homepage > 2011 edition > short film competition

Short Film Competition

films produced by filmmakers under the age of 41, produced in 2010 and 2011, of any genre.
The new short film competition at the Milano Film Festival this year is dedicated to new, international talent under 40. 55 films have been selected from all over the world: animation, experimental, documentari, video and mockumentary and hail from 20 different countries.

An international jury will give out the Prize for the Best Short Film.
Group AGroup BGroup CGroup DGroup EGroup FGroup GGroup HGroup IGroup JGroup K
GROUP A

Axis and Allies

 



Ernst De Geer, Sweden, 2010, HD, 16’
An engaged couple and a friend meet up for a table games match. After a misunderstanding, a fourth person arrives. The misinterpretation gives life to an incandescent night, where the game becomes dangerously serious. A classic situation - the unwelcome guest - is the pretext for a sharp portrayal of couples, between constraints and hushed desires. The budding De Geer is 22 years old. His dramatic ability, sense of humour and managing of the actors indicate that he could be ten years older. read more
GROUP A

Babioles

 



Matray, France, 2010, computer 3D, 5’
Life isn't easy on a rubbish dump, particularly when you are a discarded new-born child's toy in search of affection. Yet, what could be a tragedy for the protagonist, a small blue, rubber rabbit becomes a 3D animated comedy full of compelling visual jokes, not least thanks to a new friend, a small rubber Indian with whom he will try to meet someone new to snuggle. An irreverent and hilarious short film, created by the Matray collective. read more
GROUP A

Rao Yi Sheng

Doctor Rao  



Alexej Tchernyi, Wu Zhi, Germany / China, 2011, HDcam, 7’
Doctor Rao has died. The funeral takes place in accordance with the family's wishes: Taoist burial rituals merge with the customs of modern Chinese society and the ceremony lasts two days and two nights. The young Ukrainian video-artist, Tchernyi, who lives and studies in Berlin with Doctor Rao's daughter, Wu Zhi, decides to immortalize her with 5,795 shots which are then edited in a brilliant experimental documentary of 7 minutes. It competed at Berlinale 2011. read more
GROUP A

Io sono qui

I am here  



Mario Piredda, Italy, 2010, 4k red, 21’
The nineties. A Sardinian boy, Giovanni, enlists in the army. The mission in Kosovo will end unexpectedly, not in gunfire, but as a consequence of the depleted uranium that we see mark his life on the screen on three occasions that are sequenced in time, but parallel in nature. Filmed with rigour, this is a short protest film that succeeds in elucidating a burning issue by the humanity of its characters. Candidate for the David de Donatello prize, 2011. read more
GROUP A

La huida

The Runaway  



Victor Carrey, Spain, 2010, 35mm, 11’
On the asphalt of a road right in the middle of a Spanish city a 50 euro note flutters. It arrived here due to a complicated coincidence of events, a story of falling briefcases, television sets exploding and suspicious guys making a run for it. 12 minutes of pure visual pleasure, brilliant humour and a musical finale worth a standing ovation. Prize-winner at the NexT Festival in Bucharest 2011. read more
GROUP B

Deux Inconnus

The Strange Ones  



Christopher Radcliff, Lauren Wolkstein, France, 2011, HD, 15’
A man and a boy on a trip in the USA come to a halt when their car breaks down. They look for a place to take shelter and find a motel with a pool and sneak in to have a rest. The girl at the motel wants to chase them away, but she then convinces herself to let them be and even help them fix their car. Until she finds herself alone with the little boy who tells her a whole other story. Who really are these two? A thriller that hangs in the balance between drama and fabrication, with a cast of very convincing actors. read more
GROUP B

[R]

 



Julie Rembauville, Nicolas Bianco-Levrin, France, 2011, Digital Photo, 13’
In a world where everything revolves around the letter R, it is difficult to speak or think for oneself. The buildings are R-shaped and the language consists solely of that one letter. A two-dimensional animated society with a single thought, where a baby who imagines other letters encounters resistance from all corners. Julie Rembauville and Nicolas Bianco-Levrin, raised with children's illustrations, offer a linear depiction of an important theme, the freedom of expression. read more
GROUP B

