
GANA ČOMAGIĆ was born in Montenegro in 1991, and was raised in Podgorica and Zurich. A writer, director, and producer, she holds a MA in documentary film from the University of Sussex. She heads Evil Ideas, a Montenegro-based production company. Her short film „Lady in Black“ was nominated for a Golden Egg at the Reykjavik International Film Festival 2023. Gana is currently working on multiple short and feature films in Montenegro and abroad. She is a member of the European Film Academy.
Cast: Petar Dobričanin, Olivera Vuković, Radmila Božović, Taša Knežević, Jovan Dabović
Режисьор:
L’ÂGE ACROBATIQUE
FRANCE
/ ФРАНЦИЯ / 2023 / 15’35’’
Lucas, thirteen, takes part in an acrobatic rock workshop for the first time. In the gymnasium, bodies fly away, the risk of falling is permanent and the heart races. A big jump into adolescence.
Лукас, тринадесетгодишен
батичен рок.
Director: Mathieu Barbet
Writer: Mathieu Barbet
Cinematography: Cyrille Hubert
Composer: Leo Barbenes
Editor: Raphael Costa
Producer: Adrien Bretet
Cast: Ferdinand Redouloux, Pauline Delli-Colli, Florence Janas, Mado Jouannet
MATHIEU BARBET is a young French writer living in Paris. He directs for the first time a short film: L‘Âge Acrobatique. He wants to address the theme of adolescence, puberty and first love within this film. He also undertook medical studies.
PIGEONS ARE DYING, WHEN THE CITY IS ON FIRE /
GREECE
/ ГЪРЦИЯ /
2023 / 21‘
On the warmest day of the year, two boys meet. A few hours later a pigeon gets trapped with them. During this heatwave, all creatures dream of escaping from the city that‘s burning.
Industry Academy
STAVROS MARKOULAKIS is a writer/director and film programmer (Locarno Industry Academy & Sarajevo Talents Alumnus). His films, balancing between the real and the imaginary, aim to research the state of belonging, the different ways of perceiving time and reality, as well as the human relationships and non-human connections in our universe. His sophomore film, „Pigeons are Dying, When the City is on Fire“, premiered at Sarajevo FF and screened at Clermont-Ferrand ISF. He is currently developing his debut feature „Sunbruise“.
Sarajevo Talents Alumnus).
Director: Stavros Markoulakis
Writer: Stavros Markoulakis
Cinematography: Konstantinos Koukoulios
Composer: Marilena Orfanou
Editor: Smaro Papaevangelou
Producer: Nikos Smpiliris, Iraklis Mavroidis
Cast: Angelo Diamantis, Thanos Koniaris
PLEASE MAKE IT WORK /
SWITZERLAND, PORTUGAL /
Cláudia is a Portuguese immigrant who deals with a terrorizing boss, her rejecting daughter and the strong mountain wind, as she cleans sophisticated AirBnB’s in the Swiss Alps.
Portuguese writer, filmmaker & photographer, who was born in Germany and currently lives in Lisbon. “What Remains”, his first narrative short film, screened at several festivals, such as Telluride FF, Clermont-Ferrand FF and Hong Kong IFF. It won the Grand Prix at Premiers Plans and Best Portuguese Short Film at IndieLisboa IFF. Recently, he was selected into Locarno’s Spring Academy where he wrote and directed his newest short film Please Make It Work.
https://vimeo.com/736093920
Portugal Film: https://www.instagram.com/portugalfilmagency/
Daniel Soares: https://www.instagram.com/soaresfilm/
Director: Daniel Soares
Writer: Daniel Soares
Cinematography: Valerio Picchi, Daniel Soares
Composer: Moullinex
Editor: Daniel Soares
Producer: Daniel Soares, Romina Orsini / Kid with a Bike, Daniela Persico / Locarno Film Festival, Ticino Film Commission, RSI - Radiotelevisione svizzera, CISA
Cast: Cláudia Rodrigues, Nancy Rodrigues, Kim Leeuwenburg, Jacopo Scacchi
POOL EDGE / НА
ITALY / ИТАЛИЯ / 2023 / 11’14’’
A scorching summer day like any other. Chaos descends on a public swimming pool when the innocent game between a daughter and a father becomes a nightmare.
After graduating in Humanities (2011) and graduating in Film Direction at the Civica Scuola di Cinema in Milan (2014), GIUSEPPE ZAMPELLA starts his artistic career by making several short films and documentaries over the years, all projects which he also wrote. In 2017 he created the short film festival „Bolzano in 48h-short film contest“. Since 2022 he has been a founding partner of the film production company Matto film s.r.l. At the same time he works as a location manager in South Tyrol.
и филмова режисура в Civica Scuola, Милано (2014). Започва кариерата
Producer: Massimiliano Gianotti, Adam Selo, Olga Torrico, Michele Cherchi Palmieri
Cast: Irene Maiorino (Mother), Sandro Capriati (Father), Greta Sacco (Daughter)
USA / САЩ / 2023 / 11’51’’
A slew of young auditionees litter an empty warehouse as they prepare for an unorthodox audition. Among them is Thea, a hesitant young hopeful in pursuit of a coveted spot in an elite acting program. As the audition progresses, she must pass through a series of three tests; surrender, assimilation and risk. Her willingness is increasingly challenged as she’s asked to abandon her sense of autonomy and conventional morality. But when the coveted list is posted, will the price she paid be worth it?
MARGOT BUDZYNA is a rising queer director. Her shorts have garnered awards and played at Oscar Qualifying festivals in the US and internationally. Her most recent short, RAPT recently premiered at Mammoth FF where it garnered nominations for Best Director, Best Actress and Best Short. RAPT is a concept piece for a feature by the same name that was a Quarterfinalist for the Academy Nicholl Writing Fellowship and is currently in development.
https://vimeo.com/862135384?share=copy
Director: Margot Budzyna
Writer: Margot Budzyna, Christian Tasiopoulos
Cinematography: Julia Swain
Composer: Martín De Lima
Editor: Margot Budzyna. Gregory Foltynowit
Producer: Olivia Battles-Reap, Margot Budzyna, Chase McNaughton, Christian Tasiopoulos
Cast: Jesse LaTourette, Marc Menchaca, Clare Morrisey
SPAIN / ИСПАНИЯ / 2023 / 8’
Ruben and Asïr, two great friends, meet every afternoon to play soccer in a car scrapyard. One day like any other, Ruben waits for his friend, with the surprise that he has been beaten up because of racism. The unconditional support that Rubén offers to Asïr reflects the purest friendship, although the worst is yet to come. Рубен
MIGUEL ÁNGEL OLIVARES has directed various videoclips of various well-known artists, but his directorial debut was made with JULIA, (2020) a short film starring Daniela Santiago. He is now introducing his new short film „Scrapyard“ (2023), already achieving 100 selections at Festivals and almost 30 awards. He is also immersed in a new short film entitled “Vinyl”, starring Monica Bardem.
Director: Miguel Ángel Olivares
Writer: Adán Pichardo, Julián González
Cinematography: Paco Cintado
Composer: NIN3S (aka Manu García)
Editor: Marta Barrios
Producer: Miguel Ángel Olivares, Nacho Guerreros, Marta Barrios, Fernando Osuna Mascaró
Cast: Asier Flores, Yousef Bougarouane, Pilar Nogales, Leonor Pernas, Pablo Muñoz, Javier Herrero
LUCIAN (13) would like to fit in. He doesn’t want to be ridiculed, so he decides to go skiing for sports day, even though he can’t ski at all. One lie leads to another, and finally to a flurry of untruths that put Lucian in an unbearable situation he can’t escape from.
(13 г.)
AUGUST ADRIAN BRAATZ was born in Berlin in 1993. He graduated in film directing at Ljubljana Academy AGRFT. During his studies, he directed short films “Laughter” (2015) and „Robbed Soul” (special mention at the LIFFE-International film festival of Directing).
Between 2019 and 2021 he directed and self-produced experimental short films: “The Vacation”, “Separation-19” and “Future Nostalgia”. All successfully travelled to festivals. He also works as a music composer. His musical credits, among others, include two feature films: Good Day‘s Work by M. Turk (premiere Busan IFF 2018) and Familienleben by R. H. Ziegler (premiere Berlinale-Panorama 2018).
Director: August Adrian Braatz
Writer: August Adrian Braatz
Cinematography: Peter Perunovič
Composer: August Adrian Braatz
Editor: Nik Lavrič
Producer: SENCA STUDIO (Slovenia)
Cast: Emil Kulovič – Lucian, Tilen Kolbe
Lina
SUMMERTIME / ЛЯТО
ITALY / ИТАЛИЯ / 2023 / 14’53’’
Every summer, Eugenio and Leo hang out together during their holidays in Calabria. One day Leo convinces Eugenio to steal a boat, pushing the boundaries of their friendship. The two boys are growing up, and they are curious to see what it’s like to be adults. Всяко лято Еудженио
SARA SCALERA was born in Mesagne, Italy, in 1988. In 2019 she directed her debut short film “In Braccio Alla Corrente”, which premiered at the European Film Festival of Lecce. In 2020 she founded and organized the Apulia Film Fest, a yearly short film festival which takes place in her hometown. In 2022 she became co-producer of the new short film directed by Antonio La Camera (under the supervision Apichatpong Weerasethakul). Her second short film is “La piccola estate (Summertime)” (2023).
Composer: Submerged by The Guild of Ambience (courtesy of the author), Hasta siempre, comandante (played for the film by Erica Bianco and Elena Bastogi)
Editor: Antonio La Camera
Producer: Sara Scalera
Cast: Francesco Grillo, Stefano Penzo
Submerged - The Guild of Ambience, Hasta siempre, comandante
TASTE LIFE / ДЕГУСТИРАМ
FRANCE / ФРАНЦИЯ / 2023 / 25’
Antonin (35) is not so young anymore, his ardor and insolence should have evaporated with the years but he remains unpredictable in his social relationships, in his love and friendship relationships. He is often funny, sometimes pathetic, or the opposite. Who can support his endurance? Antonin bumps up against reality, so come what may, he will end up breathless. Антонин
LÉO-ANTONIN LUTINIER was born in 1982 in Paris. After four years of training at the Conservatoire d‘Art Dramatique du 5ème arrondissement de Paris, he joined the École du Théâtre National de Strasbourg, from which he graduated in 2007. From then on, Léo-Antonin has been exploring for more than ten years different theatrical forms - in particular with his acolyte Sylvain Creuzevaultand various themes - such as the family, the Terror during the French Revolution or Karl Marx‘s Capital. Léo-Antonin has also made a few film appearances, in both short and feature films, most recently in Elie Wajeman‘s Médecin de Nuit. Recently, Léo-Antonin has directed his first short film, Je veux déguster.
Director: Léo-Antonin Lutinier
Writer: Léo-Antonin Lutinier
Cinematography: Jordane Chouzenoux
Composer: Antonin Tri Hoang, Clémence Jeanguillaume, Thibault Perriard
Editor: Marine Benveniste
Producer: Igor Auzépy, Stéphane Demoustier
Cast: Léo-Antonin Lutinier, Sarah Le Picard, Sébastien Pouderoux de la Comédie Française, Samuel Achache, Sylvain Sounier, Lionel Dray, Marion Picard
THE BOAT / ЛОДКАТА
IRELAND / ИРЛАНДИЯ / 2023 / 15’47’’
When Dhuckia grows up, she wants to be a boat-maker like her Dad. But when he finds out that she is showing the early symptoms of leprosy, he must make a terrible choice. A Nepal/Ireland co-production. Based on a true story.
LUKE MORGAN is the winner of the Gran Prix for an Irish Short at Cork International Film Festival 2023 and Foyle Film Festival 2023, both of which are Academy-Award® Qualifying. He is the co-director of a new Irish Feature film, Froggie, which will be released in late 2024. As well as being a filmmaker, he is an award-winning poet. He lives and works in Galway, Ireland.
International Film Festival 2023
Foyle Film Festival 2023.
The Boat (Official Trailer 2024) (youtube.com) www.facebook.com/MorganBrothersIE www.instagram.com/morgan_bros www.x.com/morgancreative1 www.morganbrothers.ie
Director: Luke Morgan
Writer: Luke Morgan
Cinematography: Lakshika Serasinhe
Composer: Jake Morgan
Editor: Ryan Keane
Producer: Jake Morgan, The Mission to End Leprosy
Cast: Shree Ram Dahal, Tejuswee Ram Dahal
Режисьор:
Музика:
Продуцент:
Морган, The Mission to End Leprosy
THE CALL / ЗОВ
KOSOVO / КОСОВО / 2023 / 10’18’’
An accidental conflict between two brothers ends tragically. The younger brother, while they are fixing their father‘s grave, kills the older brother in a scuffle, accusing the older brother of stealing everything from him in this life. The gravedigger, who sees the brothers‘ fight from afar, arrives after a while at their father‘s grave and finds the revolver on the ground. The brothers‘ mother arrived in the meantime and found the gravedigger with her husband‘s revolver in her hand.
Director: Mirak Zymberaj
Writer: Mentor Zymberaj
Cinematography: Blerim Gjinovci
Composer: Memli Kelmendi
Editor: Ermal Duli
Producer: Mentor Zymberaj
Cast: Mentor Zymberaj, Albina Osmani, Miran Zymberaj, Art Pasha
Режисьор:
Музика:
MIRAK ZIMBERAJ was born and lives in Kosovo. He graduated in TV and Film directing from Hasan Prishtina University. He has directed a number of short
with which he has participated and won awards at many international festivals.
UNITED KINGDOM / ВЕЛИКОБРИТАНИЯ / 2023 / 12’52”
Sasha is in bed, masturbating to porn. Then with her bestie Belle, she practices for a double date skating with Danny & Rory. Outside, Danny and Sasha are snogging. Intrigued by his erection, Sasha touches it. She wants more but he leaves, out of his depth. Sasha hears Danny mocking her, laughing as Sasha joins Belle. It’s different between them. Саша
AMY HODGE is an Olivier nominated theatre and screen director. She directs in the most UK prestigious theatres. Her recent production of Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World won Best Show for Family’s and Young Audiences at 2022 UK Theatre Awards. She is developing two TV series including one under commission to FilmNation. She made 12 short films for The Guardian Newspaper including the Brexit Shorts which were seen by 2 million viewers and toured international festivals.
Summer, early 2000s. A young boy arrives at his grandparents’ house in a small seaside village. Summertime is finally on! Keeping him company during his carefree summer days, is the mysterious “witch”, a self-isolated elderly woman living in an old house by the sea. When one day the woman is no longer there, the boy will turn his gaze, for the first time, to the light of the setting sun. Лято,
ASTERIS TZIOLAS was born in 1994 in Athens and grew up in Volos. After a few years in Medical School, he decided to withdraw from his studies in order to enter the world of cinema and focus on film directing. In 2020, he graduated from the Hellenic Cinema and Television School Stavrakos (Member of CILECT) . His thesis film “When Night Lost” premiered at the 27th Sarajevo Film Festival. The following year he was selected at the 16th edition of Talents Sarajevo (Director’s Summit). «The First Setting Sun of Summer» was awarded at the 46th Drama International Short Film Festival with the Special Jury Award and the Award from the Greek Society of Cinematographers.
Teenage Sara travels to a small provincial town to attend the memorial service of her grandmother. The usually quiet village is being disrupted by the construction of the new railway. While fighting her fears, Sara finds shelter in a worker from the construction site.
NIKOLA STOJANOVIĆ, 28, is an award-winning film director and editor. He graduated as the top student in Film Directing at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade. His films have been screened at over 100 film festivals around the world, winning awards at festivals such as Sarajevo FF, Les Arcs FF, Beldocs FF. Besides film, he directs music videos, having worked with artists such as Konstrakta, Repetitor, Structures, Bojana Vunturisevic. He was part of Berlinale Talents in Sarajevo in 2020.
Cast: AnitaAdmirOgnjanović, Šehović, Jelena Stupljanin
Режисьор: Никола Стоянович Сценарист: Наджа Петрович, Никола Стоянович
Оператор: Младен Теофилович Монтаж: Никола Стоянович
Продуцент:
THE HEART OF TEXAS /
USA / САЩ / 2024 / 14’54’’
Janie May, an aspiring country singer, learns that she’s a radio contest finalist during her shift at a diner in Waco, TX. She must race to the station to sing for a hometown music hero in hopes of winning the opening act spot on his upcoming tour. In a dash to the studio, she collides into an undocumented worker who refuses medical care or police assistance out of fear of being deported. The two engage in a struggle, each in pursuit of their own American dreams.
GREGORY JM KASUNICH is an award winning film, commercial and music video writer, director, and producer from Pittsburgh, PA. His body of work includes projects for Taylor Swift, The Pentatonix, The Summer Set, DreamWorks, Disney, Lucasfilm, General Mills, DirectTV, Mattel, iHeatRadio, and many others. His editorial and portrait photography has been published in several periodicals. His films have been nominated and awarded in festivals the world over.
Director: Gregory JM Kasunich
Writer: Gregory JM Kasunich, Lauren C. Noll
Cinematography: Brent Johnson
Composer: Gene Micofsky
Editor: Wes Langdon
Producer: Mario Davila, Jordan Ochel, Sol Bautista, Andy Racoti, Trey Chamness, Becca English
Cast: Lauren Noll / Carlos Moreno Cravioto
The Pentatonix, The Summer Set, DreamWorks, Disney, Lucasfilm, General Mills, DirectTV, Mattel, iHeatRadio
Teresa lives with her parents and her daughter in a country house. It‘s summer.
