Competitive sections
MULAQAT / SANDSTORM
SEEMAB GUL – 2021 / PAKISTAN
MULAQAT / SANDSTORM
SEEMAB GUL – 2021 / PAKISTAN
Zara, a schoolgirl in Karachi (Pakistan), shares a sensual dance video with her virtual boyfriend, who then blackmails her. Caught between his manipulative behaviour and the desire to experience love on her own terms, Zara searches for the strength to reject the confines of a patriarchal society.
PUNCH-DRUNK
LARRY KETANG, LIAM WHITE – 2021 / UNITED KINGDOM
PUNCH-DRUNK
LARRY KETANG, LIAM WHITE – 2021 / UNITED KINGDOM
In a café in Marseille, a man’s life is knocked off its axis when his lunch is disturbed by a chatty stranger.
BESTIA / BEAST
HUGO COVARRUBIAS – 2021 / CHILE
BESTIA / BEAST
HUGO COVARRUBIAS – 2021 / CHILE
Inspired by real events, Bestia enters the life of a secret police agent in the military dictatorship in Chile. The relationship with her dog, her body, her fears and frustrations, reveal a macabre fracture in her mind and a country.
EGÚNGÚN / MASQUERADE
OLIVE NWOSU – 2021 / NIGERIA
EGÚNGÚN / MASQUERADE
OLIVE NWOSU – 2021 / NIGERIA
In search of healing, a young woman returns home to Nigeria, the country of her birth.
LAY ME BY THE SHORE
DAVID FINDLAY – 2022 / CANADA
LAY ME BY THE SHORE
DAVID FINDLAY – 2022 / CANADA
Introducing a young cast of first time actors, Lay Me by the Shore follows a week in the life of Noah, a high school senior in his final days of school as he comes to terms with his best friend’s passing. Bathed in the warm light of long June days and with the intimidating spectre of an unknown future looming, the tale is told from the perspective of the recently departed and, through the prism of grief, highlights the raw, potent emotions of youth.
BRUTALIA, ERGASIMES MERES / BRUTALIA, DAYS OF LABOUR
MANOLIS MAVRIS – 2021 / BELGIUM-GREECE
BRUTALIA, ERGASIMES MERES / BRUTALIA, DAYS OF LABOUR
MANOLIS MAVRIS – 2021 / BELGIUM-GREECE
A matriarchal family. An oligarchic society…what would happen if we replace bees with humans? Anna, one worker bee among the perfectly identical worker bee girls, all dressed in military uniforms, all working day and night, struggles to understand the rules of the hive.
ÜBER WASSER / ON SOLID GROUND
JELA HASLER – 2021 / SWITZERLAND
ÜBER WASSER / ON SOLID GROUND
JELA HASLER – 2021 / SWITZERLAND
A city, in summer. The morning coolness in the river does not last long, the heat covers the city like a magnifying glass under which supposedly trivial everyday nuisances suddenly take on weight. Eli tries to escape the narrowness and agitation of the city – yet keeps being confronted with aggression. And the rage starts to build up within her.
SOMLENG REATREY / SOUND OF THE NIGHT
CHANRADO SOK, KONGKEA VANN – 2021 / CAMBODIA
SOMLENG REATREY / SOUND OF THE NIGHT
CHANRADO SOK, KONGKEA VANN – 2021 / CAMBODIA
Vibol and his brother Kea sell noodles on a motorized cart every night on the streets of Phnom Penh. They often face troublesome threats from gangsters and thieves, even if these very people are their only customers. As the city is growing around them, they consider their unstable income and imagine a different future.
O QUE RESTA / WHAT REMAINS
DANIEL SOARES – 2021 / PORTUGAL
O QUE RESTA / WHAT REMAINS
DANIEL SOARES – 2021 / PORTUGAL
Emilio is a lifelong farmer in his eighties who lives alone on his abandoned farm. Everyone close is gone. One animal is all there is left. Today is the day he decides to sell it.
L’ENFANT SALAMANDRE / THE SALAMANDER CHILD
THÉO DEGEN – 2020 / FRANCE
L’ENFANT SALAMANDRE / THE SALAMANDER CHILD
THÉO DEGEN – 2020 / FRANCE
At 15, Florian thinks he can communicate with the dead through fire. That belief makes him the weirdo in the village where he lives. One day, by dint of being called a monster…he becomes one.
AFFAIRS OF THE ART
JOANNA QUINN, LES MILLS – 2021 / CANADA-UNITED KINGDOM
AFFAIRS OF THE ART
JOANNA QUINN, LES MILLS – 2021 / CANADA-UNITED KINGDOM
How many obsessions can one family have? In Joanna Quinn and Les Mills’ Affairs of the Art, we reconnect with Beryl, the working-class heroine who not only reveals her own obsession with drawing but exposes the addictions of her eccentric family, which include pickling, screw threads and pet taxidermy.