Salvatore

 



Bruno Urso, Fabrizio Urso, Italy / France, 2011, HD, 14’
Maria and Salvatore love each other, but they live in present day Italy where, if you get pregnant during a period of recession, your friend at the factory will blab to your employer, who might prefer a younger woman who is not absent on maternity leave. For the Urso Brothers filmmaking is about speaking of the social injustices of Italy. After Luigi Indelicato and La baia dei lupi (both shown at the MFF), institutional cinema also noticed them, granting them with a nomination for David di Donatello 2011. read more
GROUP B

Ridestar

 



Hannaleena Heiska, Finland, 2010, 16mm, 3’
An empty and austere landscape is filled with the majestic power of nature. Over the notes of the aria Ah! Non mi ridestar from Werther by Jules Massenet, the camera slowly reveals the identity of the mysterious being. Heiska is a graduate of the Helsinki Academy of Fine Arts who paints as well as making installation art and videos. Ridestar (to be read in Italian) is a short hymn of the senses to the majesty of life and the beauty of powerful reawakening. read more
GROUP B

Het Bijzondere leven van Rocky De Vlaeminck

The Extraordinary Life of Rocky  



Kevin Meul, Belgium, 2010, HDcam, 14’
Rocky is decidedly unlucky. Whoever loves him comes to a bad end, under incredible circumstances. As an adult, he locks himself up in resigned silence, until the day he sees the only person able to love him again. Fairy tale-like and tragicomic, Rocky is a romantic and black comedy of naïve charm and refined taste for period reconstruction. It even makes people laugh, respectfully, at an event that is stuck in the Belgians' memory: the Heysel tragedy. read more
GROUP C

Jenny

 



Ingvild Søderlind, Norway, 2010, 35mm, 15’
Jenny will become a woman. Her body is changing, but the innocence in her blue eyes keeps her away from boys. But Jenny is curious: she wants to know what happens when other people go into the bathroom and shut the door. On the saddle of her bicycle she goes in search of answers. A female teen movie that is delicate and suburban, where words do not matter, and attraction is a game of noise and silence, light and dark, sex and affection. read more
GROUP C

Das Hemd

The Shirt  



Jonas Rothlaender, Germany, 2010, HD, 6’
Walter, 62 years old and Markus, 28, are invited to a family wedding. The son is embarrassed by his father's appearance. Under the immaculate white shirt the outlines of a terrible thing are evident: his vest. In the men's toilets, the rite of undressing will take place. And not only. The power of the short film: describing the many emotional layers of a family relationship in only 6 minutes. read more
GROUP C

Guañape Sur

 



János Richter, Italy, 2010, HD, 23’
The Peruvian island Guañape Sur is a dry and inhospitable place; for ten years is has been inhabited by only two keepers and thousands of birds. On the eleventh year a group of workers arrive to collect dried guano. A temporary community is created, where life is marked by work and scarce moments of fun. Produced by the excellent ZeLIG School in Bolzano and selected for the IDFA 2010, it is a powerful short film of denunciation that makes use of the power of documentary contemplation. read more
GROUP C

The Gloaming

 



Nobrain, France, 2010, HD, 14’
A creator blows on a globe of amalgamated earth that becomes populated with tiny impetuous and neurotic figures. They go to war, create and destroy gods, to then be dominated by their very own inventions. This short film by the French group Nobrain is not just a technical jewel, wisely mixing together various techniques. It is the upside-down history of the whole of humanity, collapsed by its own doing. An apocalypse where it is impossible not to recognise ourselves. read more
GROUP C

Un novio de mierda

A Shitty Boyfriend  



Borja Cobeaga, Spain, 2010, HD, 3’
Sometimes you only need three minutes for a funny story. A boy knocks on the door of his ex, whom he left three months ago. The surprised and slightly bitter look on the girl's face turns into anger when, with no preamble and not even any small talk, he asks her…if he can use her bathroom. And that is just the start. read more
GROUP D