Тереза
DAVID VALERO is a self-taught filmmaker who combines filmmaking with advertising. In 2007 he released his first short film in 35mm „Children who never existed“, winning more than fifty international awards. In 2012 she premiered her debut feature „The Incredibles“ at the San Sebastian Film Festival. In 2014 he premiered his next feature film „Noah‘s Ark“, co-directed with Adán Aliaga, in the official section of the Seminci. His short film „Scratch“ wins the award for best short film at the 2018 Valencian Audiovisual Awards and is a candidate for the Goya Awards. In 2020 he premieres his short film „Los Bengalas Orchestra“ at the Krakow Film Festival and is nominated for the Goya Awards. In 2021 he directed the short film „Space Frankie“. In 2022 he premieres the feature documentary „The Longest life“ at Docs Valencia and is nominated for the Berlanga Awards. He is currently in the post-production phase of his latest film titled „ENEMIGOS“ which is produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Prime Video and Atipica Films.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Prime Video и Atipica Films.
https://vimeo.com/774826278?share=copy
https://www.instagram.com/davidvalerosimon/
Director: David Valero
Writer: David Valero
Cinematography: David Valero
Editor: David Valero
Producer: David Valero
Cast: Teresa Royuela, Aroa Royuela, Josefa Mestre Режисьор:
Сценарист:
THE PILEUP / МАШИНКАТА
SPAIN / ИСПАНИЯ / 2023 / 12’
Angustias is an elderly widow who lives a sad and dull life because she misses her late husband. One day she receives a mysterious package and when he opens it he finds inside a strange object that she has never seen. With the help of her friends, she will try to find out what „the pileup“ is for. Ангустиас
ÓSCAR TORIBIO, director and producer. I study directing tv cinema and advertising at CES, Madrid. Born in La Mancha and resident in Melilla. He has dedicated his life entirely to the audiovisual sector for 22 years, has worked in different audiovisual media and in 2017 he created his own production company ZaluProducciones developing his own production. Their universes are very realistic with their comedic touch, making the viewer want to see more.
https://vimeo.com/750947531
https://selectedfilms.com/el-cacharrico
Director: Oscar Toribio
Writer: Salva Martos Cortes
Editor: Oscar Toribio
Producer: Oscar Toribio Cast: Rosario Pardo, Isabella Rose Woolger, Cristian Bustos, Alejandro San Martín, Mar Vidal, Marina Borreguero
THE SEA THAT MOVES THINGS /
ITALY /
ИТАЛИЯ
/ 2022 / 15’
Massimo is the owner of a beach resort where he lives with his wife and two daughters. Everything has changed since he discovered having Parkinson’s disease: his days follow one another in a state of apparent uselessness. The encounter with an African boy will allow him to react to the pain, put it aside, and understand that he is still able to take care of his neighbor. Because even more than disease, fear is the real enemy to fight. Масимо
hhttps://youtu.be/tBPAGt7Ows8
LORENZO MARINELLI (Napoli, 1983) graduated in ‘Scienze della Comunicazione’ at the University Suor Orsola Benincasa. In 2011 he obtained a master‘s degree in journalism. He has written and directed short films, web series, and documentaries, winning national and international awards. He was the second unit director for TV series and feature films.
Cast: Nando Paone, Gea Martire, Joshua David Atotor, Pina Di Gennaro, Claudia Tranchese, Giorgio Romanelli
Open Mind, Beagle Media, Assedio Film
THE TUNER OF SILENCES /
PORTUGAL, BRAZIL /
Mwanito’s been living in a big-game park for eight years. The only people he knows are his father, his brother, an uncle, and a servant. He’s been told that the rest of the world is dead, that all roads are sad, and that they wait for an apology from God.
MÁRIO PATROCÍNIO was born in 1978 in Lisbon. A year away from majoring in economics, in Lisbon University, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue filmmaking. Nowadays, he is the partner of the production company BRO Cinema with a focus on creating global relevant content for multi-platforms, cinema, and advertising. Mário‘s slate is a combination of various IPs developed in the company‘s writer‘s room, and it includes TV series, documentaries, and feature films.
да следва мечтата си да стане режисьор. Днес той е партньор
Cast: Enzo Ignácio, Fabrício Assis, Markus Konka, Wanderson Brasil, Wilson Rabelo
THE WASHING MACHINE /
SPAIN / ИСПАНИЯ / 2021 / 6’30”
To start a washing machine is not so easy for everyone. You still have to choose the right program...
Да
Very curious and risk-taking by nature, she loves challenges. So, when she is encouraged, she does not know how to say no to get involved in film projects. And as she is also committed to an indie and unconventional cinema, this short film was shot without any subsidy, in a very improvised way, in a very short time and in a spontaneous way.
Director: Diane Malherbe
Writer: Diane Malherbe
Cinematography: Charel Fabry
Editor: Tony Pardo
Producer: Diane Malherbe
Cast: Alberto Molinero
THEY CALL ME CHINO / ВИКАТ
SPAIN / ИСПАНИЯ / 2023 / 18’
Chino is a young guy who -like a wolf against his instincts- wants to leave his pack. But first he has to accept the fact that he is part of it.
JESÚS RIVERA (Almería, Spain, 1990). Bachelor in Media and Communication, graduated by the University of Malaga. He has developed his career on theater, radio, advertising and cinema all around Spain. Seeing life with his one and a half eye, he is always looking for the way of showing his own perception of reality.
Director: Jesús Rivera
Writer: Rafa Alberola, Jesús Rivera
Cinematography: Jorge Sirvent Cámara
Editor: Pablo Barce
Producer: Iván Pérez
Cast: Manuel Llunell, Vicente Vergara, Ramón Lozano
THINGS UNHEARD OF /
TURKEY / ТУРЦИЯ / 2023 / 15‘36‘‘
A little Kurdish girl tries to put a smile back on her grandmother’s face after the disappearance of her television, her only window into the world. Малко
RAMAZAN KILIÇ who was born in Ağrı, East of Turkey 1993 studied Cinema-Tv, and Literature at İstanbul Şehir University in Istanbul. His previous film “The School Bus” competed in many prestigious film festivals. Including, Clermont-Ferrand, Leeds, PÖFF Shorts, Odense, Palm Springs, Indy Shorts, and Bogoshorts. And, he was involved as a producer for The Moisture which had its World Premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival in the Orizzonti Short Film Competition. His latest film Things Unheard Of won the Special Jury Mention award at Clermont-Ferrand 2023.
University.
но Clermont-Ferrand, Leeds, PÖFF Shorts, Odense, Palm Springs, Indy Shorts и Bogoshorts. Продуцент е на филма The Moisture, който
Orizzonti Short Films. Последният му филм „Things Unheard Of“ печели Special Jury Mention в Clermont-Ferrand 2023.
https://vimeo.com/781402432?share=copy
Facebook: ramazankilicfilm
Insta: ramazankilicfilm
X: Rkilicfilm
Director: Ramazan Kılıç
Writer: Ramazan Kılıç
Cinematography: Sebastian Weber
Composer: Xebat Aşmî
Editor: Abdullah Enes Ünal
Producer: Ekin Koç, Ramazan Kılıç
Cast: Elanur Kılıç, Reyhan Kılıç, Şükran Aktı, Muhammed Ali Kılıç
WELCOME TAHIYA /
SPAIN / ИСПАНИЯ / 2023 / 14’28’’
A few months ago, Anna and Xavi started living with Tahiya, a young Arab woman whom Anna managed to bring secretly to their apartment in Barcelona. The situation of the girl is completely illegal. Trying to help her, Anna clashes first with the hermeticism of the system and then with her own ethics and morals. In addition, her relationship with Xavi is being affected by all of this. When a terrorist attack strikes the heart of the city, fears, doubts, and misgivings take over them. Преди
Actress, writer and director from Barcelona. “Una nit” (2014) earns the Critics Award for Best New Director at FIBABC’16. “Fugit” (2016) was a candidate for the Goya Awards’18. “Vaca” (2018), was internationally acclaimed, premiering at the 60th ZINEBI and at the 34th Santa Barbara Intl Film Festival, was nominated for the HBO Ibero-American Short Film Award at the 36th Miami Film Festival, and also for the Goya Awards’20. “Welcome Tahiya” premiered at the 65th ZINEBI and at the 27th Festival de Málaga.
Director: Marta Bayarri
Writer: Marta Bayarri
Cinematography: Josep Pardo
Composer: David Crespo
Editor: Domi Parra
Producer: Oriol Ruiz, Miguel Angel Faura
Cast: Iria del Río, Oriol Ruiz, Miriam Moukhles Режисьор:
https://vimeo.com/874593965
WRECKER / РУШИТЕЛ
IRELAND
/ ИРЛАНДИЯ / 2023 / 14’13’’
In the midst of the Irish famine, a father and daughter battle for survival. Confronted with the harsh consequences of eviction and hunger, the father aligns himself with a band of ‚wreckers‘ who demolish the homes of ousted tenants on behalf of a landlord. As the young girl strives to uncover the reality behind their means of sustenance during these trying times, she must come to terms with her father‘s decisions and stand up for her convictions.
MARTINA McGLYNN is an IFTA winning producer/ director from County Offaly Ireland. She has an extensive film and documentary career including the award winning ‘Who is Dervla Murphy’, ‘The Secret Market’ and ‘A Nightingale Falling’. ‘Wrecker’ is her solo directorial debut. Her most recent documentary as producer ‘Nothing To Declare’ had an incredible festival run including wins at The Galway Film Fleadh and IFI Documentary Festival.
https://vimeo.com/923758468?share=copy https://www.instagram.com/wreckerfilm/ https://www.mixedbagmedia.com/ X - @wreckerfilm
Documentary
Director: Martina McGlynn
Writer: Aoife Bradshaw
Cinematography: Aidan Gault
Composer: Jack Dempsey McMahon
Editor: Garret Daly
Producer: Garret Daly Cast: Sam Keeley, Cameron Barron, Conor
ESTONIA, BULGARIA / ЕСТОНИЯ,
/ 2023 / 11‘48‘‘
Riina spends her days managing a graveyard. She meticulously tends to every detail on the day she will complete her goal of burying 1000 bodies. Setbacks arise and Riina takes matters into her own hands, only to face another blow when the 1000th funeral is unexpectedly canceled. Devastated, she unknowingly completes her goal as she falls into the empty grave.
Рина е управител на гробище
NEVENA SEMOVA is an independent producer and director based between Bulgaria and Estonia. Her directorial debut “1000” had its world premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in November 2023, while her previous projects as producer have been presented at festivals like Clermont-Ferrand, FEST, WildDogs, In the Palace and Uşak Film Festival. Nevena received a Baltic MEDIA Producers Award (Baltic Pitching Forum 2022) and was selected to the New Producers Room at Cannes Film Festival 2023.
Renata has a secret relationship with Liliana, her swimming coach. The game of power in which the couple dwells can transform the love and passion they profess for each other into the same force that destroys them.
NATALIA BERMÚDEZ is a director, writer, and cinematographer born in Tijuana, Mexico. Graduated CUM LAUDE from the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica with a degree in directing. Her debut documentary „Norte“ was a winner at GIFF and received a special mention at DocsMx. She has directed and written fiction and documentary short films such as „Apnea“ (Winner of 6 Pantallas de Cristal and Audience Award at Etiuda & Anima in Poland. Official selection at Huelva, La Habana, Cinequest, FICM, Kinoforum, among others), „Golden Malibu“ (Official selection at FICM, GIFF, Palm Springs. Audience Award at Kinoforum Sao Paulo and Best Short Film at Houston Latino Filmfest and Le chien qui aboie). In television, she co-directed with Everardo González the documentary series „Anatomía del mal (Vix).“ She has also contributed as a director and/or writer to programs such as „Stories of a generation“ (Netflix), „Erótica“ (Pantaya), „Marea Alta“ (Vix), „Mariachi Camargo“ (Canal 14), and as a cinematographer in „Cenizas de la Gloria“ (Vix), „Anatomía del mal“ (Vix), and „Villamiseria.“
Director: Natalia Bermúdez
Writer: Natalia Bermúdez, Danae Reynaud
Cinematography: José Grimaldo
Composer: Antonio Tranquilino
Editor: Cosme Álvarez
Producer: Franco Bautista, Male Lara
Production Company: Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, A.C.
Cast: Victoria White (Renata), Claudette Maillé (Liliana)
of
generation (Netflix), Erótica (Pantaya), Marea Alta (Vix), Mariachi Camargo (Canal 14). Оператор
Cenizas de la Gloria (Vix), Anatomía del mal (Vix) и Villamiseria.
Two 18-year-old boys, Tomas, and Ales travel through the Czech countryside with an unordinary business plan. Who has ever thought about renovating and renting out an old WWII bunker? However, a small joke causes unexpected emotional turmoil. And so before making their dreams come true, they are forced to reconsider the true nature of their relationship... squeezed into one sleeping bag. Две
PIOTR JASIŃSKI (1992) is a Polish film director, based in Warsaw. Currently he is finishing a Directing MA at FAMU International in Prague and focusing his directing work on the essence of ordinary human stories. Piotr›s short films have been premiered and awarded at major film festivals (Warsaw FF, Doc NYC, Cairo IFF, Bogoshorts, etc.). His works were shortlisted for the Czech Film Academy Award. He was a part of the jury at the Warsaw Film Festival 2023.
https://vimeo.com/890840221?share=copy
https://www.instagram.com/mimo_bunk.film/
Director: Piotr Jasinski
Writer: Piotr Jasinski, Jan Dvoracek Cinematography: Vojtech Lukes
Editor: Oleksandr Veremeyenko
Producer: Ondrej Sejnoha (FAMU)
Cast: Josef Trojan, Jakub Kalian, Vasil Fridrich
CATCHING BIRDS /
GERMANY, FRANCE, AUSTRIA /
The sixteen year old wrestler Anouk is well integrated in the male-dominated parisian wrestling team. She trains with her best friend Louis but gets distracted by a new team member, who raises her interest. By following her first feelings of sexual desire she experiences the insecurity of her male colleagues and especially of her best friend.
LEA MARIE Lembke grew up in Berlin, where she studied philosophy and film studies at Freie Universität Berlin. She gained her first experiences in film working as an assistant director and casting coordinator for renowned film productions. As well as directing her own short films and short documentaries.
SIMON MARIA KUBIENA, born in Vienna in 1998 was introduced to filmmaking through acting, both at the Burgtheater in Vienna and in Austrian film productions. He participated in several film and acting workshops, including one at the Prague Film School. His short films have been screened internationally at film festivals, including the Berlinale in 2022.
Director: Simon Maria Kubiena, Lea Marie Lembke
Writer: Simon Maria Kubiena and Lea Marie Lembke
Cinematography: Leon Hörtrich and Wesley William Salamone
Editor: Lucas Cantera
Producer: Lisa Purtscher and Lotta Schmelzer
Cast: Anouk - Anna Stanic, Louis - Fethi Aidouni, Theo - Marin Judas
https://vimeo.com/792249911
https://www.refreshingfilms.com/filme/mise-a-nu
GERMANY / ГЕРМАНИЯ / 2023 / 25‘59‘‘
In this family you can only become a true member by getting your first scar. But 12-year-old Fabi is still woundless. On grandpa‘s farm, he has to finally prove himself as one of them. Fabi‘s father knows that the boy now has to go through with it - as they all had to. And Fabi really wants to belong. But in the end, how much will be left of him (and his skin)?
After being born in 1994, JENS KEVIN GEORG had to watch how the German Mannschaft was kicked out of the Football World Cup. 2009 was the end of his goalkeeper career: he lost the starting job because of bad eyesight, tiny hands and a broken heart. In the period of 2018-2022 he lost 13 kilos during his directing-studies at Film University Babelsberg and gained 15 while shooting his graduation film. From 2022 till now he studies master’s program at Academy of Media Arts Cologne. Weight still unstable.
Director: Jens Kevin Georg
Writer: Jens Kevin Georg Cinematography: Lasse Frobese
Composer: Felix Römer
Editor: Benedikt Strick
Producer: Fritzie Benesch, Charlotte Jülide Hansen
Cast: Philip Kapell: Fabi; Luise Landau: Bea; Sven Hönig: Otis; Heinz Wanitschek: Winni
https://vimeo.com/911987492
FRANCE / ФРАНЦИЯ / 2023 / 11’9’’
Moving from Tehran to Paris, Maryam is longing to break free from her past and her religious family. She meets, François, a dance instructor that suggest she unleashes her anger through art. It was only then, when she started to fully taste the freedom she has always longed for. François offered to post a video of her dancing on her Instagram. Knowing that this choice may have dire consequences for her, she finally accepts after much hesitation.
YASAMAN AFSHAR, an Iranian film director based in Paris, weaves her rich cultural heritage into her storytelling. Holding a Cinema License from Paris 8 and currently pursuing a Master‘s at Sorbonne Nouvelle, she has directed two short
and worked in several assistant roles, aiming to establish herself as a recognized voice in the industry.
Florin tries to sleep; her father‘s rough coughing keeps her awake. The next day, her big brother Lukas is packing his military bag when Floh gets home dirty. As he helps her clean her pants, he notices her shoulder, which is full of burn marks. He immediately packs her things and tells his sister to go with him. She refuses. Luke leaves the house, only to return a short time later tormented by a guilty conscience. In his presence Floh falls asleep. The next morning, she wakes up alone.
