Production: TUR 2014
A documentary with elements of fiction. It tells the story of a family that tries to get by on cultivating tomatoes. The kids are eager to help their elders, because their motivation isn't only to survive, but also to get a bike of their own. The film portrays hard labor, day after day in the family community. It is a portrait of life under harsh conditions, but close to loved ones: the people and the animals. Maturing tomatoes are beautiful. They promise – finally – a reward for the great joint effort. The film's simplicity and its unpredictability work like meditation, like a punch straight to the heart.
Production: TUR/FR 2014
An animated film inspired by the events that took place in Turkey in the spring of 2013. The series of demonstrations began on May 28th on Taksim Square in central Istanbul. The protests spread to other regions and cities in Turkey. The direct cause of the outbreak was the plan to construct a shopping centre in Taksim Gezi Park, which is located next to the square. The protesters occupied the park, a camping ground developed, the number of participants grew. “Backward run” focuses on the dramatic dispersing of the demonstration and the television's “reaction,” which constituted of airing documentaries on penguins and reports from a beauty pageant. “Backward run” made use of audio recorded during the protest and the pacification of protesters. “The film you are watching has censored itself.”
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Production: NL 2014
Geert Verbeke sold animal food. He was selling a lot, so he established and developed a transport company. One day he sold off the company equipment that was dispensable and kept what could be useful in his new life: the life of a collector and exhibition arranger. Since 2007 he's been running a foundation, collecting chiefly surreal Belgian collages and assemblages. In his own words: “Surrealism is typically Belgian. It's an integral part of us.” Inspired by the nature of the collection, the place of exhibition, and the collector's personality, Kuba Szutkowski created his documentary, which takes us to a place that combines the surrealism of nature, art, and the industrial.
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Productions: NL 2014
In the essay collage film “Conversations” the filmmaker unravels the hidden meanings of the personal archive of her grandmother. Her sight takes its place inside a feminine chain of memories. The film shows how objects can have an additional unexpected layer of meanings. As it turns out they connect to the Jewish background of her grandmother. The film is formed like a book, in three chapters with a special emphasis on text and voice.
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Production: EST/LTU 2015
The Curonian Spit of coastal Lithuania is a place under constant transition, from various people who have inhabited it, right through to the geographical construction of the land itself. “Curonia” explores the relationship between the artist and the environment of the peninsula through an artistic process of discovery that revolves around sound and focusing on it. The ephemeral elements, materials and objects found on location provided a rich palette for exploration through both passive observation and active engagement. “Curonia” is not only about listening but also illustrates a method for perceiving the environments we inhabit. The film was born out of an artist residency in late 2011 with a follow-up visit in spring 2014, during which daily excursions were made into the landscape to research, collect, and perform on location.
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Production: LV/GER 2014
Far from the centre of the city Riga and separated by the historical Spilve Airport with adjoining large allotment site, the suburbs Bolderāja and Daugavgrīva are a kind of social island or biotope – a blend of apartment and detached family houses, backyards, shipyards, docks, yacht club, sea academy, historic fortress and barracks. Here, where Daugava River flows into the Bay of Riga, anglers crowd the sunny mole during the spawning season of sprat, whereas veterans in the local pub are in memorial of their fallen fathers on Victory Day (День Победы).
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Production: SCT 2014
Making a film when you're 87 is less than convenient. As granddad Tweedie reluctantly takes up his new role as a filmmaker, we’re invited to examine the difficulties of communication between the generations, whilst exploring that unspoken contract that binds children to their grandparents. Will Tweedie start to see the world differently when looking at things through the lens of his 23-year- old grandson, or will he simply be wondering what's for pudding?
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Production: FR 2015
An anecdote about a dead lizard in a French vineyard accidentally run over by the winegrower’s tractor serves as a pretext to explore family history which in turn raises questions concerning the relationship between art and deterministic belief systems and between man and nature, etc. The notion of transformation is explored both in terms of the content of the film and the effect of filming itself. The title refers to a mathematical concept related to set theory.
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Production: PL 2015
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Production: FI 2014
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Production: GRC 2014
“Interlude” is a poetic short documentary which can be considered as an essay film. The main theme is the mountain Pelion, the hook-like peninsula between Aegean Sea and Pagasetic Gulf. Through an elliptical narrative, use of keywords, and absolute immobility of the camera, the film attempts an aesthetic observation on space and time in between stillness and motion, based on director's subjective point of view.