Odysseus's Gambit

 



Àlex Lora, United States, 2011, HD, 13’
A gambit is the first move in a game of chess where the player decides to sacrifice a pawn in order to move the game to his advantage. This is what the protagonist in the documentary does every day. Cambodian and living in Manhattan in a corner of the street with his chessboard, he invites passers-by to stop for a game. Lora is a Spanish director who graduated from New York University: she made this paean to life from down below in a single day of shooting. read more
GROUP D

Na Ulitsa Nula

Zero Street  



Andrey Getov, Bulgaria, 2010, 16mm, 4’
The subjective experience of a suitcase floating in the sea. We do not know where it came from, nor how many there are. The trunk appears and disappears many a time, transferred onto a car in front of a large villa in the countryside. A brain teaser for attentive audiences with a sharp eye. Evidently inspired by Rybczyński, the young Bulgarian Getov uses music and montage with creative ability and talent. Like it used to be done. read more
GROUP D

Brûleurs

Burners  



Farid Bentoumi, France, 2011, HD, 15’
Young men from Maghreb look to cross the Mediterranean every day to reach the European coasts. The director, Bentoumi, of Algerian origins, knows the story he wants to tell very well, as do his friends (who in the film are called Malik, Lotfi, Mohammed and Khalilvi, but they could be anyone). The video camera bought at the start of the short film is an ingenious trick, of great narrative efficacy, that pushes it to the boundary between mockumentary and amateur film. read more
GROUP D

All Consuming Love (Man In A Cat)

 



Louis Hudson, United Kingdom, 2011, Computer Generated, 9’
A little man lives in a cat who lives in a house. Then, out of the mouse hole in the living room, a classic image from the Tom and Jerry animation set, comes an equally little woman. They will find it hard to meet without scaring the owner of the house, a woman of normal size. An animated comedy in 2D created by hand before, thanks to a million You Tube hits, being noted and produced by the UK Film Council and Screen WM. Laughter guaranteed. read more
GROUP D

From Here to Eternity

 



Oliver Pietsch, Germany, 2010, , 40’
If death is the greatest taboo that cinema dispelled, afterlife is pure imagination brought to the screen in the most variant ways, from Murnau to Tim Burton. Pietsch, from Berlin, collected and edited thousands of sequences, grouped into brilliant associations: murders, illnesses and natural disasters; punishment, limbo and forgiveness. From Edwin S. Porter onwards, editing became God, and From Here to Eternity is an astounding mortuary celebration of this. read more
GROUP E

Rolling on the Floor Laughing

 



Russell Harbaugh, United States, 2011, Super 16mm, 19’
Two brothers return to their family home to celebrate their mother's birthday, a beautiful smiley lady who takes this opportunity to introduce them to her new partner. It should be a day of celebration, but something ruins the atmosphere. The film, made by the budding Harbaugh for his degree, displays superb tension and subtle wickedness. It is made in super 16mm with a ridiculous budget, with the help of extraordinary actors. read more
GROUP E

Monster attack

 



Milja Viita, Finland / Kenya, 2010, miniDV, 2’
Beneath the Kenyan sun a group of young children plays quietly. All seems calm when suddenly the camera swings round in pursuit of some children who are wreaking havoc. This has an effect akin to the subjective shot of a wasp, the camera moving smartly into action as if breaking a pact of silence. The effect is achieved with the abandon of a child that runs and laughs in this experimental film based on a real motor experience. A further example of madcap Finnish joyousness. read more
GROUP E

Susya

 



Dani Rosenberg, Yoav Gross, Israel / Palestinian Autorhority, 2011, DV PAL, 15’
Having been expelled in 1983 from the village of his birth, Susya, south of Hebron, a man returns with his son to find that it has become an archaeological park, complete with turnstile. Once again, he is forced to leave. Rosenberg and Gross, directors and campaigners amongst whose creations figures a social cinema for counter-information on the streets of Tel Aviv, trust in the power of direct cinema. They appreciate how to capture an unforeseen opportunity to tell a story that leads to another that is still longer and, unfortunately, endless. read more
GROUP E