ANGELA KUHN discovered her fascination for people and their stories at an early age. She explored her love of Storytelling through reading and writing, discovering a deep passion for Film. As studying English Literature didn’t satisfy that passion, she started to work as camera assistant and developing own projects instead. Summer 2023 Angela graduates with a bachelor’s degree of arts in film at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). Along the way, she works as an independent filmmaker.
www.instagram.com/augezue_kurzfilm
Director: Angela Victoria Kuhn
Writer: Zoë Bayer
Cinematography: Liam Erlach
Composer: Paul Taro Schmid
Editor: Tim Egner
Producer: Filippo Bonacci / Nele Kümpel
Cast: Moana Aicher, Roman Kiwic
CHINA / КИТАЙ / 2022 / 14’
On an isolated island, the boy Li Hong, haunted by the loss of his mother, is codependent with his motherly girlfriend, an unappreciated painter. Until one day, she decides to leave. Terrified of being abandoned again, Li threatens his life for her to stay and uncovers a mysterious fish painting his mum left behind.
един изолиран
SIYING LI, a filmmaker and multimedia artist, holds a degree in Film and TV from New York University. Currently a graduate student at Tokyo University of Art, she is pursuing a degree in Global Art. Siying‘s creative pursuits are fueled by her belief in the healing power of storytelling, as she delves into personal narratives and addresses societal issues such as cultural identity and mental health within the context of capitalist development. Drawing from her background in dance, she explores the use of body interactions within visual frames to evoke emotions. Her debut film, ‚Dr. Wang‘, explores the clash between western and herbal medicine, earning recognition at the Me&My City Festival in China and subsequent screenings in provincial libraries nationwide.
Turbo, a jockey apprentice, gets injured during a race. Ruled out from his boarding school, he helplessly witnesses the rise of his little brother, Ismael, who takes his spot among his trainer et comrades. Lonely and without any prospects, he hides in the archive room of the school and attempts to reconnect with his brother and a glorious past that has eluded him.
Турбо, ученик на жокей, се ранява
After studying television production, ATEF MASLAH joined the editing department at La Fémis. He then created several works featuring marginal characters, transcending the boundaries of popular and mass culture, aiming for a highly vivid panorama.
Bobby, a sixteen year old girl, who indulges in violent fantasies about her bedridden mother, dreams of escaping to the plains of Tanzania to hunt wild animals. To fund her journey, she works at Mrs Cheatmen‘s Corner Store, where she catches the eye of Mrs Cheatmen‘s son, Lucas. As Bobby‘s hunting tales excite Lucas, he rebels against his mother, his behavior becoming increasingly erratic. As Bobby‘s fantasies blur reality, her influence on Lucas threatens her job and dreams of escaping.
Боби,
MEGHAN O‘SHAUGHNESSY is an award winning director from Limerick, Ireland. Her most recent documentary ‘They Killed Us For Existing’ won a Royal Television Society Award for ‚Best Factual Piece 2023‘. Meghan received a First Class Honors from the National Film School Ireland with her graduate production, ‚How To Skin A Cheetah’. The film is an exploration into surrealism and German Expressionism. Meghan is interested in themes such as parenting, coming of age and violence.
Under the roof of a swimming hall, the stories of three different women coincide. Eight-year-old Lilo wants to finally swim without swimmies like Kira, who chases the elusive speed of the waves after a long day at work, while retiree Frida secretly longs to jump from the 10-meter tower. In the microcosm of the swimming hall, they each discover what it means to be strong in their own way.
Под покрива
After completing a Bachelor in philosophy, art, music, and theater at LMU Munich, KATHARINA SCHNEKENBÜHL began studying directing at HFF Munich in 2018. Her short films have been screened at various international festivals and are characterized by a kind of magical realism and the aspiration to provide a bit of hope. She is currently working on her first feature film.
https://www.instagram.com/k_schnekenbuehl/
Director: Katharina Schnekenbühl
Writer: Nathalie Zeidler, Katharina Schnekenbühl
Cinematography: Paula Tschira
Composer: Hans Könnecke
Editor: Katharina Schnekenbühl
Producer: Thomas Slatter, Felix Sommer, Katharina Schnekenbühl
Cast: Agnes Decker, Ulla Heusterberg, Malia Lirio Bischoff, Johannes Jannasch
NO POWER FOR NOBODY /
GERMANY /
/ 2023 / 11’
The film explores the complex relationship dynamics between successful business woman Juliane and former punk Kai, as they struggle to reconcile their differing priorities and goals. It challenges traditional gender roles and highlights the societal pressure men face to conform to them and the impact it can have on their self-esteem and relationships. Furthermore, the story shows the emotional and psychological effects of domestic violence and how difficult it is for him to escape the situation.
MARCUS was born 1984 in Hoyerswerda on the backseat of a Trabi and grew up half in a prefabricated building in Dresden, half on his grandparents’ farm. Today he usually takes care of Schrödinger’s cat at the weekends and believes in miracles. Marcus‘ cinematic work is a bold and playful odyssey that leads from the intimate web of human connections and their resilience, through pulsating visions of artificial intelligence and progressive future designs, to the mysterious landscapes of the human mind. His award-winning short films ‚Breath Dodging‘, ‚Flying‘, ‚Love Note‘, and ‚Q: Ghostly Remote Effect‘ have been screened at over 300 festivals and have won more than 90 awards.
Director: Marcus Hanisch
Writer: Marcus Hanisch
Cinematography: Jasper Techel
Composer: Markus Zierhofer
Editor: Marcus Hanisch
Producer: Marcus Hanisch
Cast: Prodromos Antoniadis, Judith Mauthe, Bodo Knappheide
https://www.instagram.com/hanisch_marcus/
GERMANY
Manfred dreams of performing with his band on a big stage for one last time. When he hears about a music competition in Bremen, he sees it as his chance. Manfred‘s friends and former band members Franz, Klara and Rudi, however, do not want to take this step. But what they do not know: Manfred is sick. Really sick. So the chaos group sets off for Bremen in their rickety tour bus after all, but they will never arrive in Bremen. Манфред
FABIAN WEISSENBORN was born in a small town in the Bavarian alps, but moved to Munich quickly after school to start working in the film industry. He discovered his passion for film in primary school and took his parents to the cinema anytime possible. It´s the joy of life and the many opportunities living on this planet, that inspire him to make movies and show what it´s worth living for. Being a director means staying that fascinated 15-yearold boy for a small part, which is the most amazing thing he can imagine!
https://www.instagram.com/fabianweissenborn/
Director: Fabian Weißenborn
Writer: Fabian Weißenborn
Cinematography: Darius Kappes
Composer: Karsten Laser
Editor: Daniel Mitschke
Producer: Katharina Ibscher, Pia Haltenberger, Tim Schwab, Fabian Weißenborn
Cast: Harald Effenberg, Reiner Wagner, Eva Holzapfel, Hans Dieter Trayer, Rike Wagner
SWITZERLAND / ЩВЕЙЦАРИЯ / 2023 / 21’18’’
After Whim makes it through the unconventional audition for the dance piece SYNCOPE, the choreographer finds himself unsatisfied with her full commitment. But what she and the other dancers experience in the rehearsals is just a glimpse of what his dark vision will demand of them. They have to dance for their lives. След като Уим преминава успешно
за танцовия спектакъл SYNCOPE,
LINUS VON STUMBERG (born 1996 in Göttingen, GER) found his passion for film through his international work as a dancer and choreographer. In 2019, he began studying at Zurich University of the Arts. Besides small acting roles, Linus finished his short film SYNCOPE in 2023. For this he wrote the script, directed, co-edited and played the role of the antagonistic choreographer. Since its premiere at Camerimage, SYNCOPE won multiple awards at festivals like Max Ophüls Preis in Germany and Japan.
Director: Linus von Stumberg
Writer: Linus von Stumberg
Cinematography: Gaétan Nicolas
Composer: Mirjam Skal, Jonas Roulet
Editor: Carmen Walker, Linus vonStumberg
Producer: Levin Vieth
Cast: Lea Korner, Linus von Stumberg, Sarafina Beck, Pablo Conca, Egon Gerber, Wittha Tonja
https://youtu.be/hrw7JpjAOec
https://www.instagram.com/linus_vonstumberg/
TAKE ME TO HER /
POLAND / ПОЛША / 2024 / 15’
Basia (35), pretends from her husband that everything is fine with her. At her acting school entrance exams, she meets Alicia (20 l) and her infant child, whom she takes care of. After a demanding performance and a difficult confrontation with her husband, she decides to kidnap Alicia‘s baby and inadvertently puts her in danger. This shock makes Basia ready for change and healing.
Бася (35 г.)
BARTLOMIEJ BLASZCZYNSKI - husband, father, actor of Silesian Theater (more than 35 theatrical roles), theater director (his play „Staś and the Bad Leg“ was awarded at many prestigious theater festivals) and film director („Seal Story“, „Funeralia“ - participation in more than a dozen film festivals, among others Prix Europa. Prix Europa, Doc Against Gravity, ZOOM Close-ups, Monstrale Film Festival, Tokyo, FPFF in Gdynia, among others), academic lecturer and student at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School in Katowice. In 2023, he was nominated for the Jan Machulski Award in the best screenplay category.
Director: Bartłomiej Błaszczyński
Writer: Katarzyna Błaszczyńska Cinematography: Fryderyk Potoczek
Composer: Jakub Adamiak
Editor: Kosma Kowalczyk
Producer: Krystyna Doktorowicz, dean of Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School at the University of Silesia
Cast: Katarzyna Dałek, Michał Jaros, Maja Szopa and others.
(Seal Story, Funeralia
THE NIGHT PRACTICE /
ROMANIA / РУМЪНИЯ / 2023 / 16’
The new goalkeeper in a junior soccer team is greeted with hostility by the other boys. Robert, the only friendly teammate, develops an obsession with him. Новият вратар на юношески отбор
ност от останалите момчета.
BOGDAN ALECSANDRU is a Bucharest based filmmaker. After graduating the BA in Film and Television Directing at UNATC „I. L. Caragiale“, he continued his studies with a MA in Film Directing. His short films have been screened in festivals such as TIFF Romania, Filmschool Fest Munich and RiverRun IFF. ‚The Night Practice‘ was nominated for Best Romanian Short Film at the Gopo Awards. He explores queer storylines and the thematic fusion between anxiety and intimacy in fiction film. БОГДАН
Caragiale“,
Director: Bogdan Alecsandru
Writer: Bogdan Alecsandru (based on a short story by Aron Biro)
Cinematography: Alin Ciuchi
Composer: Mihai Ghiță
Editor: Cristina Popa
Producer: Ligia Prodan Cast: Andrei Giurgea, Tiberius Zavelea, Gabriel Spahiu, Marc Titieni, Rareș Ularu, Horațiu Băcilă, Vlad Tudoran, Robi Brage, Antonio-Daniel Petrică
GERMANY / ГЕРМАНИЯ / 2023 / 13’11’’
Red light floods the gas station as Mike and his girlfriend Toni screw on their motorcycles. Their relationship is worn out and the pressure is on for Mike to prove himself. One thing leads to another and Mike misses his shot. The asphalt passes under him as he decides to fight back. Червена светлина осветява
LEVE KÜHL grew up in northern Germany before traveling to South and North America. There, his desire to tell stories solidified and he began working as an editor in San Francisco before returning to Germany after three years abroad.
Since fall 2020, he has been studying Directing at the Filmakademie Baden- Württemberg.
Thirty years after Yugoslavia vanished in bloodshed, workers from all the successor states unite again. But this time not over communist utopian ideals, but under capitalist reality – in the bus that is taking them to seasonal work in their new Promised Land: Germany.
Тридесет години след като
BORIS HADŽIJA is a Berlin based filmmaker and musician born in SFR Yugoslavia. Following his master’s in classical piano, he studied film directing at DFFB. His films premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Tallinn, were nominated for the German Short Film Award and aired on arte and rbb. He is a recipient of a scholarship awarded by DAAD. His debut feature film - I‘ll plant my hands in the garden - has been selected by the Locarno Film Festival Residency 2023.
Director: Boris Hadžija
Writer: Boris Hadžija, Esther Preußler, Andreas Kouba
Cinematography: Anselm Belser
Composer: Misha Cvijović
Editor: Branka Pavlović
Producer: Maximilian Feldkamp
Cast: Michael Ihnow, Sabrina Noack, Mile Ademović, Tomas Kutinjač, Boris Škorić, Pero Radičić, Siniša Labrović, Ivan Rajić, Zdenko Trifković, Mario Gudelj, Branko Velimirov, Christos Papadimitriou, Daniel Mandić, Boris Žujko
GERMANY / ГЕРМАНИЯ / 2022 / 3‘37‘‘
The cat has an especially delicious recipe: Mouse Soup!
JULIA OCKER is an animation director, designer and author from Stuttgart. She studied Visual Communciation in Pforzheim and Cairo from 2003 to 2005 and Animation at the Filmakademie in Baden-Württemberg from 2006.Her Graduation film „Kellerkind“ won the First Steps Awards 2012, the Tricky Women Prize 2013 and was nominated for the 2014 Annie Awards.
Julia discovered her passion for children‘s movies as she had the opportunity to produce five short films with Studio FILM BILDER for the SWR series, „I know an Animal“. From these five short films her own series „Animanimals“ was created, it then went on to be shown on KiKa and sold to more tham 180 international territories. As every episode works as a short film they have run in many festivals worldwide and won more than 70 awards. Animanimals won the 2019 Grimme-Preis in the children‘s film category and was nominated for an International Emmy.
What do we burn when our world is already on fire? A woman running from a terrible relationship finds herself eye to eye with a chicken. They share a moment, a cigarette and a desire to burn down everything around them to soothe their respective wounds. A painted flight of fancy about the elation that comes with breaking out of a cycle of pain. Какво изгаряме,
ANNA BENNER is a Berlin based artist and filmmaker. In her work, she deals with feminist topics and the psychology of the everyday, often using hand-drawn rotoscope animation. Her artworks have been exhibited across Europe; her animated short films have screened worldwide and won prizes at film festivals like Annecy, Encounters and Stuttgart Trickfilmfestival.
A woman victim of domestic violence looks back at the years when she was married, recalling how difficult it was to stay afloat.
MARTA MONTEIRO, was born in Penafiel in 1973. Studied Fine Arts - and Drawing. After a few years teaching she now works as an illustrator and film director. Collaborates with newspapers, magazines and publishers all around the world, such as The New York Times and Pato Lógico. Directed two animation short films “Independência de Espírito” (2011), produced by Sardinha em Lata, and “A Sonolenta” (2017), produced by Animais, which won several awards including Best Portuguese Film/ Vasco Granja Award 2018, at Monstra - Lisbon Animated Film Festival. SOPA FRIA (Cold Soup) is her most recent animated short, a production by Animais in co-production with La Clairière (France).
свят, като The New York Times и Pato Lógico. Режисирала е два късометражни анимационни филма - Independência de Espírito (2011), продуциран от Sardinha em Lata, и A Sonolenta (2017), продуциран от Animais, който е спечелил различни награди, включително и Best Portuguese Film/ Vasco Granja Award 2018 на Monstra - Lisbon Animated Film Festival. SOPA FRIA (Cold Soup) е последният ѝ късометражен анимационен филм, копродукция на Animais и La Clairière (Франция).
https://vimeo.com/843735725
Director: Marta Monteiro
Writer: Marta Monteiro (Inspired in the comics “Sopa” by Joana Estrela)
Cinematography: Marta Monteiro
Animation: Daniela Duarte, João Silva, Manar Guiller, Natália Azevedo
Vladimir and Olga raise ducks on a small isolated farm in the countryside. They hope for a child, but this expectation soon turns into a nightmare.
Born in 1980 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Joint Swiss and Italian citizenship. 2002 Receives degree from EMCA (École des Métiers du Cinéma d‘Animation), Angoulême. Since 2002 works as animator for films. Since 2011 works as animation supervisor.
Producer: Hélium Films (Clémence Pun), Beast Animation (Annemie Degryse)
ZONDERWERK
BELGIUM / БЕЛГИЯ/ 2023 / 14‘59‘‘
Jeremy and Aurora are lost at sea. In the vast openness of the ocean they are cooped up together on a small tree bark. As they fail to understand each other’s desires and boundaries, the fight for their survival and the survival of their relationship becomes a bloody mess. Will our castaways be able to grow while trying to make it back to shore, or will they lose a piece of themselves along the way?
LEVI STOOPS (*1990) lives and works in Brussels, Belgium. After graduating from RITCS (Royal Institute for Theatre, Cinema & Sound) as an animation director he worked as a cook to provide for himself while writing his first animation short. During this time his graduation short ‚D: 729‘ was selected at a number of festivals worldwide. Now he made ‚Drijf‘, his debut short film as a professional director.
https://vimeo.com/846188188
Director: Levi Stoops
Writer: Levi Stoops
Cinematography: Camiel Hermans, Sarah Menheere, Karolien Raeymaekers, Levi Stoops
Animation: Camiel Hermans, Sarah Menheere, Karolien Raeymaekers, Levi Stoops
Composer: Mick Lemaire
Editor: Levi Stoops
Producer: Annemie Degryse
GREEN GRASS / ЗЕЛЕНА
FRANCE / ФРАНЦИЯ / 2023 / 12’21’’
Red boards the train. If she could vanish right then and there, she would. Everything is off, unreal. Memories blend together with the landscape. Time and space collapse. A little girl runs towards a creaking house. Wild grass grows in the train. Red wades through and confronts her past.