IN FLOW OF WORDS
ELIANE ESTHER BOTS – 2021 / NETHERLANDS
IN FLOW OF WORDS
ELIANE ESTHER BOTS – 2021 / NETHERLANDS
In Flow of Words follows the narratives of three interpreters of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. They interpreted shocking testimonies from witnesses, victims and perpetrators, without ever allowing their own emotions, feelings and personal histories to be present. Contrary to their position at the tribunal, this film places their voices and experiences center stage.
FANTASMA NEON / NEON PHANTOM
LEONARDO MARTINELLI – 2021 / BRAZIL
FANTASMA NEON / NEON PHANTOM
LEONARDO MARTINELLI – 2021 / BRAZIL
A delivery man dreams of having a motorcycle. He was told that everything would be like a musical film.
SEVEREN POL / NORTH POLE
MARIJA APCEVSKA – 2021 / MACEDONIA – SERBIA
SEVEREN POL / NORTH POLE
MARIJA APCEVSKA – 2021 / MACEDONIA – SERBIA
Misty field, crowded locker room. Margo belongs to neither. Maybe if she loses her virginity, she will finally find her place.
MEMOIR OF A VEERING STORM
SOFIA GEORGOVASSILI – 2022 / GREECE
MEMOIR OF A VEERING STORM
SOFIA GEORGOVASSILI – 2022 / GREECE
It is a morning in September. A storm is about to break. Α mother drives a girl to school in the morning and picks up a woman at the end of the school day. Anna, a fifteen-year-old girl sneaks out of school, and with the help of her boyfriend, they visit a hospital. There, she has to face an event that will jolt her into adulthood.
DUO LI / LILI ALONE
ZOU JING – 2021 / CHINA – HONG KONG – SINGAPUR
DUO LI / LILI ALONE
ZOU JING – 2021 / CHINA – HONG KONG – SINGAPUR
Lili, a young mother, lives with her gambler husband in a remote part of Sichuan. Lonely and poor, she heads for the city in a bid to earn enough money to save her dying father.
PA VEND / DISPLACED
SAMIR KARAHODA – 2021 / KOSOVO
PA VEND / DISPLACED
SAMIR KARAHODA – 2021 / KOSOVO
In post-war Kosovo, driven by the ambition of keeping their beloved sport alive, two local players wander from one obscure location to another carrying with them the only possession of the club: their tables.
EASTER EGGS
NICOLAS KEPPENS – 2020 / BELGIUM
EASTER EGGS
NICOLAS KEPPENS – 2020 / BELGIUM
In a small town, word goes around that Mister Ping’s exotic birds are on the loose. Two bored teenagers go on a quest to find them. During their adventure, they find that escaping daily life isn’t quite the same as escaping each other. Easter Eggs is a short animated film about finding extraordinary things in ordinary places.
MILÝ, TATI / LOVE, DAD
DIANA CAM VAN NGUYEN – 2021 / CZECH REPUBLIC – SLOVAKIA
MILÝ, TATI / LOVE, DAD
DIANA CAM VAN NGUYEN – 2021 / CZECH REPUBLIC – SLOVAKIA
A short film about ties and gaps between a child and a parent.
The author rediscovers letters her dad used to write her from prison. That love seems to be gone now. She decides to write back in hope to find the connection again. She puts in writing what could not be said: blaming him for family ́s break-up but also trying to understand.
VLEKKELOOS / SPOTLESS
EMMA BRANDERHORST – 2021 / NETHERLANDS
VLEKKELOOS / SPOTLESS
EMMA BRANDERHORST – 2021 / NETHERLANDS
Spotless tells the story of 15 year old Ruby, who lives in a small flat with her mother and her younger sister. Her mother works overtime to make ends meet and Ruby feels responsible for her sister. When Ruby realizes she is having her period, she notices they are out of period products. She doesn’t want to bother her mother with asking for them, because she is aware of their money problems. To make sure she doesn’t trouble anyone with her problem, she tries to solve it herself.
HAI BIAN SHENG QI YI ZUO XUAN YA / THE WATER MURMURS
STORY CHEN – 2022 / CHINA
HAI BIAN SHENG QI YI ZUO XUAN YA / THE WATER MURMURS
STORY CHEN – 2022 / CHINA
When an asteroid hits the Earth, underwater volcanic eruptions risk submerging a riverside town and the inhabitants start to flee inland. The day before leaving, Nian says goodbye to a childhood friend but on her way she crosses paths with some of the town’s residents. Gradually, her memories of the town start to become clearer and clearer in her mind.
INTERFON 15 / INTERCOM 15
ANDREI EPURE – 2021 / ROMANIA
INTERFON 15 / INTERCOM 15
ANDREI EPURE – 2021 / ROMANIA
Several residents discover an unconscious woman lying in front of the block. Even though she lives on the third floor, nobody knows her name. While waiting for rescue, the neighbours reflect on her life and their own.
BIRDS
KATHERINE PROPPER – 2021 / USA
BIRDS
KATHERINE PROPPER – 2021 / USA
Moments in the lives of Austin teenagers during the heat of a Texas summer.