Storia di Nessuno

 



Manfredi Lucibello, Italy, 2010, HD, 15’
Through first person narrative we inhabit the mind and daily life of a hired assassin. He is a man who ponders his own fate even as he murders his victims, yet feels he is doing it for Italy. In an unsettling performance, Luciano Manzalini, celebrated member of the comic duo, The Ruggeri Twins, is the face of the hitman. A short film by a young director who acknowledges Sorrentino, yet maintains his own individual style and perspective. read more
GROUP E

Skallamann

Baldguy  



Maria Bock, Norway, 2011, Digibeta, 12’
"I am bald man now. And I want to sing a song about it". The city comes alive, the neighbourhood comments, the workers dance. Like a punk Scandinavian gay version of The Sound of Music. Putting Maria Boch's short film in words is an insult: its positive colour, the homage to the classical musical, the desecrating humour, the plasticity of the wild choreography is lost. The 2011 craze: the human bongo drum that goes "Skalla Skalla Skalla Skalla!". read more
GROUP F

Satan since 2003

 



Carlos Puga, United States, 2010, HD Video, 20’
The Hell's Satans are the original American moped gang of the 70s, an era when the price of oil went through the roof. The director Carlos Puga, producer of dysfunctional reality shows such as True Life on MTV, followed them over the course of three weeks, deciding half way down the road to change tack. This is not simply a documentary about beer festivals and rock music, but a film that, abruptly, shifts narrative pace. Still, as we all know, when it comes to gangs, problems are just around the corner. read more
GROUP F

Flashings in the Mirror

 



Jasper Elings, Netherlands, 2010, mini dv/ digital file, 1’
In 2076 the work of Elings, a Dutch, will be a brilliant, Warholian and super-short testament of the golden age 2.0. In 2010 we showed the 2000 postcards of sunsets of Sharing a Beautiful Sunset (duration: 2 minutes). For 2011 time is even more restricted: 60 seconds of a social network classic - the self-timer on mirror lock-up with an incorporated dazzling flash. Definitely has to be posted on VM sites. 18. read more
GROUP F

Dimanches

Sundays  



Valéry Rosier, Belgium, 2011, 35mm, 16’
Sunday, a day of rest or 'freedom' in the Latin sense of the word. The inhabitants of a small Belgian village search for the best way to spend their free time. However, even sleeping all day can become a complicated activity. With dues paid to the cinema of Roy Andersson, and with a degree of irony, the director demonstrates how bitter the passing of time can be for those who are alone, in a series of perfectly-formed and meditative tableaux vivants. read more
GROUP F

Qué Divertido

This is fun  



Natalia Mateo, Spain, 2010, RED ONE, 10’
The return of a man with his son to his home own is marked by a decidedly roublesome occurrence. In this solo debut by the actress, Natalia Mateo, tension and mystery are concealed behind the bucolic tones of a picturesque, rural landscape. The work is, by turns, a black comedy, a thriller and a comedy, but, ultimately, it is the ale of a tender and fragile relationship between a father, a son... and a bull. read more
GROUP F

Las Palmas

 



Johannes Nyholm, Sweden, 2011, HD, 14’
The holidays of a middle-aged woman in a world of marionettes make for compulsive viewing, especially when the woman is played by a one year-old who, dressed up for the occasion, gets her kicks in a ramshackle piano bar, only to flee in Easy Rider style. With a blend of surreal humour and slow motion, Johannes Nyholm, whose Puppet-boy was presented at the 2009 Festival, has created a puppet-world in which here is no let-up in the laughter. Further confirmation of his craftsman's talent. read more
GROUP G