Ред се качва на влака. Ако можеше да изчезне точно там и сега, щеше да го направи. Всичко е нереално. Спомените се сливат с пейзажа. Времето и пространството се разпадат. Малко момиче тича към скърцаща къща. Във влака расте дива трева. Ред решава да се изправи срещу миналото си.
ELISE AUGARTEN studied art and design at Estienne, La Sorbonne, and Jean Jaurès University. In 2017, she received a Masters in Animation Creation and Development from the Institut Supérieur Couleur, Image, Design (ISCID.) Her thesis film, „The Deep End“, has been featured in over 30 festivals, and given the award for Best Animated Short Film at FIC Silente, the Honorable Mention from the jury at Animasyros, and the award for Outstanding Work at the Taichung International Animation Festival.
https://vimeo.com/752986735?share=copy
Director: Elise Augarten
Writer: Elise Augarten
Cinematography: Frédéric Cassan
Animation: Elise Augarten, Valentine Delqueux
Composer: Carlos Abreu
Editor: Vier Nev, Ana Ferreira, Andreia Bertini, Miguel Gonçalves
Producer: Marc Faye
HER DRESS FOR THE FINAL /
CROATIA / ХЪРВАТИЯ / 2023 / 8‘45“
One day my granny dyed her wedding dress black. She wanted to be buried in it.
MARTINA MEŠTROVIĆ (1974) graduated on a Sculpture department from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1998. She has held several solo and group exhibitions. In 2004, she joins the art collective Kreativni sindikat, working as a 2D and 3D set designer, animator and director. She lives and works in Zagreb.
Animation: Martina Meštrović, Marko Meštrović, Ivana Bošnjak
Composer: Music used: Drago Diklić „Još samo večeras“, Mary May „Softest Tune“
Editor: Iva Kraljević
Producer: Igor Grubić
I AM A HORSE /
SOUTH KOREA, DENMARK / ЮЖНА
Where are the girls? Unable to find girls in the diverse artwork of the Korean artist Lee Jung-seob, Chaerin Im unravels an imaginative tale of women born with half of their bodies being a horse and a tiger. These roaming women are too fierce and free to match their given role as a daughter, wife, and mother in the patriarchal society. The tale is inspired by the Korean birth dreams, Tae-mong, of her mom when she was pregnant with her twin sister and herself.
CHAERINIM (1994) is a filmmaker from South Korea with a focus on experimental animation. With the use of craftsmanship and distinctive materials, she explores gender issues and sexual imagery. Her films have com-peted at festivals such as Annecy, Ann Arbor, Anima-fest Zagreb, DOK Leipzig, Ottawa, and many others.
Annecy, Ann Arbor, Animafest Zagreb, DOK Leipzig, Ottawa IFF.
https://vimeo.com/784321340
Director Chaerin Im
https://www.instagram.com/charryrain
Distribution Bonobostudio: https://www.instagram.com/bonobostudio_zagreb
https://twitter.com/bonobostudio
Director: Chaerin Im
Writer: Chaerin Im
Animation: Chaerin Im
Composer: Joreng Jung
Editor: Chaerin Im
Producer: Chaerin Im
IN THE SHADOW OF THE CYPRESS
IRAN / ИРАН / 2023 / 19‘33‘‘
An old former captain suffering from PTSD, lives with his daughter in a humble house by the sea. They live in solitude and struggle with a harsh life. The old captain wants to be a caring and loving father but he cannot. One morning something unexpected happens. This happening can be either a new trouble or a blessing in disguise.
SHIRIN SOHANI, M.A. in animation directing. Concept artist, Background artist, Script writer. Her graduation animated film won national & international awards.
HOSSEIN MOLAYEMI, M.A. in animation directing. Director, animator and university lecturer. His 1st film, Run Rostam Run has been selected in Annecy, Warsaw and several other Oscar qualifying film festivals and won national & international awards.
Animation: Azad Maroufi, Hessam Javaheri, Hossein Molayemi, Reyhaneh Mirhashemi, Sepehr Momeni, Mehdi torabi
Composer: Afshin Azizi
Editor: Hossein Molayemi
Producer: Hossein Molayemi –Shirin Sohani
LA PERRA / КУЧКАТА
COLOMBIA, FRANCE / КОЛУМБИЯ,
/ 2023 / 14’05’’
In Bogota, a bird-girl leaves behind the family home, her domineering mother and faithful dog to go and explore her sexuality.
CARLA MELO GAMPERT (1993, Bogotá) is a visual artist who graduated from the Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá and from the Film program at the Universidad Torcuato di Tella in Buenos Aires. Her graduate thesis, the animated short film POR AHORA UN CUENTO, had its international premiere at the Annecy Festival. In addition to her work as a director, she curates audiovisual exhibitions such as Animación Porosa (Cinemateca de Bogotá, 2022). In LA PERRA, her first professional animated short, she continues her exploration about body and femininity.
Director: Carla Melo Gampert
Writer: Carla Melo Gampert
Animation: Carla Melo Gampert, Andrea Muñoz Álvarez
Editor: Juan Sebastián Quebrada
Producer: Evidencia Films (Franco Lolli & Capucine Mahé) June Films (Julie Billy & Naomi Denamur)
OUTSIDE / ОТВЪН
POLAND / ПОЛША / 2023 / 5’00’’
The film OUTSIDE tells the story of domestic violence happening every day behind closed doors. Our heroine deals with violence in a different way. The inspiration for the film was an article in a German newspaper about it titled „The numbers are scary“.
Born in Poland and living in Germany, IZABELA PLUCIŃSKA has some thirty films to her credit. In 2005, her short Jam Session won a Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Since then, this gifted filmmaker has enjoyed a steady stream of projects and successes.At the moment, Plucińska is working at her own production company, Clay Traces, along with her associates. Owing to her renown as an artist, she frequently leads workshops and teaches animation at universities internationally.
Director: Izabela Plucińska
Writer: Izabela Plucińska
Cinematography: Izabela Plucińska
Animation: Izabela Plucińska
Composer: Michał Krajczok (soun mix)
Editor: Daniela Kinateder
Producer: Izabela Plucińska, Karsten Matern
FRANCE / ФРАНЦИЯ / 2023 / 6’40”
This is the story of a meeting between an astonishing robot from outer space and an adorable little bird just hatched from its egg…
After studying art in Paris VIe, STIV SPASOJEVIC started as a character designer in cartoon and as a motion designer in advertising for brands such as Greenpeace, The Economist, World‘s Fair French Pavilion... He has participated in numerous award-winning projects at international festivals. Filmography: „Yesterday will be tomorrow“ (2018), „Ovo“ (2023).
Animation: Charline Hedreville, Clara Loubry, Giovanna Pinero
Editor: Océane Figare
Producer: Philippe Monerris, Stiv Spasojevic
PEEPING MOM
FRANCE / ФРАНЦИЯ / 2023 / 14’50’’
Éli is fifty years old and his sole occupation in life is taking care of and putting up with his wheelchair-bound mother. Meddling in her son‘s sex life, she wants him to hook up with their neighbor, Nathalie. Nostalgic for her wild youth, she‘s obsessed with sex, which makes her son‘s life hell. One night, the old lady dies. However, the conflictual relationship between Éli and his mother is not resolved…
Director: Francis Canitrot
Writer: Francis Canitrot, Jimmy Bemond
Cinematography: Simon Filliot, Damien Buquen
Animation: Florian Durand, Mélody Gringoire, Zoé Berton-Bojko, Nicolas Cadet
Composer: Julien Decoret
Editor: Nicolas Demaison
Producer: Franck Samuel
Cast: Bruno Magne, Jessie Lambotte, Corinne Noël, Cécile Gatto, Martial Le Minoux
FRANCIS CANITROT studied mathematics and then turned to animation. After training in 3D animation, he worked for several years at Autour de Minuit as a VFX graphic designer and Stop Motion decorator (Panic in the Village). It is his meeting with Jérémy Clapin in 2013 that gives him the desire to make his own films. Since then he works regularly at Folivari, Xilam and La Station Animation as a production supervisor while developing his own projects.
https://youtu.be/ccLfM4V-TR0?si=98knVwJ8ZiiGIVWl
PINK MOINTAIN
GREECE / ГЪРЦИЯ / 2022 / 8’24’’
Ioannina, Souther Balkans, 1808. What can a humble florist in love do to win the heart of a Pasha‘s favorite? An ancient Ottoman fairy tale tells the story of a forbidden love, made of patience, silence and the help of a heron.
Йоанина, Южни Балкани, 1808 г. Какво
един скромен, влюбен цветар, за да спечели сърцето на фаворитката
нена любов, от която търпението,
THOMAS KUNSTLER (Rome, 1991) is an Italian director & stop-motion animator who currently lives & works in Athens. He received his degree in Film Production in 2015 at the UCA (Farnham, UK). His work usually is inspired by greek music & culture. In collaboration with different festivals he leads animation workshops for children in Greece & abroad. He is also a Berlinale Talents Alumni. He is currently developing his new stop motion short „Endless Hole” with production company StudioBauhaus.
The rhino is looking forward to his date with the rhino lady.
JULIA OCKER is an animation director, designer aund author from Stuttgart. She studied Visual Communciation in Pforzheim and Cairo from 2003 to 2005 and Animation at the Filmakademie in Baden-Württemberg from 2006.Her Graduation film „Kellerkind“ won the First Steps Awards 2012, the Tricky Women Prize 2013 and was nominated for the 2014 Annie Awards.
Julia discovered her passion for children‘s movies as she had the opportunity to produce five short films with Studio FILM BILDER for the SWR series, „I know an Animal“. From these five short films her own series „Animanimals“ was created, it then went on to be shown on KiKa and sold to more tham 180 international territories. As every episode works as a short film they have run in many festivals worldwide and won more than 70 awards. Animanimals won the 2019 Grimme-Preis in the children‘s film category and was nominated for an International Emmy. The second season of the ANIMANIMALS will be finished in 2022.
An astronaut in love orbits around the sun absorbing its energy. But the sun is too big, causing their connection to break, and the astronaut must continue on his own. As he tries to return to his source of energy, he realizes there are others like him. What started out as a game, slowly turns into a love triangle. Shapes change, but their needs remain the same.
DARKO MASNEC (1985) completed his MA studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, Department of Animation and New Media, where he obtained a PhD degree in 2017. He has worked as an animator and published several articles on the topic of animation and videogames. He currently works as an assistant professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb.
https://vimeo.com/698914577
Distribution Bonobostudio: https://www.instagram.com/bonobostudio_zagreb https://twitter.com/bonobostudio
Director: Darko Masnec
Writer: Darko Masnec, Lana Cirkveni
Animation: Darko Masnec, Anita Kos, Stjepan Milas
Composer: Luka Smetiško
Editor: Darko Masnec
Producer: Stjepan Milas
SWEET LIKE LEMONS /
UNITED KINGDOM, FINLAND /
Sweet Like Lemons is a visual reflection on getting out of a harmful relationship and moving on. The title is a play on the saying “when life gives you lemons make lemonade”, only in this case there is no lemonade to be made but the lemons still taste sweeter than what you left behind.
си.
JENNY JOKELA (1990) is a Finnish animation director and artist based in Edinburgh, UK. She graduated from MA Animation at Royal College of Art, London, in 2017. Her graduation film Barbeque (2017) won multiple awards including Cristal for best graduation film at Annecy 2018. Jenny works as a self-employed animation director.
(1990) е финландски режисьор и художник на анимационни филми, живеещ в Единбург, Великобритания. През 2017 г. завършва
https://vimeo.com/789005345
Director Jenny Jokela http://instagram.com/jokelajenny https://twitter.com/jennyjokela
Distribution Bonobostudio: https://www.instagram.com/bonobostudio_zagreb https://twitter.com/bonobostudio
Director: Jenny Jokela
Writer: Jenny Jokela
Animation: Jenny Jokela
Composer: Sarah Playford
Editor: Jenny Jokela
Producer: Jenny Jokela
TED THE SHARK
COLOMBIA / КОЛУМБИЯ / 2023 / 11’
Ted is a six-year-old hammer shark with a big secret: His mind is connected to a human girl. This uniqueness often makes Ted alienated from his world (a feeling many of us are familiar with) however, little does he know how special this connection is. Although everyone in Ted‘s world knows that humans exist, they don‘t realize the damage they have caused in their reality, the garbage monster is getting bigger and bigger and the adventure of discovering where it comes from and how to defeat it is just beginning. Ted will have to teach his friends emotional tools to deal with the fear and uncertainty of an endangered world.
Director: Nathalia Rojas, Hector Acosta
Writer: Nathalia Rojas, Mark Valenti, Daniela Tobon, Santiago Arriaga, Mariana Arriaga, Hector Acosta
Animation: 3D
Composer: Manuel Gordillo
Editor: La tina sound design
Producer: Transcendent Mind Studios, De la Cruz Family, Daniela Tobon, Santiago Arriaga, Mariana Arriaga
Cast: Jacobo Rojas ( Ted the shark) , Nataniel Rojas (Hugo the Octopus) , Emma Nagy Rojas (Nathy the Whale) , Sebastian Alvarez (Snakes), Gabriela Alvarez (Ted’s mom) , Arianna Alvarez (Turtle)
Producer, writer, illustrator and creative director with over +10 years of experience in the entertainment industry. Produced, financed and overseen a dozen productions including award- winning projects like AISLADOS, festival hits like SUBMERSIBLE, commercial success such as TED THE DOWN SYNDROME SHARK and Burning man’s art car JAGUARA. Have an extensive portfolio that demonstrates originality in everything from feature lms, illustrations, to animated projects.
In an open field with the grass swaying in a strong wind, we see a single scarecrow, a boy with a scratch on his face and a crow with blood on its beak. The crow has tasted his blood and the boy is left with only one choice: fight or flight! It‘s a simple and moving story about a very specific moment in time. The moment you face Fear.
TUDOR OM is a writer, director, producer and animator. He is the co-creator of the TV Series „Animat Planet Show“, director and animator of multiple music videos, commercials and experimental works. Executive producer and writer on shorts such as „Sasha“ and „The Best Customer“. As a director and producer he has 3 shorts under his belt (Pro TV Loves You, Travis, The Boy and the Crow and Hot Dog). His first feature film „Hotel Lumiere“ is currently in production.
Director: Tudor Om
Writer: Tudor Om
Cinematography: Tudor Om
Animation: Tudor Om
Composer: Tudor Om
Editor: Tudor Om
Producer: Tudor Om
www.tudorom.com/crow
THE END OF VOYAGE /
SOUTH KOREA /
/ 2023 / 9’55’’
A middle-aged man is sailing while losing his memory. Not knowing that his wife‘s voice that he heard in his head is an auditory hallucination, he continues to talk with that voice. Black ash and black water approaching him. A breathless whale. A burning continent. Oil spilling from a stranded ship. Though he gets sick as time goes by, his last conversation with his wife in the storm gives him the courage to chase his dreams and face against the huge waves. And the world came to him in a different area from his wife‘s hope.
1970 Born in Seoul, South korea. 2004 Graduated from Korea National University of Arts. He is the director of the Frame Maker company.
Director: Minho Choi
Writer: Minho Choi
Animation: Minho Choi
Composer: Hayoung Lim
Editor: Minho Choi
Producer: Soyeon Lim
THE MEATSELLER /
ITALY / ИТАЛИЯ / 2023 / 17’13’’
The Meatseller is the true story of Selinna Ajamikoko, a young Nigerian woman who dreams of becoming a meatseller like her mom. In order to achieve her dream, she begins her voyage towards Italy, an experience full of atrocity and inhumanity. This animated journey, led by Selinna’s own voice, guides us through the quest for identity that characterizes every human being.
The Meatseller е
MARGHERITA started her career as storyboard artist and assistant director in Rome. In 2020, she graduated from Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia’s animation department in Turin, with the animated documentary “En Rang Par Deux”, co-directed with Elisabetta Bosco and Viola Mancini. She is cofounder of the collective Muta animation.
This is a love story full of encounters and mismatches, in which resides a constant presence of an incessant search for the relationships of happiness and self- esteem between the two characters.
MARIA HESPANHOL studied at Soares dos Reis Art School, in Porto, and completed her training at the School of Arts at Catholic University of Porto. Before graduating she co-directed the short film „Felizes para Sempre“ which won an Honorable Mention at the European Capital of Porto Culture Festival 2001 - Odyssey of the Images. In 2003 moved to Barcelona and started working in advertising. Since 2013 she’s living in Lisbon, developing several projects such as the short films „Summerfest“ and „Final Act“ both written and directed by her.
Producer: Ricardo Almeida Cast: Ivo Canelas (voice off)
WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES /
ROMANIA
/ РУМЪНИЯ / 2022 / 6’12’’
Tired of his daily routine, Bobo feels being in someone else’s shoes would make him happier. The metamorphosis starts, but it proves out of control. Could the happiness Bobo pursues ultimately lead to profound dissatisfaction? Изморен от ежедневието си,
влезе в нечии чужди обувки, би се почувствал по-щастлив. Метаморфозата започва, но постепенно излиза извън контрол. Възможно ли е щастието, което Бобо преследва, в
LAURA GEORGESCU BARON is a film producer, director, and editor, a TV show creator, as well as an organizer of film festivals and cultural events. She graduated from the first promotion of the Multimedia Department (1993-1997) at the National University of Theatre and Film “I. L. Caragiale” (UNATC) in Bucharest, and she holds a Ph.D. at the same university, where she was a professor and prorector (2014-2016). During her film career, she received several nominations and awards for her productions.