Minuto 200

Minute 200  



Frank Benitez, Colombia, 2011, Betacam , 19’
Seventy-five year-old Orfa is sent a mobile phone and a letter by her son, who is unable to visit her. Resignedly, Orfa starts to sell off the 200 minutes that are on her mobile, putting the money towards the cost of her funeral. 200 Minutes is a poetic and melancholic reflection both on time and our inability to live life to the fullest in the company of those we love. The dazzling Orfa is resplendent in her beauty, while her neighbour and sprightly contemporary nourishes an affectionate wit. read more
GROUP G

The Homogenics

 



Gerard Freixes Ribera, Spain, 2010, Digital Video, 4’
On an elegant black and white television set, someone comes home from work. It's the actor Dick Van Dyke, the chimney sweep from Mary Poppins. However, when the doorbell rings again, who is there but another Dick Van Dyke? And on it goes. The digital multiplication of the protagonist creates a series episode that is light-hearted and Pirandellian. An experimental work, created by cutting and splicing five episodes of the Dick Van Dyke Show available in the public domain. read more
GROUP G

Shikasha

 



Isamu Hirabayashi, Japan, 2010, Canon EOS 7D, 10’
A mother and son are lying tied up in a dark house, while outside, detectives scour the fields for them. They are buried alive. A dramatic situation is played out on two planes that do not seem to coincide: a breathless search outside, claustrophobic survival inside. The director emphasises this opposition and knows how to unsettle. This latest short by Isamu Hirabayashi, a cult director in this genre, is deliberately enigmatic and lives long in the memory. read more
GROUP G

Gianni Schicchi

 



Francesco Visco, Italy, 2011, HDSLR, 10’
A young couple are sunbathing on a beach when along comes Gianni Schicchi, the local heartthrob. In response to his greeting, the girl simpers in obvious admiration, triggering a blind fit of jealousy in her boyfriend which will erupt into violence. This could be a cheap melodrama with a tragic finale or a noirish crime of passion. Instead, Gianni Schicchi is, to all intents and purposes, a beach operetta, complete with both arias and recitatives. Wholly bizarre. read more
GROUP G

The External World

 



David O'Reilly, Germany, 2010, HD, 15’
A 3D world that is imprecise, anti-perfectionist and poetic, populated by hysterical characters and epitomised by borderline humour. The Irish animator, David O'Reilly, a theoretician of digital imprecision returns to the screen to show us how difficult it is to learn to play the piano in a world where gags explode like fireworks. Further confirmation of the talent demonstrated in Please Say Something, his psycho-Disney debut which beguiled audiences in Berlin and Milan two years ago. read more
GROUP H

Asylum

 



Joern Utkilen, United Kingdom, 2010, Super 16mm, 17’
Two immigrants in a reception centre go to English school. One of them, an Afghan, wants to become an expert cow breeder; the other, Chinese, dreams of falling in love with a beautiful Scottish woman, but until he succeeds he continue to attempt suicide. A surreal comedy about the dreams of integration of two "perfect immigrants", by a Norwegian writer - immigrated to Scotland - fresh from a trash-punk re-reading of Cappuccetto Rosso. read more
GROUP H

Planet Z

 



Momoko Seto, France, 2011, 35mm, 10’
A cosmogony in 3D that transforms imagery into poetry as we witness the greening of a barren planet and a battle with killer spores. An imaginary world that speaks metaphorically and originally about our own, the locus of so many environmental problems, making use of spectacular digital imagery. The director, Seto, a Japanese emigrant resident in France, has a deep understanding of biology, and it shows. read more
GROUP H

Sherman

 



Kate Tsang, United States, 2011, HD, 3’
From Shining to the young talents of short films, the imaginary friend is a favourite topic. Sherman is decidedly unique: first of all, he is a drawing. His "inventor" needed him, but then he grew up and left him. And now Sherman asks what a drawing can do when faced with reality. A film made by the very young Kate Tsang for her degree: 3 minutes of melancholy and disarming poetry. read more
GROUP H

Miten marjoja poimitaan

How to Pick Berries  



Elina Talvensaari, Finland, 2010, 35mm/HD, 19’
Collecting berries is an activity deeply linked to Finish cultural identity. And so why do the berry collectors come from the other side of the world? How many steps does humanity have to retrace due to the global economy? Talvensaari, a young sociologist and anthropologist, asks these questions in a documentary-essay - made as an assignment for her degree - which, besides critical analysis, reveals great talent in image composition. read more
GROUP H

Bear

 



Nash Edgerton, Australia, 2011, 35mm , 11’
A young couple wake up. There is a lot of silence between them and a tension behind which something lies hidden. He feigns indifference while she, bitter, leaves in a hurry for her usual ride on her bicycle. The man puts a plan into action to make the day an unforgettable one. And it really will be. The sequel to the short cult film Spider is a scathing and perfidious black comedy with many surprises in store. Including a bear. It competed at Cannes 2011. read more
GROUP I

Players

 



Pilvi Takala, Netherlands, 2010, HDV, 8’
An experimental film that depicts the lives of six online-poker players in Bangkok. Rich on their winnings, the six spend their time gambling on everything. This cautionary tale which, taken to its logical conclusion would destroy many economic certainties, was made by the eclectic Finnish director, Pilvi Takala, who is making his third appearance at the Milan Film Festival. In an alienated setting, and filmed discreetly around their hotel, the six actors portrayal of the players pays handsome dividend. read more
GROUP I

La mucca, il manzo, non è questo il punto

 



Fabrizio Provinciali, Italy, 2010, 35mm, 9’
To fill the empty provincial nights, three friends wander around places that were once the scene of mysterious deaths. In the darkness on one of these nights, a cow blocks the way (or is it a bullock?). Entertained by the situation they try to load it onto their pick-up, but it is another encounter in the night that will be crucial and unexpected. Avoiding banality and moving between comedy and "surprise effect", the artist tells of the Italian province in a brilliant way. read more
GROUP I

Przyjecie

Reception  



Maciej Bochniak, Poland, 2011, HD, 10’
Aspiring artists are in the final moments of preparation for an audition at a Polish academy; some sing in the bathroom, some do warm-up exercises, others embrace family and loved ones. Already very active in musical film, the talented Bochniak dispenses with words and, instead, builds a vibrant symphony of sound effects, subverting the voyeurism of televised talent shows. This is an act that worships the great power of the documentary, capturing a fleeting moment in the memory and in the heart. read more
GROUP I

Apele Tac

Silent River  



Anca Miruna Lazarescu, Germany / Romania, 2011, 35mm, 30’
Gregor and Vali want to escape from Ceaucescu's Romania. Their
plan is to swim across the river to Serbia. To achieve their goal they
need each other. However, Vali's wife does not want to leave. The
crossing will be hard. Amongst the best films at the recent Berlin
festival, it is the Romanian director's graduation piece. He uses
the thriller genre to explore the darkest recesses of memory, and
includes scenes shot to great dramatic effect under water. read more
GROUP I

Bunny Boy

 



Brandon LaGanke, United States, 2010, HDcam, 5’
A boy returns home from school. His house, like the rest of the landscape, is immersed in clouds. There is silence everywhere. And there is a man dressed as a rabbit sitting in the backyard. LaGanke is an experimenter of genres, who makes the transition easily from video clips to commercials: this enigmatic (and very perfidious) debut short film for the cinema was selected for the Sundance Film Festival 2011. It will certainly leave audiences baffled. read more
GROUP J

Jam Today

 



Simon Ellis, United Kingdom, 2011, RED Zeiss Superspeeds, 14’
Eleven year-old Robert is on a riverboat holiday with his family, and can't wait to grow up. Notwithstanding the curiosity that leads him to spy on the young couple on a neighbouring boat, the body-building exercises and the resourcefulness typical of youngsters of that age, one evening he will find himself witnessing an unexpected event. read more
GROUP J

Zakira Kassira

Short Memory  



Marwan Khneisser, Lebanon, 2010, HDV, 9’
In Beirut life goes on seemingly calmly; kids play football, families come together for dinner. But it is the 7th August 2006, there is war out there: Israel is bombing the city. Zakira Kassira, as the title says, is a short film for remembering, because "memory is short". Shot in a single-sequence panning movement, it is completely self-produced by the director and realized with a steadicam made by hand. It was selected for the Clermont-Ferrand Festival 2011. read more
GROUP J