Director: Laura Georgescu Baron
Writer: Laura Georgescu Baron
Cinematography: Alexandru Nicolae
Animation: Tudor Om, Cosmin Sârbulescu
Composer: Cristian Lolea
Editor: Monica Pascu
Producer: Laura Georgescu Baron
Cast: Florin Galan, Marius Săvescu
BETWEEN YAWNS / МЕЖДУ
FRANCE / ФРАНЦИЯ / 2023 / 3‘55‘‘
A character wakes up halfway... Still under the influence of sleep, his actions and visions will sometimes be shifted...
My name is ALMA RAJOT, I am 21 years old. I attended the Estienne school from September 2020 to June 2023, where I was able to obtain a license in 2D animation. Since September I have returned to ENSAD for equivalence in the animation section. I obsessively keep many notebooks and love music. I would subsequently like to continue experimenting with various media, and above all develop a universe that could span different disciplines, a universe always reflecting this idea of in-between, of ambiguity...
Director: Alma Rajot
Writer: Alma Rajot
Cinematography: Alma Rajot
Animation: Alma Rajot
Editor: Alma Rajot
Producer: École Estienne
BUTTY / БЪТИ
GERMANY / ГЕРМАНИЯ / 2023 / 7’2’’
Butty is the clumsy household robot of a family and tries to do his best every day. When he blows up the oven and destroys the lasagne, he ruins daughter Ally’s long-awaited birthday party. Her mother is furious and tells him to fix it, but he only makes things worse. The mother tells him to go away.
Butty is so ashamed that he leaves his family.
MORITZ HENNEBERG was born in Berlin in 1998 and studies film at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences (BHT). He has been working as a writer and director since 2019 and has made fictional short films, documentaries and an animated short film.
Director: Moritz Henneberg
Writer: Moritz Henneberg
Cinematography: Julius Drost
Animation: Julius Drost Sound: Danilo Micic
Editor: Julius Drost
Producer: Julius Drost Cast: Kirsten
GERMANY / ГЕРМАНИЯ / 2023 / 12’36’’
Dodo‘s father is a big blue bird. One day he flies away from the window, and hasn‘t come back. From then on, Dodo stops growing up.
YI LUO is a chinese filmmaker, has lived in Germany since 2007. She graduated in 2021 from Animationsinstitut at the Filmakademie BadenWurttemberg. Besides making animation, she publishes her illustrations and comics using the pseudonym Yinfinity, and teaches design at Animationsinstitut after her graduation there. In 2016 she received the Bavarian Literature Scholarship with her comic debut Running Girl and in 2018 the Literature Scholarship of Kunststiftung (Art Foundation) Baden-Württemberg.
Writer: Yi Luo Animation: Yi Luo, Bianca Scali, Sarah Schulz, Sabine Volkert, Laura Staab, Oscar Bittner
Composer: Hannes Bieber
Editor: Yi Luo
Producer: Jiayan Chen
/ 2023/ 8‘14‘‘
Things haven’t gone quite the way Robin expected them to, so she decides the time has come to get rid of her drum kit. But giving up her passion might not be as simple as she anticipates.
After a brief stint as a professional drummer, RICH found his calling in animation. Initially working as a freelance animator on projects, including short films earning two BAFTA nominations, a Student RTS Award and an Annie. These experiences opened Rich’s eyes to directing, where he now tells his own stories, through the medium that he loves.
Animation: Rich Farris, Ida Melum, Arnau Gòdia Montesinos, Tamir Aharoni
Composer: Jack McCartney
Editor: Chiara Bellesia
Producer: Martina Buendia Silva
UNITED KINGDOM
/
/ 2023 / 9’
Renee loses herself in a controlling relationship and the abuse she suffers gets worse until she is utterly trapped. Renee‘s only hope of escape is to understand that she deserves more than to be his property.
https://vimeo.com/807954987
CIARA is an award-winning Director based in the UK. She is a lover of 2D animation which she explores alongside mixed-media and stop- motion techniques. Ciara uses film as a platform for activism. СИАРА
Producer: Cristina Isgrò Cast: Rosalie Craig, Miss Baby Sol, Lewis Goody
HOOKED ON ILLUSIONS /
GERMANY / ГЕРМАНИЯ / 2023 / 04’28’’ Director:
A lonely old man fishes his dreams out of the moon‘s reflection. Looking inside them, he faces surreal and devastating nightmares until a spiritual discovery sets him free.
LAURA ISABEL SCHNEIDER (*1996) is a German-Spanish animator and director. After an exchange semester at the HSLU in Switzerland and a shorter exchange with the Tehran University of Art (IR), she graduated from the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf (DE) with a Bachelor‘s degree in Animation in 2023. Since then she has been living and working in her hometown Cologne, Germany.
A memory archive pieced together from phrases, sounds, documentary images and poetry. The film shows an intimate conversation between two schoolgirls during a group dance between classes, they talked about body changes and the experience of UFO sightings.
Director: Qiushu Li
Writer: Qiushu Li
Cinematography: Qiushu Li
Animation: Qiushu Li
Composer: Shangyun Wu
Editor: Qiushu Li
Producer: Qiushu Li
Cast: Floria Yang; Qiushu Li
QIUSHU LI is a Chinese artist whose professional practice involves hand-drawn 2d animation, visual design, and photography. She has been exploring the structure and aesthetics of the moving image based on text, materials and sound. Her works include themes of gender, politics, private memory and poetry.
A street cat named Panther dreamt of being a savage beast. But in reality, his dream was unrealistic.
Уличната
EUNJUN PARK
1998 Born in Mokpo, South Korea. 2023 Graduated from Hongik University of Film & Animation. He is working at Central Animation Studio as an animator.
ЮНДЖУН
Корея. През 2023 г. завършва университета Hongik със специалност анимация. Работи като аниматор
Central Animation Studio.
SE-EUN LEE
2000 Born in Daegu, South Korea. 2023 Graduated from Hongik University of Film & Animation. She is working at MESE Animation Studio as an assistant director.
СЕ-ЮН
е родена
2000 г. в Таегу, Южна Корея. През 2023 г. завършва университета Hongik със специалност анимация. Работи като асистент-режисьор в at MESE Animation Studio.
Director: Eunjun Park, Se-eun Lee
Writer: Eunjun Park, Se-eun Lee
Cinematography: Eunjun Park
Animation: Eunjun Park
Composer: GRINBERG Ziv
Editor: Se-eun Lee
Producer: Eunjun Park, Se-eun Lee
PAPA BOUTEILLE /
/ ФРАНЦИЯ / 2023 / 7’49’’
We follow an 8 years old child‘s daily life. From their eyes, we see their dad’s alcoholism. They are full of life, joyful and sometimes full of melancholy. The protagonist only lives their normal life. They like riding bikes, reading comic books while dreaming of a fantasy world. They love their dad, he’s often off, but he’s full of tenderness. When they get stung by a wasp, he takes care of their booboos. Papa Bouteille is a poetic film. It takes the spectator along in the character‘s own intimacy.
Writer: Fred Marcassoli, Lucie ÉléonoreCarraz,Deprun
Cinematography: Carraz Lucie, Deprun Eléonore, Mazet Pierre Etienne, Marcassoli Fred
Animation:
Clément Bretou, Lalita Bruguiere
Composer: Camille Riey
Editor: Fred Marcassoli
Producer: Julien Deparis
Cast: Célian Prat, Jean François Evrard, Ernestine Bancal
We all chose to study 3D animation. We each found our own sensibility and specificity in this field. Our experience at the École des Nouvelles Images and our technical backgrounds enabled us to join forces to create “Papa Bouteille”. The six of us complemented each other, and although some of us didn‘t really know each other when the team was conceived, we discovered a friendship as well as a professional affinity.
In a dreamlike narrative, a woman takes a bath and reflects upon her past experiences; submerged in the water she enters a space out of time. It is an existentialist film questioning the boundaries between the body and the outside world, between water and skin. Using traditional frame by frame animation, Cecilia combines paint on glass, gouache and digital animation to create a tactile and intimate film.
прос границите между тялото и
филм.
CECILIA REEVE (b.1996) is a London-based Artist exploring the intersection between Painting and Animation. Cecilia has sold work to private collectors and institutions such as Soho House and has ex-hibited her paintings with galleries including the Delphian Gallery in London. Since 2020 Cecilia has made several collections for Partnership Editions. Her work has been featured in ‘Its Nice That’; Harper’s Bazaar; Elephant; Creative Boom; Stylist online and The Evening Standard. Her animations have been shown globally at a variety of film festivals including Sundance Film Festival 2022 and the London Short Film Festival 2023.
This work tells the story of an old man who takes care of his grandmother who is suffering from hemiplegia. In order to make her happy, the old man decides to make a butterfly shaped kite and fly it with her in a special way.
LI JIAHANG, student at Beijing Film Academy.
https://pan.baidu.com/s/1V_md8nVCwk76B5GtjJLzPQ
password: ugnk
Director: Li Jiahang
Writer: Li Jiahang
Cinematography: Li Jiahang
Animation: Li Jiahang
Composer: Tie Yang
Editor: Li Jiahang
Producer: Qian Jun
SHELLFISH /
FRANCE / ФРАНЦИЯ / 2023 / 05’57’’
In a French rocky inlet, Bernard, a small and selfish hermit crab loses his shell. He will have to face dangers of the beach to find an other one. In the company of a weird little crab which helps protecting him, both will lives multiples adventures that will befriend them. На френски скалист
което
ство приключения, които ще ги сприятелят.
JUSTINE AUBERT, CASSANDRA BOUTON, GRÉGOIRE CALLIES, MAUD CHESNEAU, ANNA DANTON, LOIC GIRAULT, GATIEN PEYRUDE, JUSTINE RAUX are students at ESMA and celebrate their debut with their first movie „SHELLFISH“
One day, all the statues in the area come to life. They leave the roadside shrines and pedestals and calmly set off straight ahead, all in the same direction. They do not even stop for a moment. People watch the phenomenon with growing anxiety. None of them knows why and where they go. Only a little girl with a boneless body marvels at the procession of the unusual figures with pure fascination. They walk without muscles, though they should not be able to walk. How strange!
BARBARA RUPIK (born 1992) is an animated film director specializing in puppet and mixed media techniques. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice and the Polish National Film,Television and Theatre School in Lodz. Her filmography includes a short film „The Little Soul“ (2019), which won the 3rd Prize in the Cinéfondation competition at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival. She is also the author of stop-motion segments for a feature film „The Silent Twins” (2022), directed by Agnieszka Smoczyńska.
Director: Barbara Rupik
Writer: Barbara Rupik
Cinematography: Barbara Rupik
Animation: Barbara Rupik
Composer: Barbara Rupik
Editor: Barbara Rupik
Producer: Polish National Film School in Lodz, Agata Golanska
Cast: Barbara Rupik
https://vimeo.com/797775495
THE TORNADO OUTSIDE
/ 2023 / 8’15’’
Anna lives in a stable, perfect house, anchored in space. Outside her house there is a big tornado where people live their normal chaotic lives. Anna is extremely afraid of the dangerous tornado, but after her house keys are blown away, she is forced to undertake a journey to retrieve them. Within her journey, she interacts with different characters that help her perspective to change. Anna finally learns to embrace the chaos and deals with all the good and bad things that life can bring her.
MARIA is an animation director born in Cyprus. With a background in illustration and animation she now graduated from The National Film and Television School studying an MA on Directing Animation. Maria is specialising in stop-motion animation and is interested in capturing characters‘ emotional journeys. She is interested in visual storytelling with limited dialogue. She tackles themes of home, perfectionism, perspective and questions about life and existence!
Animation: Maria Tomazou, Chloe Williamson, Lily Ward, Francesca Valuto, Ellie Henderson, Sam McSweeney, Angus Macdonald, Milo Bonnard, Mansi Maheshwari.
Composer: Ariella Koorlander Ereira
Editor: Jack Cotter
Producer: Solomon Golding
Cast: Roision Rankin, Lewis James Goody
COMPETItioN DOCUMENTARY
15
YEARS / 15
ENGLAND / АНГЛИЯ / 2023 / 5‘24‘‘
David Plummer has been a professional wildlife stills photographer for over 25 years and was diagnosed at age 39 with Parkinson‘s disease. David has never surrendered to the degenerative disease, and has continued to push his career to higher levels. In this moving and inspirational film, David opens the viewer‘s eyes on the effects of the devastating disease and how he adapts to continue in a creative and competitive industry.
KATIE MAYHEW is passionate about being creative and outside. She enjoys pushing technologies and designing equipment, creating new, visually pleasing images. She has spent the last four years filming for a large Natural History Blue Chip series, keeping the cameras on the move using motion control sliders and gimbals as well as maintaining the attention to detail used in macro work and long lens filming. More recently she has been filming a few passion projects, self funded between Natural History filming. 15 Years is one of these projects which she has enjoyed learning how to direct and produce as well as further her camera skills.
The summer in the apecar of a group of teenagers from the Aosta Valley: afternoons and evenings spent between trap music and drifting, fear of the police and parties with friends. School is about to start again and the mountains around are very high. Лятото
много високи.
е съвременна филология,
2020
Венеция с документалния
LUCA CIRIELLO is a documentary filmmaker and producer. Graduated in Modern Philology, in 2017 he founded the film company Lunia Film. In 2020 he participates in the Giornate degli Autori (Venice Film Festival) with the documentary „Forty horsepower“ (Winner of the Laguna Sud Award) and in the Festival dei Popoli with the documentary „L‘armée rouge“. He has worked as a documentarist in: Italy, Spain, France, Tanzania, Colombia, Senegal, Sri Lanka.
Cast: Simone Saba, Giulio Gallo, Jil Fiorot, Federico Romeo, Rudy Scavone, Matteo Elfieri, Pierre Yeuillaz, Claudine Rollet, Helene Argentour, Alice Olivo, Andrea Mazzocchi, Erik Mammoliti, Simone Olivo, Simone Giacchino, Filippo Pugliese, Dyan Presti, Javier Blanc, Nicolas Jacquemin
(L‘Eubage, Lunia Film)
SWITZERLAND / ШВЕЙЦАРИЯ / 2023 / 10’
Weekend trips, city breaks, a detour into nature or once around the world. Barely a few days off, you‘re already gone. Never before has the desire to travel been so widespread and visited places so overloaded. What do we get out of it, other than the picture proof that we have been there?
пак заминаваме
толкова
толкова широко
че сме били там?
CORINA SCHWINGRUBERILIĆ has directed a number of award-winning short documentaries. Her latest ALL INCLUSIVE was selected at over 250 festivals such as Venice, TIFF and Sundance and was honored with various festival awards and the Swiss Film Award. Her first feature documentary DIDA (co-directed with Nikola Ilić) premiered at Vision du Réel in Nyon and has won the Audience Award at Dok Leipzig. She is a member of the Swiss and the European Film Academy and was part of Berlinale Talents 2023.
Director: Corina Schwingruber Ilić
Writer: Corina Schwingruber Ilić
Cinematography: Nikola Ilić
Editor: Corina Schwingruber Ilić
Producer: Stella Händler
BYE BYE BENZ BENZ /
FRANCE / ФРАНЦИЯ / 2023 / 9’30’’
While the Moroccan state has been instituting a scrappage scheme for old Moroccan cabs since 2016, Kbir is one of the few drivers still attached to his old Mercedes 240.
Mercedes 240.
Born in Casablanca in 1988, MAMOUN RTAL BENNANI began photography as an autodidact. He cultivated his passion by specializing in the 19th century techniques before the appearance of the first cameras. In 2008, he began a degree in architecture in Paris which he finished in 2013. He then decided to return to his native country where he studied photography, architecture and agriculture.
JULES ROUFFIO was born in Paris in 1990. After an agricultural formation, Jules gets interested in photography during his many travels. He meets Mamoun Rtal Bennani, Moroccan photographer, with whom he creates a series of photographic works about the old Mercedes cabs of the Kingdom of Morocco. This series is the source of the short film BYE BYE BENZ BENZ.
Director: Mamoun Rtal Bennani, Jules Rouffio
Writer: Mamoun Rtal Bennani, Jules Rouffio
Cinematography: Mamoun Rtal Bennani, Jules Rouffio
Editor: Laura Rius
Producer: Saïd Hamich Benlarbi
CARMEN, NO FEAR OF FREEDOM /
SPAIN
/ ИСПАНИЯ
/ 2023 / 30‘
From the “Las 600” neighborhood in the South of Spain, Carmen is leading the first association of feminist Roma Women to fight systemic racism and sexism. Having broken all the stereotypes, Carmen will deal with the pressure of having become her community’s hope for change as she moves on with her goals. Her strong personality will be the engine that creates a sense of resistance, togetherness and the strength to fight back.
IRENE BAQUÉ is a documentary filmmaker based in Barcelona and London. Her films tell stories of identity, social issues, and resistance, always centered around the theme of women, employing an observational style akin to cinema verité. She spent six years at The Guardian producing short documentaries on gender issues in countries such as El Salvador, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Ethiopia, bringing local stories to an international audience.
Former soccer star Andres, lovingly named “Coach Pancake” by his students, finds his calling training six-year-olds to find their superpowers on and off the field.
GABRIEl is an LA based filmmaker, graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and works primarily directing commercials. His first short film, The Bridge Partner played in over 50 festivals around the world garnering multiple awards. He has a narrative feature film in development with Mandalay films as well as a Documentary Series he is developing based upon the book Films of the Future. He is deeply curious and grateful that filmmaking has enabled him to grow as a person.
Director: Gabriel Olson
Cinematography: Bongani Mlambo and Brian Beckwith
Composer: Kevin Lax
Editor: Joelle Graham Producer: Gabriel Olson Cast: Andres Baena
/ 2023 / 19’
A 60-year-old man, who grew up in a nomadic tribe in the mountains of southeast Turkey, recalls moments from his youth.
https://vimeo.com/813523897
AYLIN GÖKMEN is a Swiss-Turkish filmmaker and producer at A VOL D’OISEAU, with degrees from Lausanne University and DocNomads. Her short films have been screened internationally in festivals such as Locarno, Sundance and Telluride.
Fantoomwijk is an urgent work about the Tweebosbuurt in Rotterdam. The workingclass neighborhood was demolished to make way for luxury housing, forcing residents to leave their homes. Through different visual styles, viewers navigate between opposing perspectives: the system and those affected. The film gives voice to the evicted locals of a neighborhood that was once a vibrant part of the city, illustrating the human cost of urban development and representing the global issue of gentrification.
RAVI SANDBERG is an Indian-Dutch filmmaker based in Rotterdam. In 2018 he graduated from the HKU University of the Arts Utrecht as an audiovisual maker. With his graduation film RAIN, he won the NL Filmfund Wildcard and played at various national and international film festivals. His debut film SEEDS was made possible thanks to the Wildcard and premiered in 2021 at the Netherlands Film Festival, where it got nominated for Best Debut Price.
Director: Ravi Sandberg
Writer: Ravi Sandberg
Cinematography: Sjors Mosman, Ravi Sandberg
Composer: Zondergeluid
Editor: Tobias Cornelissen, Ravi Sandberg
Producer: Rosa Duvekot
https://mint2.nl/3/
FILMING UNDER FIRE: JOHN FORD’S OSS FIELD
PHOTO BRANCH /
USA / САЩ / 2023 / 21’45’’
World War II was fought on many fronts. One of them was a film. This film tells the story of how director John Ford and many of Hollywood‘s leading filmmakers contributed to America’s and its allies‘ victory over Nazism and fascism. This film is a tribute to their heroic efforts; to Hollywood’s contribution to America’s victory in World War II; and to the enduring power of film in the never-ending struggle for freedom and human dignity - a timely reminder as the world once again confronts tyrannical forces. Втората
DAN GAGLIASSO is a screenwriter and director who has written feature film scripts for legendary producer Roger Corman. His next paid script was a courtroom drama on the Armenian Genocide, The Greatest Crime, which has been optioned several times. That has led to other projects including Lawyers, Guns & Money, a true-life mercenary story; The Emperor’s Last Island, and Dragon’s Teeth. He has also written or directed several military history-themed documentaries for The History Channel and The Discovery Channel.
Director: Dan Gagliasso
Writer: Dan Gagliasso
Producer: Charles Pinck
KNIN-ZADAR /
CROATIA / ХЪРВАТИЯ / 2023 / 15‘16‘‘
In Melita Vrsaljko’s debut film Knin-Zadar we follow the daily routine of the director’s father, a railroad shunter at the Benkovac railway station, where time seems to have stopped sometime in the last decades of the 20th century. The basis of this film’s dramaturgy is a subtle counterpoint between serenity and expectation achieved by minimalist and static shots of a space in decay, against the backdrop of a quiet and multifaceted soundscape.
MELITA VRSALJKO was born in 1993 in Zadar and spent most of her childhood in Benkovac. During her studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Zagreb, she worked for the Forum.tm website and RTL broadcaster. She continued her career as a journalist and reporter with Al Jazeera Balkans, and since 2020 she has been writing for the Faktograf website. Her focus is environmental protection, climate change and human rights. She lives and works in Nadin, a small village near Benkovac. The documentary film Knin – Zadar is her cinematic debut.
As we face climate change, young activists, steelworkers, and a geologist come together in a time-traveling space full of nightmares and aspirations.
KATARINA JAZBEC, a visual artist working in film and photography, was born in 1991, in Slovenia, and has been living in Rotterdam since 2015. Her previous short film You Can’t Automate Me premiered at the International Film Festival in Rotterdam in June 2021. Her films have been shown at numerous festivals all around the world and at exhibition spaces such as TENT Rotterdam.
Composer: Driftwood AudioGiliam Spliethoff & Jorick Bronius
Editor: Jesse Immanuel Bom, Katarina Jazbec
Producer: Urbane Künste Ruhr, Katarina Jazbec
Cast: Antje Selter, Michael Palka, Kenan Ramadani, Murat Sanli, Ali Pişman
Driftwood Audio -
MECHANICAL MONSTERS /
FRANCE / ФРАНЦИЯ / 2023 / 21’17’’
In the summer, the „Grands Shows Mécaniques“ organized by the Bastien family are in full swing on the hot asphalt by the mediterranean sea. François Jr & Elliott Bastien, young stuntmen aged 9 and 11, are growing up in this world of crumpled metal and adrenalin. Every night, when the mechanical monsters driven by their fathers arrive, the phrase „Do you want some more?“ rings out.
Director: Pierre-François Gautier
Writer: Pierre - François Gautier, Nicolas Diego Cinematography: Pierre-François Gautier
Composer: Christo Roussev
Editor: Nicolas Diego
Producer: Pierre-François Gautier
Cast: The Bastien Family
Born in 1987 in the south of France, PIERREFRANÇOIS GAUTIER is an independent director and photographer, crafting fiction, documentary, experimental films, and clips on both film and digital platforms. Based in Béziers, he co-directs „LA SPIRE,“ an association dedicated to film image education. Notable works include „SOUTH“ (2017) and „MECHANICAL MONSTERS“ (2023), showcasing his strong connection to the southern French landscape.
SLOVENIA / СЛОВЕНИЯ / 2023 / 30‘ 45‘‘
Between 1946 and 1990, thousands of young brigadiers participated in youth work actions, which were an integral part of socialist Yugoslavia. One of such projects was Šamac-Sarajevo railway build in 1947 with the support of thousands of young leftist from Italy, Britain, Greece, France, Denmark, Sweden, Palestine, etc. In the 90’ war the railway was damaged, and the last train Šamac - Sarajevo drove in 2011. Today it is often used as a path to the promised future in Europe for people on the move.
NIKA AUTOR undertook her BA and MA studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana and obtained her PhD in Practice at Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Her practice is primarily based on experimental videos and documentary films, film essays, photography, collages, drawings and spatial video installations. Her works examine asylum and migration policies, workers’ rights and politics of memory. She is part of the collective Newsreel Front (Obzorniška Fronta), an informal collective of workers hailing from film theory and art practice fields.
Director: Nika Autor
Writer: Nika Autor
Cinematography: Jošt Franko
Composer: Matevž Kolenc
Editor: Nika Autor
Producer: Nika Autor, coproducers
Andraž Jerič and Jerca Jerič Cast: Hidaya Alsisi, Etaf Alburai, Afnan Aboathra, Dana Mikawi, Nahla Mikawi, Nadia Hakki
https://vimeo.com/854980099
NOTES FROM A SEA VOYAGE /
GREECE / ГЪРЦИЯ / 2023 / 11’29’’
The passenger regularly consults the name written on his ticket. He wants to make sure he is not traveling in somebody else‘s place. The scenery remains unchanged. The same chain of islets, the same shores, the same mountains of the mainland. It appears that the ship is drifting around in circles.
ARGYRIS GERMANIDIS was born in Athens. He studied History and Theory of Science at the University of Athens and Film Studies at the Stavrakos Film School. For more than a decade he worked in Greece as a screenwriter and script editor before turning to a more personal filmmaking practice. In 2014 he moved to Berlin, where he continues working as an independent filmmaker.
Suffering child abuse marks you- But what about it after all?The path after breaking the silence and destroying the stigma. Treatment and care about wounds. Learning to live again when someone stole away the most precious thing you had, innocence.
Претърпяното насилие като дете ви
DANIEL ORTIZ ENTRAMBASAGUAS makes differ-ent courses in cinematography, script, production and filmmaker with Romn Gubern, Juan Antonio Bardem and Pilar Mir at the end of the 90s. Gradu-ated from the New York Film Academy 2004. Solid career as Producer of successful music videos and TVC. He has produced advertising campaigns for Philips, Cinzano, Danone, Nextel, P&G or Astro TV and Maxis with Leo Mesi. He has produced the film „Not with you, critter“, premiered at the Malaga Festival in 2018 and 5 short films awarded in sev-eral film festivals. Daniel just finished his second feature film as producer and started his first fiction movie as director and also a feature documentary in order to finish 7:11 Quartz.
Director: Daniel Ortiz Entrambasaguas
Writer: Daniel Ortiz Entrambasaguas
Cinematography: Jorge Parejo
Composer: Isabel Royán
Producer: Daniel Ortiz Entrambasaguas
Cast: Noemí Pérez, María Andújar, Ada Giménez-Rébora, Gonzalo Perea, Nerea Amaya, ÁlvaroRivera, Marity Manzanera, Víctor Miró, Rosa Casares, Juan Fleta, Raquel Menor, Máximo Gallego, Alex Fernández & Pepe Arganda Режисьор:
https://vimeo.com/796816453
Instagram, Facebook Short Film: https://www.instagram.com/711cuarzo/
Director / Producer: @danidog Prod Company: https://www.instagram.com/danidogfilms/
SAINTONGE ROUNDABOUT /
FRANCE / ФРАНЦИЯ / 2023 / 14’18’’
On the roads of Saintonge, at the entrance of the villages or along the ring roads, strange constructions have been laid in front of places where we pass without stopping: roundabouts organized with an obsession with local culture. This film is an opportunity to turn around these postcard landscapes where oysters, parasols and prehistoric women live together.
Born in Limoges in 1987, graduate of the ESAV and a former critic at the Cahiers du cinéma, QUENTIN PAPAPIETRO has shot in ten years twenty short films, including 40A service Pierrick (2020) broadcast on Canal+, as well as two feature films, Water Music (2014) and En Fumée (2018). His films, selected at major festivals in France and around the world, had a retrospective at the Cinémathèque Française in 2019.
Immerse yourself in the free wanderings of Galicia‘s wild horses. In their psychological and acoustic environment, we breathe in harmony with them. The horse, an animal of prey, has retained its survival instinct, with fear as its innate mechanism. This instinct is about to be put to the test: captured, they are forced to take part in a local tradition: „shaving the beasts“ Потопете
LÉONORE MERCIER is a filmmaker, plastician and compositor born in 1985. Her approach is transversal between these different media. In her work, Léonore aims to place the sound experience on an equal footing with the image. At Le Fresnoy, she made a short fiction “Via” with French actor Denis Lavant. She builds cinematographic worlds where the sound is able to reveal our own mental images to ourselves. She directed several music videos for the famous French singer Arthur H and more recently for Anne Sylvestre.
Director: Léonore Mercier
Writer: Léonore Mercier
Cinematography: Léonore Mercier
Editor: Léonore Mercier
Producer: Clarisse Tupin, Camille Genaud
https://vimeo.com/776206130
SHITTY THERAPY
SPAIN / ИСПАНИЯ / 2023 / 10’
In 2012, two biology students created fecomagnetism, a parody of pseudotherapies that claimed to cure all kinds of diseases by mixing poop with magnets. All they wanted was a funny review, but shit gets out of hand. How long would it take for people to realize that it was all fake?
През 2012 г. двама студенти по биология създават фекомагнетизма
JAVIER POLO is a Valencian filmmaker that shares his passion for documentaries and fiction productions with the world of advertising. He made his first documentary film: „Europe in 8 Bits“(2013), broadcasted in more than twenty countries and world premiered at IDFA and „The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo“ (2020) world premiered at South By Southwest, recognized with three Berlanga‘s and nominated for best documentary at the Gaudí‘s. Now he is working in his first fictional film Pequeños Calvarios
Taking Back the Groove reintroduces the world to ’80s disco superstar Richie Weeks. His mega-hit Rock Your World made it to #1 on the dance charts in the ’80s. Like many Black artists throughout American recording history, his talent was strip mined to enrich white-owed record labels. Taking Back the Groove tells the story of how Richie Weeks clawed back the rights to his own music in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and his ongoing fight to restore his legacy and share his music.
CELIA ANISKOVICH is an American documentary director and producer and the owner of Dial Tone Films, a full-service production company. In 2021, Aniskovich released Spy Affair, a podcast series for based on the story of alleged Russian spy, Maria Butina. She also wrote, directed, and produced BURN IT DOWN!, about Woodstock 99, that had its world premiere at the 2021 BFI London Film Festival. Her latest feature, entitled Call Me Miss Cleo, premiered in December 2022 on HBO Max.
https://www.instagram.com/takingbackthegroove/
Director: Celia Aniskovich
Cinematography: Bradley Credit
Composer: Atish Mehta
Editor: Brett Banks
Producer: Celia Aniskovich, Roddy Lindsay
Cast: Richie Weeks, Jerome Derradji
THE BOX /
SLOVENIA / СЛОВЕНИЯ / 2023 / 21’52’’
The sixties and the seventies of the 20th century in our former country, a country that ceased to be. A young family moves from a rural environment to a small Slovenian town, where factories are being built and the need for a workforce is increasing. The brothers are growing up in that shaky but magical in-between, soaked in the everyday rhythms of the community, infused with the ideology of the time. Then it happens: the sudden spectrum of film; the mystique of time itself.
мов спектър;
TOMAZ PAVKOVIC works as a cameraman, editor, director and multimedia artist. He is a co-founder of Luksuz produkcija, Krško, as well as a mentor for younger colleagues and an author of numerous short films that were screened at various international film festivals.
Director: Tomaž Pavkovič
Writer: Marko Pogačar, Tomaž Pavkovič
Cinematography: Franci Pavkovič
Editor: Tomaž Pavkovič
Producer: Tomaž Pavkovič
Cast: Igor Pavkovič, Gabrijela Pavkovič, Tomaž Pavkovič, Tito
THE MOON WILL CONTAIN US /
COSTA RICA, USA / КОСТА
/ 2023 / 18’
As a magical moon creeps in the twilight, different timelines entwine in the town of Manzanillo, located in the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. The youth and the elderly unite and collide in a tale where the town is able to exist as it is: both beautiful and forgotten, mysterious and monotonous. As if in a dream or a memory, mixing a documentary style and science fiction, this story is a search for the complexities of what it means to grow up in a place like Manzanillo.
KIM TORRES is a Costa Rican screenwriter and director born in 1993. Her work focuses on inquiries about identity and the experience of inhabiting a body and a place, exploring narratives that play with a free and experimental cinema. Her short films The Moon Will Contain Us (2023), Night Light (2022), and Suncatcher (2021) have been screened in the official selection at Cannes, Locarno, Mar del Plata, Cinélatino Rencontres Toulouse, New Directors/New Films at MoMa and Lincoln Center, among others.
Light (2022), и Suncatcher (2021)
Кан, Locarno, Mar del Plata, Cinélatino Rencontres Toulouse, New Directors/New Films at MoMa and Lincoln Center и др.
Writer: Kim Torres, Julieta Seco, Mandarava Bricaire, Pietro Bulgarelli
Cinematography: Pietro Bulgarelli
Composer: Carlos Bergen Dyck
Editor: Julieta Seco, Kim Torres
Producer: Mandarava Bricaire
Cast: Joel Arthurs Campbell, Dichan Brown Goodman, Fiorella Nahomi Será Bonilla, Luna Oporta López
THE WEIGHT OF SIGHT /
The Weight of Sight is a playful and deeply personal essay where the director, through a massive archive of his own material - anything from DVtapes to 35mm - explores the last 20 years of digital development - how it’s influenced the images we make, and our bodies. What kind of images do we get of the world now that everyone is a photographer, and what does it do with how we unfold our identities? How has the internet both captured and freed us? And will Truls even dare to show this film?
The Weight of Sight
TRULS KRANE MEBY is a Norway- and Berlin-based filmmaker whose films have screened at Aspen Shortsfest, Palm Springs Shortfest, Interfilm, among many others. He is an alumni of Berlinale Talents and a recipient of one year working grants from both the Arts Council of Norway and the Writer‘s Guild of Norway. He won the Cultural Ministry of Norway’s Human Rights Award in 2020, and is currently developing several feature film projects. Truls is represented by Harriet Pennington Legh at LARK.
https://vimeo.com/913760061?share=copy
https://www.instagram.com/trulskm/
Director: Truls Krane Meby
Writer: Truls Krane Meby
Cinematography: Saskian Schubert
Animation: Niklas Brenner
Composer: Musina Ebobissé
Editor: Truls Krane Meby
Producer: Truls Krane Meby, Lofoten Film Collective, Altibox
Cast: Truls Krane Meby, Sarah Timm, Fredrik von Lüttichau
TITI - IN CYCLONE’S WAKE / ТИТИ:
GREECE / ГЪРЦИЯ / 2023 / 28‘06‘‘
On climate change frontline, Madagascar has been hardly hit by successive cyclones. Titi, a Niger nurse, joins Médecins Sans Frontières, and reaches inaccessible rural communities to confront the alarmingly rising rates of child malnutrition. Her mental interlocutor is a wise Malagasi elder who watches helplessly ancient cultivating methods becoming out of date. In a world that is shaking and political governance is waning, Titi, like another Sisyphus, continues her labour unswervingly.