Paths of Hate

 



Damian Nenow, Poland, 2010, Computer Animation in HD Frames, 10’
A battle that takes place in the sky between the pilots of two fighter planes becomes a fight to the death, where blind rage and hatred draw the two protagonists into an abyss of endless violence. A parable of the demons that inhabit the depths of the human soul, realised in brilliant 2D animation, and with conspicuous sound input. The young Polish director is technically on a par with producers from the megastudios. read more
GROUP J

La conduite de la Raison

The guidance of Reason  



Aliocha Allard, France, 2010, HD, 21’
A walk through the woods with the dog, a bizarre encounter, a slow immersion in nature, an opportunity to reflect upon the passing of time, human relationships, the sense of what we do, the future. The director, Allard, experiments with a method of film-making which he has defined as 'Inspirism', wherein he replaces writing with directorial inspiration and improvisation. For those in the know, this is an example of 'slow cinema' that reveals ecstatic beauty. Selected at the Cannes Festival of 2011. read more
GROUP J

Third Date

 



John Viener, United States, 2010, Canon 5d, 5’
Between episodes of Family Guy, where he dubs about a hundred characters, Viener makes exhilarating short films in which he attacks the average man's machismo. At no cost but with great comical ideas. In Third Date he manages to get the girl of his dreams in bed with him. She asks him: "You're not like all other men, are you?". The compulsory answer is no. But the surprise the next morning will be…disrupting. read more
GROUP K

Surfeurs

Surfers  



Julien Lucas, France, 2010, 35mm, 14’
Two men are surfing on the beach. Why is one of them buried under the sand up to his head and asking for help while the waves are about to swallow him up? A test of strength and courage that challenges a relationship that is only tranquil on the surface. Lucas, a young but experienced actor (he is one of the main characters in Les amants réguliers by Philippe Garrel), makes his debut directing a story about the loss of control. read more
GROUP K

Cartas

Letters  



Margarida Lucas, United States, 2011, HD, 9’
Letters are exchanged between Carmen, a Venezuelan immigrant in the USA, and Jorge, her lover of twenty years previously. Jorge talks to her about his family and new life, while Carmen also speaks of her life, her journeys around the world, her rich husband, and her daughter who is in school. However, the pictures tell a different story. This two-scene short by the debutant Lucas reveals the shattered dreams of those who are unable to face up to the reality of their own lives. read more
GROUP K

Collide-o-Scope

 



Naren Wilks, United Kingdom, 2010, Super 8 PAL Video, 4’
Jump around in a room, jump around on camera. In the eye of the camera you are multiplied by four. In this short film, we follow a jacket-wearing boy as he performs a kind of dance ritual. An experimental black and white short that blends analogue and digital shots using four Super-8 cameras to film the same action from different angles. The interplay of the images, captured digitally, gives us a new way of seeing - and of jumping. read more
GROUP K

Actus

 



Kika Nicolela, Brazil, 2010, 4K Red, 17’
A family scene. A couple are caught up in a futile argument about a microwave and a manicure. Though changing constantly, the scene is endlessly repeated. The artist Nicolela takes to extremes the confusion between reality and mise-en-scène to illustrate the limits and the possibilities presented by being an onlooker. This inventive narrative device is subject to caustic variations on the theme of the routine habits of coupledom. The trick is to find a thousand different details… and a piece of cake. read more
GROUP K

Noreen

 



Domhnall Gleeson, Ireland, 2010, RED camera, 18’
In the Irish province (almost) nothing ever happens. Two on-duty policemen receive a call from headquarters that leads to an incredible and freakish sequence of events - all because of Noreen. The protagonist and deus ex machina of the film, Gleeson, son of the famous Brendan, successfully elaborates a classic comedic motif - fools at work - playing irresistibly on ideas of national self-irony. read more