в старомодни. В един разтърсващ се свят,
NATASHA BLATSIOU is a documentary filmmaker, writer and producer. Her short films have premiered and were awarded in international documentary festivals. She had a long-standing career as a journalist and created short videos for media outlets. Her award-winning short stories have been included in anthologies of fiction. Her most recent work includes Titi – In cyclone’s wake (ATHIFF, TiDF26, Roma Prisma Award, Psaroloco) and the sound documentary Listen to the River (honorary mention TiDF26).
"Titi - In Cyclone's Wake" (ATHIFF, TiDF26, Roma Prisma Award, Psaroloco)
филм "Listen to the River" (Honorary Mention TiDF26).
https://vimeo.com/913364986/9759abcc6d?share=copy
Director: Natasha Blatsiou
Writer: Natasha Blatsiou
Cinematography: Nikos Ziogas
Editor: Panagiotis Papafragkos
Producer: Natasha Blatsiou in collaboration with Médecins Sans Frontières (Greece)
BEHIND GOD’S BACK /
UNITED KINGDOM / ВЕЛИКОБРИТАНИЯ / 2023 / 20’
„Behind God’s Back“ is a textured exploration of the North of Martinique. A mostly agricultural region of the French-Caribbean island, where the deceptively simple lifestyle hides a layered and complex identity, one under the direct threat of a reawakening volcano. The movie paints a collective portrait of the North by taking the viewer through a vivid visual and sonic collage of the volcanic landscapes, whilst continuously asking its population to define the meaning of home, danger, and identity.
Under the moniker “r.”, Martinican documentary director ROY JOX-FREDSTIE investigates the intricate process of building one’s identity, whether at the individual level or at the societal level. Through a slow, compassionate, and cinematic approach, r. seeks to uncover the motivations behind individual and communal decisions. The aim is always to provide a nuanced, textured, and often contradictory portrait of the subject matter and of the contributors’ personalities.
If you sit in a tractor all day, you have a lot of time to think. When Jürgen took over the farm from his father, he gave up rearing bulls and set up a contracting business. Agricultural machines now stand where there were animals in the past. Worn down by economic constraints, social expectations and hard blows of fate, the single father carries on working - day in, day out. He says: „Every farming father wants his son to take over one day.“ But what if the son’s health is in the balance?
Born in 2002 in Landsberg am Lech, Germany. Since autumn 2021 GRETEL RIBKA has been studying Film and Television Documentary at the University of Television and Film Munich. Before studying, she acted and directed in different theater groups and developed own video projects.
JONAS RIEDINGER is a documentary film student and film editor based in Munich. 2015 he studied Editing and Digital Postproduciton at the BAF Munich, where he gained his first professional experi-ence in film and television business. He participated in various short format films, documentary as well as fictional.
Director: Gretel Ribka, Jonas Riedinger
Writer: Gretel Ribka, Jonas Riedinger
Cinematography: Philipp Kaiser
Composer: Maximilian Kremser
Editor: Robert Vakily
Producer: Katharina Hein
CARRY ON PAINTING /
Three Ateliers, three Artists and one message that has everyone in shock - Russia has invaded Ukraine. Despite the cruelty of this event, Nikolai Makarov, Hans-Hendrik Grimmling and Arnd Kaestner - continue to paint. We live with them through the horrors of the first days of the invasion, get to know their friendship, work processes and beliefs.
Три ателиета, трима художници и едно съобщение,
ки - Русия е нахлула в Украйна.
събитие, Николай Макаров, Ханс-Хендрик
ват да рисуват.
ята, запознаваме се с
им.
After graduating from high school, JAN-OKE JENS began studying theater, film and media studies in Vienna after a long journey through central America. After a few years as a freelancer in the field of editing, he began an apprenticeship as a media designer in image and sound in his hometown of hamburg and completed it in 2020. Since 2021 he has been studying directing at the Konrad Wolf Film University.
Producer: Ben-Alexander Hüttig Cast: Nikolai Makarov, Hans-Hendrik Grimmling, Arndt Kästner
GERMANY / ГЕРМАНИЯ / 2022 / 27’18‘‘
Chemnitz used to be an East German industrial metropolis and for the young people the path to adulthood was usually well defined. Nowadays, the young generation in their early twenties has big dreams and all the possibilities, at least in theory - but they also have parents who experienced the exact opposite back in their twenties. Once Chemnitz realized this fact, the young generation could be its future.
JULIUS GINTARAS BLUM is a German-Lithuanian director who was born in Dresden in 1995. He has been studying directing at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg since 2019. His short films were screened in competition at various renowned festivals such as DOK Leipzig, Camerimage & Clermont Ferrand ISFF. His latest work, a German-Lithuanian fictional short film, is a co-production with the broadcasters SWR & ARTE. Currently he is working on his first documentary feature film.
Director: Julius Gintaras Blum
Writer: Julius Gintaras Blum
Cinematography: Philipp Schaeffer
Animation: Kenneth Dumnodi Erhabor
Composer: Selma Juhran
Editor: Viola Pröttel
Producer: Leon Harms
LA PANADELLA / ПАНАДЕЛА
SPAIN / ИСПАНИЯ / 2023 / 16‘’49‘‘
La Panadella, an emblematic small road town in decline located in Catalonia, is awaiting the arrival of visitors from a mysterious tower. While its inhabitants and passersby follow their monotonous routines, a strange signal manifests in the halls and rooms of this stagnant place.
JOEL JIMENEZ (b. 1993, Costa Rica) is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in Madrid, Spain. His practice operates at the crossroads of documentary and fiction, exploring the intersections between history and environmental psychology. Jimenez incorporates collective memories, stories, myths, and the emotional resonance of space to disrupt linear historical narratives and to examine the imprints of trauma and power that shape our relationship between the past and the present.
https://vimeo.com/881733700?share=copy
Director: Joel Jimenez
Writer: Joel Jimenez, Alicia Moncholi
Cinematography: Martin Avila, Joel Jimenez
Editor: Sonia Florez
Producer: Ferran Giol
Cast: Jorge Gaspar
LOST IN HELSINKI /
GERMANY / ГЕРМАНИЯ / 2024 / 28‘53‘‘
Actually we wanted to make a different film, but due to certain circumstances got stuck in Helsinki. Sara was reminded of many similar situations in her life, where she got rejected and was not allowed certain things so we decided to sum up some examples and combine documentation and animation as an excerpt and sample which stands for so many BIPOC people and their experiences.
Director: Sara Fazilat, Antonia Lange
Writer: Sara Fazilat, Antonia Lange
Cinematography: Antonia Lange
Animation: Maria Adriana Ventura
Composer: Zeina Azouqa
Editor: Antonia Lange, Sara Fazliat
Producer: Sara Fazilat
SARA FAZILAT attended RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. In 2015, her film NICHT ZU FRÜH, NICHT ZU SPÄT (co-screenwriter) premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and in 2017 she was selected for the BERLINALE TALENTS.
ANTONIA LANGE is a cinematographer born and based in Berlin. Her short films MERAL KIZIM, MILCH KAPUTT DREI PAPIER, WALDGEIST, JOHANN and GANZ WEIT WEG were shown at numerous festivals around the world. In 2020 the short film REVOLVO won several prizes, received the PRÄDIKAT BESONDERS WERTVOLL and got invited to CANNES by GERMAN FILMS.
MODERN MASTURBATION ALLEGORY /
UNITED KINGDOM
/ 2023 / 23’57’’
23-year-old Xinyi believed she had developed a masturbation addiction and claimed to be experiencing indescribable feelings. In a world where everyone is ashamed of sexual satisfaction, she embarked on a journey of collecting masturbation stories told by similar individuals. This film features three girls in their early 20s, serving as a modern allegory that reflects the mental state of contemporary young people. When, where, tools, fetishes, fantasies—here, people tear away shame and taboos, revealing their most intimate masturbation experiences.
истории за мастурбация, разказани от
хора. Във филма участват три момичета в ранните си 20 години, които служат като съвременна алегория, отразяваща психическото състояние на днешните млади хора. Кога, къде, инструменти, фетиши, фантазии - тук хората разкъсват срама и табутата, разкривайки
при мастурбацията.
I grew up with music, painting, and literature, thinking I might have some artistic talent. As an adult I was forced by financial pressures to bounce between part-time waitress and barista. I love making coffee, but my dream is to make a living from cinema. My current work focuses on topics such as sexuality, women, and the individual’s relationship with the world. I am very sensitive to “sight” and always try to achieve a relative balance between me and my subjects.
https://vimeo.com/935005899?share=copy
Director: Xinyi LI
Writer: Xinyi LI
Cinematography: Xinyi LI
Animation: Xinyi LI
Composer: Sicheng Zhao
Editor: Xinyi LI
Producer: Xinyi LI
Cast: Xinyi LI
MOTHER’S MILK /
SERBIA / СЪРБИЯ / 2022 / 18’
After the recent death of her mother, Dragica is now the only person working on her small family farm in western Serbia. Over one hot summer day, she battles with the burden of legacy and the responsibility of being a provider to many.
скорошната смърт на майка си, Драгица е единственият човек,
ISAAC KNIGHTS-WASHBOURN is an Aotearoa/ New Zealand Filmmaker based in Scotland. His film, Money Honey, premiered at the 70th Berlinale. It won the inaugural Wellington UNESCO City of Film Award for Best Film at the NZIFF and the DEGNZ Award for Best Director at Show Me Shorts Film Festival. His documentary, Mother’s Milk, premiered at Dok Leipzig in 2022. Awarded an Erasmus Mundus Scholarship, Isaac graduated with an MA in Screenwriting at the Kino Eyes Masters Program.
на филма му Money Honey
DEGNZ Award for Best Director на Show Me Shorts Film Festival.
An intimate journey through the places most affected by the Balkan war. A path that crosses the different landscapes and the gazes of those who observe them, questioning the real nature of what we see and the interpretation we can give of it. A journey between different reflections, fleeting visions, perpetually mediated by the window of a train which acts as a limit that cannot be crossed. This work is measured with the value of memory and the limits of the gaze, both destined to rarefaction.
Съкровено
места. Пътека,
косена. Тази творба бива измерена
ците на взирането; и двете
My name is SAMUELE GIORGETTI, I am 27 years old and I am a young director based in Bologna (Italy). I attended a degree in Cinema at the University of Bologna and I have currently finished making two short films that are being distributed: Peron (2024), Handycam (2024). For about two years I have been working for the production company Black Sheep and for the creation of various commercials and videoclips. I am currently dedicating myself to the development of a new documentary project. Името
“Salary” explores the impact of climate change on India’s salt industry and the indigenous Agariyas. It highlights their vital role in providing salt, crucial for various purposes. With vivid imagery and storytelling, the documentary reveals how climate change threatens this industry through altered weather and rising temperatures, endangering global consequences. It emphasizes the link between climate sustainability and traditional salt harvesting, weaving together visuals and personal stories.
ESHNA AGRAWAL, a 17-year-old high school student from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, served as the Director, Producer, Voiceover Artist/Narrator, Interviewer, Director of Photography, Researcher of the documentary “Salary.”
On Level 6, in a concrete tower, in the beautiful old-town of Potsdam, is the home of Pebbels, the pig. The baby of the Steiner family. Rising star of her block. Prime student of the dog school. The a rummaging and wondrous creature is being cooked and showered - pardon, cooked for, of course. What else?
На 6-ия етаж
Growing up in Kirchberg, Switzerland, FLORIAN discovered his fascination for insects and plants early on. Consequently, he studied environmental sciences at ETH Zurich and social anthropology in Bern. His bachelor thesis about an environmental conflict in Canada resulted into a short film: „The Island Business“ (2017). He hitchhiked to Azerbaijan and worked in the fields of marine conservation and environmental education. Currently he is studying film directing at the Babelsberg Film University.
Director: Florian Rudolph
Writer: Lisa Polster
Cinematography: Marek Lück
Sound: Matthias Hofman
Composer: Lena Radivoy, Ole Wiederkamm
Editor: Laura Ritzke
Producer: Oscar Meyer-Ricks
Cast: Elli Steiner, Julia Steiner, Wilhelm Steiner, Pebbels Steiner
THE FIELD / ПОЛЕ
POLAND / ПОЛША / 2023 / 16’44’’
A forester living alone in the depths of Northern Poland knows every rock, notices every smallest anomaly in his forest. After many years of observing nature with great detail he discovers an unusual physical force. He measures it with his unique handmade instruments. For twenty years he’s been creating his own field of physics. The truth seems to be within reach, but with each answer, dozens of new questions arise.
Director: Tomasz Grzymała
Cinematography: Tomasz Grzymała
Composer: Oliwia Radomska
Editor: Tomasz Grzymała
Producer: Krystyna Doktorowicz
Cast: Maciej Nodzykowski
Born in 1997, fine arts school graduate, cinematography student of Kieślowski Film School in Katowice. Besides filming does documentary photography. „The Field“ is his debut film.
We follow the story of a Bulgarian elderly couple living in a stagnant small village called Balabansko. Taking care of their house has been their life’s work, building and fostering a place that can also be loved and cherished in the same way by their children. But like many Eastern European villages, Balabansko is dying out, making it unrealistic for the younger generations to live in. The house’s fate struggles to find a positive future as our characters continue to care for it despite getting deeper into old age.
Director: Anna Messechkova
Cinematography: Alexander Dragomirov
Composer: Nikola Gruev “Kottarashky”
Editor: Anna Messechkova
Producer: Anna Messechkova
дълбоко във старостта.
ANNA MESSECHKOVA is an English-Bulgarian filmmaker that aspires to capture people’s stories. Whether that would be in fiction or documentary, she makes people’s seemingly everyday lives look special. She is currently studying Audiovisual Design, increasing her knowledge in the field as a filmmaker. Her current focus is on stories that feel close to her heart and she finds creativity within her Bulgarian culture and personal experiences.
Video which the author shot in the Horseshoe Nail Factory in the city of Karlovac. The factory, built in 1925 produced, using unchanged technology, horseshoe nails for horses, donkeys and camels. Out of this material Martinis selected 99 shots. Then, special software is developed so that, each time it is run, it generates a new random sequence of cuts. Each generated configuration of shots makes one, original film «N-th Kinematic Nail Factory», One film for each nail. Видеоклип,
ни». По един филм за всеки пирон.
DALIBOR MARTINIS is an artist and a video and filmmaker. He has exhibited his videotapes, video/ interactive and site-specific installations in many international exhibitions such as Sao Paolo Biennale, Dokumenta, Venice Biennale, and film/video festivals in Berlin, Tokyo, Montreal, San Francisco, and Locarno etc.
Martinis videos and films received several international awards, His works are in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art/New York, Stedelijk Museum/Amsterdam, ZKM Karlsruhe, etc.
Director: Dalibor Martinis
Writer: Dalibor Martinis
Cinematography: Dalibor Martinis
Editor: Special software
Producer: Omnimedia
CHROMATIC SYMPHONY
TURKEY / ТУРЦИЯ / 2023 / 01’56’’
In Chromatic Symphony (2023), vibrant colors and enigmatic black shapes dance in a delicate chase across the canvas. This abstract visual feast explores the interplay between light and darkness, inviting viewers on a sensory journey beyond traditional narratives, delving deep into a lyrical artistic expression.
HÜSEYIN MERT ERVERDI, from Istanbul, Turkey, is an acclaimed experimental filmmaker and new media artist. His work melds art, science, and nature, underpinned by philosophy and media theory. With a B.A. from Bilkent University and an M.A. in Cinema and Television Studies from Bilgi University, where he graduated with honors, Erverdi‘s multifaceted approach brings unique visions to life.
https://www.instagram.com/huseyinmerterverdi/
Director: Hüseyin Mert Erverdi
Writer: Hüseyin Mert Erverdi
Cinematography: Hüseyin Mert Erverdi
Animation: Hüseyin Mert Erverdi
Composer: Hüseyin Mert Erverdi
Editor: Hüseyin Mert Erverdi
Producer: Hüseyin Mert Erverdi
HYPNOSUGGESTION /
SWEDEN / ШВЕЦИЯ / 2023 / 7’50’’
A hypnotic sci-fi thriller consisting only of still images generated by an Al that examines our memory and consciousness through past and future. A kind of human memory fragment that lives on in a computer-type „subconscious“after the technological singularity dissolves man into time and space.
паметта и съзнанието ни през миналото и бъдещето. Един вид фрагмент от човешка памет, който продължава да живее в подобно на компютър „подсъзнание“, след като технологичната сингулярност разгражда човека на време и пространство.
Experimenting with custom-made lens filters to diffuse and distort, I Found Water, via autobiographical narrative, questions the nature of memories and the logic of their preservation.
SJ.RAMIR is a filmmaker residing in Melbourne, Australia. His films are concerned with existence and its relationship to, and occupation of physical/ geographical space.
https://www.instagram.com/sj.ramir_films/
Director: SJ.Ramir
Cinematography: SJ.Ramir
Composer: SJ.Ramir
Editor: SJ.Ramir
IMAGE ME / ОБР-АЗ
GERMANY / ГЕРМАНИЯ / 2022 / 5‘55‘‘
A photographic image in its production: exposure, development and reproduction. As the subject of its recording the faces of two people. The experimental short film „IMAGE ME“ equates the face with the photographic image, exposing the merge with our depiction and a mechanics of rotation around our own axis. Създаване
на показ сливането му с механиката на въртене около
Born in 1991 in Freiburg (Germany) into a family of photographers. 2014 - 2020 Studied media art/ film at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design. Since 2020 postgraduate studies at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne.
TILL directs narrative films with a minimalist approach, taking time for observation, and experimental films, often shot analogue. The films have been selected for various festivals, including Beijing ISFF, Szczecin European Film Festival and Stuttgarter Filmwinter.
Director: Till Gombert
Writer: Till Gombert
Cinematography: Till Gombert
Editor: Till Gombert
Producer: Till Gombert & Kunsthochschule für Medien (KHM) Köln
Cast: Gesa Kolb, Till Gombert
IMMACULATE GENERATIONS NO. 1
USA, BELGIUM / САЩ,
If the eyes are the window to the soul, Immaculate Generations no. 1 presents its viewer with a look into thousands of souls. Equal parts Carl Sagan and William Blake, this flicker film is composed of tens of thousands of individual retinal photographs. Animated between 12 and 24 frames per second, they make for a dazzling rush into the maelstrom of life. Every retinal exposure is a galaxy, replete with its own sun, star-studded clouds, and light refracted through time and space.
VITO A. ROWLANDS (1986, Belgium) is a filmmaker and scholar. His feature script „Elvis, We Like Your Music,“ was a finalist at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival Development Track and his award-winning experimental films have screened internationally. He is currently Assistant Professor of Experimental Film and Media at New York University‘s Tisch School of the Arts. His first feature is the 35mm anthology film „Ovid, New York.“
Director: Vito A. Rowlands
Cinematography: Vito A. Rowlands
Composer: Jordan Dykstra
Editor: Vito A. Rowlands
Producer: Vito A. Rowlands
instagram.com/vitorowlands
LA VOIX DES SIRÈNES /
FRANCE, ITALY / ФРАНЦИЯ,
/ 2024 / 19‘40‘‘
In the heart of the seabed, between rocks and corals primitive seaweed ripples, cradled by the muffled sound of roiling currents. Up there, on the surface of the water, something extraordinary has just appeared: a voice. So soft and seductive that it‘s unlike anything we‘ve heard before.
В дълбините на морското дъно, между скалите и коралите, водораслите и шума на бушуващите течения. Там горе, на повърхността на водата, току-що се е доловило нещо необикновено: глас, толкова мек и съблазнителен, че не прилича на нищо, което сме чували досега.
GIANLUIGI TOCCAFONDO was born in San Marino (Italy) in 1965. He graduated from the Urbino School of Fine Arts and now lives in Bologna. In his work, he sets painting in motion through a technique that established him in the 1990s as one of the leading directors of animated cinema: he uses pre-existing images (magazine photos, film stills) that he distorts with photocopying, then reworks with acrylic, pencil or any other medium, before re-filming them one by one. one by one. Gianluigi Toccafondo has also worked as an assistant director on Matteo Garrone‘s Gomorra in 2008, and in 2010 created the credits for Ridley Scott‘s Robin Hood. He also creates illustrations for publishing on texts such as Collodi‘s Pinocchio (Logos) and for publishers such as Corraini, Mondadori, Bup and L‘aboreto. At the same time, he exhibits his drawings and silkscreen prints in numerous galleries in Italy and abroad (Tokyo, Paris, New York...).
Director: Gianluigi Toccafondo
Writer: Moroni Vittorio Et Toccafondo Gianluigi
Animation: Toccafondo Gianluigi
Composer: Molinelli Marco
Editor: Toccafondo Gianluigi & Molinelli Marco
Producer: Pierre Baussaron & Emmanuel-Alain Raynal
LION IN THE WIND /
USA / САЩ / 2023 / 4’50’’
A fugue for forgetting windmills in the West. This cameraless “emulsion lift” film was made from a discarded 35mm reel of a Hong Kong martial arts western featuring Jet Li as a kung fu master who loses his memory and fights bandits and windmills as he makes his journey to Chinatown.
TT TAKEMOTO is a queer Japanese American artist exploring Asian American history, sexuality, and identity. Their experimental films delve into hidden dimensions of same-sex intimacy and trauma that exist within Asian and Asian American archives. Takemoto interacts with found footage and archival materials through performance and labor-intensive processes of painting, lifting, and manipulating 16mm/35mm film emulsion using scotch tape, razor blades, and nail polish.
Through a radically personal look, the director explores Barcelona and its light. The sun as a brush that naturally highlights the intimacy of the rooms, friends, lovers and the people around her: her chosen family.
Чрез един радикално личен поглед
светлина. Слънцето като
интимността на стаите, приятелите,
семейство.
She‘s one of the co-directors of the documentary film Otherness (2023), made together with Nora Haddad, about lesbian identities in Catalonia. And also one of the co-directors of her first film Agatha’s friends (2015). After that, she has worked on a multitude of projects, including the film “Los días que vendrán“ (Carlos Marquès-Marcet, 2019), “Girlfriends & Girlfriends” (Zaida Carmona, 2022) and the short film „Demà ho deixem“ (David Moragas, 2022). In 2023 she directed her first experimental piece for „City Symphonies“ (CCCB and Dones Visuals) entitled Anhel de llum.
Otherness (2023
Agatha’s friends (2015).
Los días que vendrán (Carlos Marquès-Marcet, 2019), Girlfriends & Girlfriends (Zaida Carmona, 2022)
Demà ho deixem (David Moragas, 2022). През 2023 г.
In „Painful Flavours“ a haunting blend of music and poetry, Felix Bechtolsheimer‘s reflective journey intertwines with an ambient soundtrack by Curse of Lono. Through experimental visuals, past and present converge in a mesmerizing dreamlike narrative, as memories flicker past a moving window.
В Painful Flavours, една призрачна смесица
с амбиентния сaундтрак създаден от Curse of Lono. Чрез експериментални визуални елементи, минало и настояще се срещат
пленителен мечтателен сюжет,
JULIAN HAND, an artist-filmmaker, explores overlooked spaces, aiming to evoke their essence through time-based media. His work combines cine-film, analogue, and digital video with light projection, creating experimental films, music videos, installations, and captivating light shows. His seamless blend of technologies defines his unique creative process.
Director: Julian Hand
Writer: Felix Bechtolsheimer
Cinematography: Julian Hand
Composer: Oli Bayton, Joe Harvey White
Editor: Julian Hand
Producer: Felix Bechtolsheimer
RED EARTH /
AUSTRALIA / АВСТРАЛИЯ / 2024 / 8’58’’
“Red Earth” presents an imagined future where a rediscovered archive of photographs, sound and film captures the beauty of several extinct ecosystems within South Australia. Shot on an endangered and no longer produced film stock called Aerochrome, this experimental film abstracts the eco-systems and landscapes by turning them a crimson red or deep pink.The film is overlaid with a rich soundscape of field recordings that immerse the audience within these unique places.
„Червена
BRYCE KRAEHENBUEHL is a filmmaker and photographer who graduated from Flinders University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Screen).
In 2022 Bryce received a fellowship in 2022 for a year-long mentorship with prolific and acclaimed experimental filmmakers Richard Tuohy and Diana Barry. In 2023 Bryce was the recipient of the Hanlon Larsen Fellowship and went on to produce the film „Red Earth“ that premiered at the Adelaide Festival that year and screened at ACMI in Melbourne in 2024.
“Rule No. 5: Shadow Your Man Closely” assembles a film loop collage out of Buster Keaton‘s Sherlock Jr. train scene. One shot becomes the base for specific editing procedures through which the film narrative is reconstructed and a new plot is created. Правило № 5: Не изпускай
MIRO MANOJLOVIĆ (Zagreb, 1985) works in music, film and theatre. Since 2014 he has been working as an Art Associate at Academy of Dramatic Art and cooperates with numerous artists at home and abroad. He has created music for numerous films, theatre and dance performances, and actively works as a film author, editor and music composer.
https://vimeo.com/835207851
Director Miro Manojlović https://www.instagram.com/mikromanojlovic
Distribution Bonobostudio: https://www.instagram.com/bonobostudio_zagreb https://twitter.com/bonobostudio
Director: Miro Manojlović
Writer: Miro Manojlović
Composer: Ana Kovačić, Miro Manojlović
Editor: Miro Manojlović
Producer: Vedran Šuvar
SHAPES / ФОРМИ
HONG KONG / ХОНКОНГ / 2023 / 05’20”
A psychedelic and mysterious galaxy composed of different shapes. They conduct various transformations with textures, patterns and colors. Психеделична
Born and living in Hong Kong, Tsz-wing Ho is an animator and illustrator. She obtained Master of Fine Arts in Creative Media from the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong in 2022. She creates animation and illustration by exploring the possibilities of abstract art. Her animation works were awarded the Award of Excellence at Communication Arts Illustration Competition 2024, the Best Abstract Animation Award at 2021 London International Animation Festival, etc.
„The Lovers of Avignon“ is the first ever translation of pictorial cubism into motion real image. Is an allegory of cubism as a conceptual symbol that acts as a filter and wall of emotions.
The Lovers of Avignon е първият
в движещи
of Sydney (SCA).
MANUEL FERNÁNDEZ FERRO (Madrid, 1978). He has a Barchelor Degree in Communication Studies and studied filmmaking in University of Sydney (SCA). In 2013 he shot “The Red Carpet‘‘ a documentary awarded with more than 20 international awards and more than 100 selections at festivals around the world. Now presents the experimental short film “The Lovers of Avignon” (2023), an allegory of pictorial cubism into motion real image.
Writer: Manuel Fernández Ferro Cinematography: César Belandia
Editor: Manuel Fernández Ferro, César Belandia
Producer: Manuel Fernández Ferro
BELGIUM / БЕЛГИЯ / 2023 / 4’53’’
Wavewidth captures the sense of calm that a seaside landscape can provide. Lifted by waves of time, the spatio-temporal markers are blurred by the sound. The marine and sound waves resonate in a contemplative cinematographic experience.
фично преживяване.
ETHANN NÉON is a Belgian director. He makes experimental films around the notion of space-time. His practice focuses on the processes of visual reconstruction of time and the division of space within the framework of the screen. The aesthetics of his films is characterized by elaborated splitscreens that play with the frame and the off-camera.
Director: Ethann Néon
Cinematography: Ethann Néon
Animation: Ethann Néon
Composer: Ben Bertrand
Editor: Ethann Néon
Producer: Anton Henne
FULL LENGtH
NOT SHORT AT ALL FILM
END OF TRIP SAHARA /
SPAIN / ИСПАНИЯ / 2023 / 128’48’’
In the 70s, groups of young Europeans ventured into the Sahara Desert with the intention of crossing it and experiencing an adventure. Ill-prepared, reckless, and ignorant of the terrain they were traversing, they faced life-threatening situations with unexpected consequences. From the passion of these young people for adventure, the world’s most famous rally was born. «End of Trip Sahara» tells one of these adventures. През 70-те години
With degrees in Geography and History of Art from Complutense University, my passion for photography began with a trip to Gabon in 1973, leading to founding an advertising studio and studying Image and Sound. I entered the film industry in the early ‚80s, worked on notable films, and directed „Sahara“ in 1983, the first Spanish film sold to China. After further studies, I focused on scriptwriting and recently launched „End of Trip Sahara“. I‘m a member of several cinema organizations, dedicated to enriching Spanish cinema.
IT’S ONLY/NOT ONLY A BODY…OR A SHORT FILM ABOUT FREEDOM / ТОВА (НЕ)
POLAND /
ПОЛША
/ 2023 / 82’
Love thyself. This is the life credo of Zosia - a photographer, traveller and free spirit. Going round the world in her camper, she uses photography to make other women comfortable with nakedness and teaches them to love their own bodies. In front of her lens stood women who experienced eating disorders and did not accept their looks. Zosia, who has no place of her own on Earth, has been on the road since she left school at the age of 18. Freedom is a priority for her but loneliness and longing for love may sometimes jeopardize her traveling plans. Обичай
MICHAŁ HYTROŚ was born in 1994 in Kraków. He graduated from the K. Kieślowski Film School in Katowice in Film and Theatre Directing and from The A. Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw in Dramatic Acting. His film productions were awarded multiple times at Polish and international festivals. Winner of, among others: the Silver Dragon at the 58th Krakow Film Festival for the documentary „The Sisters“, the Grand Prix at the 21st „Mecal Pro“ Festival in Barcelona, as well as the CILECT award 2019 for the best documentary.
Director: Michal Hytros
Writer: Michal Hytros
Cinematography: Michal Hytros
Animation: Karina Paciorkowska
Composer: THE STUBS, Fertile Hump, Haley Heynderickx, Natalia Przybysz, Dziun
Editor: Yakiv Komarynsky
Producer: Michal Hytros
LIE OF THE LAND /
UNITED KINGDOM, IRELAND /
About to lose everything, the Wards prepare to escape crippling debts for a new life via a mysterious stranger, with big promises for the right fee. But last-minute doubts see the pair fighting for everything they were about to abandon.
Director: John Carlin
Writer: Tara Hegarty
Cinematography: Jennifer Atcheson
Composer: James Everett
Editor: Kate McAuley
Producer: Margaret McGoldrick, Chris Patterson
Cast: Ali White, Nigel O‘Neill, Barry John Kinsella, Abe Smyth, Paddy Jenkins
искали да изоставят.
JOHN is the director of the IFTA Nominated Irish language drama Seacht for BBC/TG4. He also directed 12 episodes of the factual drama series Marú for TG4 and the award winning Sci-Fi short films „ The Way Back“ and „ECHOES“.
If history is written by the victors, where does that leave those who were never allowed to be part of the game? A collective of queer athletes sets out to honour those who were excluded from the winners’ podium. Together they create a radical utopia far from the rigid gender rules in competitive sports.
Director: Julia Fuhr Mann
Writer: Julia Fuhr Mann
Cinematography: Caroline Spreitzenbart
Animation: (VFX) Isabelle Kramer, Fabian Peitzsch
Editor: Melanie Jilg, Merit Giesen
Producer: Fabian Altenried, Sophie Ahrens, Melissa Byrne, producer HFF (University)
Cast:
Annet Negesa, Amanda Reiter, Caitlin Fisher, Daniel Marin Medina, Chun Mei Tan, Eva Maria Jost, Jakob Levi Stahlberg, Oumou Aidara, Greta Graf
JULIA FUHR MANN, born 1987, studied philosophy, literature and sociology. This was followed by documentary film studies at the University of Television and Film Munich. Julia Fuhr Mann worked as a curator for the feminist film festival Bimovie, co-founded a queer feminist film network and is part of the Queer Media Society. Julia Fuhr Mann‘s short
RIOT NOT DIET has been screened at over 60 film festivals worldwide (including Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival) and has won numerous awards.
All the terrible wars that Russia waged following the collapse of the Soviet Union were preceded by a war in Georgia. Russia provoked and orchestrated a war between the Georgians and the Abkhaz living in Georgia‘s historic region of Abkhazia. … The main character of the film Liza is a journalist who, 25 years ago, worked as a war reporter during this war. 25 years after the war, while hosting the live TV show, Liza receives a call from the former Abkhaz fighter from Abkhazia.
NANA JANELIDZE – Scriptwriter of “Repentance” – Cannes IFF Jury Special Prize, FIPRESCI Prize and Ecumenical Church’s prize (1987) Holder of two „Nika“ (Russian Film Academy) awards for the film script –Repentance 1987; and the film „Will there be a theater up there?!“ –best foreign film 2011; Laureate of the Georgian State prize for the film Lullaby 1994. Winner of several main prizes at IFF (among them Pesaro, Moscow, Lagovo, Montpellier, Tbilisi, etc.) Participated in about 50 IFF.
Repentancе; Cannes IFF Jury Special Prize, FIPRESCI Prize
Ecumenical Church’s prize
REFLECTION IN A ROOM /
SPAIN / ИСПАНИЯ / 2023 / 71’
Berta, a mature woman from the upper class, has been hiring the services of Alberto, a professional escort, for some time. One day, Alberto can‘t make it, so he sends another escort, Hugo, a much younger and inexperienced guy from his neighborhood. Berta distrusts Hugo and insists him to leave, but Hugo wants to finish the job because he needs the money. From this point, Berta and Hugo embark on an emotional journey where, despite their differences, mistrust, and prejudices, they discover they have more in common than they thought.
CERES MACHADO was born in Melilla and moved to Malaga to study Audiovisual Communication at university. She has won more than 90 awards and 350 selections in festivals around the world. In the framework of the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, the prestigious Variety magazine highlighted her as one of the 10 film directors to keep an eye on. Her debut feature is “Reflections in a room”, starring Adriana Ozores.
Seventeen-year-old Leo leads a seemingly typical life. Drunken parties, lazy days spent with friends and making out with his girlfriend Monique. However, underneath his exterior, Leo has a secret. As he finds himself increasingly attracted to his best friend Boof, and the quiet introverted boy at school, Tom, Leo’s feelings force him to come to terms with his true desires. Faced with the fear of rejection from those closest to him, Leo must navigate the uncertain waters of acceptance and love.
Hailing from Australia, GABRIEL discovered his passion for film from a young age when he saw the film „Stand By Me“ in a High School English class. After dropping out of High School at the age of seventeen, Gabriel decided to pursue a career in filmmaking. His debut feature film „Sunflower“ gained acclaim following its participation in the Queer Screen Goes to Cannes program at the Marché du Film, along with premieres at the Sydney Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival.