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Production: NOR 2014
In this 3D animation, as in all good political fiction, anything is possible. But it also touches upon reality in a way that is subversive and poignant. The color of the Moscow square is an element of its name, and it could be changed (if only Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin wanted to). The author dedicated “Jealous guy” to the “Pussy Riot” activists, Edward Snowden, and everyone working for homosexuals' rights under difficult and dangerous conditions.
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Production: ESP 2014
In June 1943, a German JU-88 squadron shot down a passenger airplane off the coast of Cedeira (Galicia, Spain). There were no survivors. Among the passengers there was a distinguished personality, Leslie Howard. He was a Jew, an anti-Nazi propagandist, a Hollywood dandy. History is frequently written with forgotten fragments. This is the tale of what may or may not have been the story of Leslie Howard’s last Journey.
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Production: GER/ISR 2014
For thousands of years, pilgrims of different religions have been visiting the city of Jerusalem, in order to encounter transcendental experiences. Some of these pilgrims, however, are likely to suffer delusions, for they shall identify themselves with a holy persona. Psychiatrists came to call this phenomenon “The Jerusalem Syndrome.” Mister James has now lived in Jerusalem as Jesus for 5 years. With no place to stay, no money and no shoes he is now pursuing his self-proclaimed call. Having attracted the attention of Jerusalem’s tourists, the modern evangelist has not taken the easy way, for there is an increasing amount of people declaring him insane and questioning his way of life. As the film follows Mister James on his pilgrimage through the holy land, social, political, cultural and religious differences and dimensions of the region become visible.
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Production: IT 2014
“Mother-Rhythm” is a video that chronicles the relationship of the author with her mother, using a hybrid and experimental language that blends the styles of creative documentary, family photographic repertoire and performance art. The project is like an open artistic diary which in the course of time collects unexpected and heterogeneous materials in the form of video, performative interventions, digital art, texts, artifacts, installations. It is an exploratory trip in and out of the author that sometimes takes the form of a psychomagic ritual.
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Production: PL 2015
The protagonist of “Mów do mnie” is 21-year old Krzysiek, a marijuana addict who lives in Warsaw's Monar. The film is not another narrative about addiction, it tells a story of the relationship between the protagonist and the director; an unusual example of how life enters film, putting both the protagonist and the author in a difficult situation. It is a story about a feeling being born, about fighting one's weaknesses, and also about growing up. This topic, close to many documentary filmmakers, in “Mów do mnie” is both universal and full of individual tension. The documentary talks about how the creator becomes the protagonist of her own film, and about the weight of responsibility both for oneself and for the other person.
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Production: FR 2014
An old Mediterranean family flat remained at a standstill for 150 years, as if stuck in time. Years pass by as generations come back to it every summer for holidays. The film exploresthe blurring of different timescapes in the space of the flat, intertwining the visual presences of the dead ancestors and the fleeting apparitions of the living family members. Through fragmented voices “Maybe Darkness” questions one’s relationship with familial past and cherished places.
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Production: UA 2014
This film tells us the story of several people who are homeless and thrown out of the strictly walking ranks of society. Life moves and people also move in it. People don't look around and don't look back. Their way is to move forward only. The rest of them, who have remained roadside, become only missing in silence.
Production: LV 2014
If, in the words of the legendary bard, “all the world’s a stage,” then the scenes recorded by an unmoving camera on an ordinary football field are its pure essence. Over the course of just two minutes, this cinematic miniature unfolds a story filled with concentration, hope, disappointment, friendship, and the collegiality of sport. A football microcosm in a nice nutshell.
Production: SE 2014
Hundred years have passed since the beginning of World War 1, 75 years since the beginning of World War II. In a world where the ongoing conflicts are shielded away from the European adults and youths who never experienced war, there arise questions of whose wars we remember and tell stories about. The sordid images of repelling bunkers which the author uses situate these war stories far away from pop-culture adventures.
Production: IT 2015
Jeoffrey is an African baby affected by Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. He does not move, he is not able to support the head and communicates his needs by attracting attention with mourning or smiles. Jeoffrey spends his days on the couch, lying on it or sitting in the corner in a kind of nest made out of blankets by his mother. His disease will not allow him to achieve any degree of autonomy. For this reason having a good appliance becomes very important in order to maintain a correct posture, thus avoiding the onset of other deformations and enabling Jeoffrey to participate in social life of his family. He needs a specific aid, but how could one provide it in a Kenyan’s rural area where they lack basic services? “The Special Chair” answers this question with a unique experience.
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Production: DE 2014
As in many cases, also here it's rather about allusion than description. This also applies to the persons represented. Flat silhouettes of people. Their heads depicted in profile. Faces with no expression, formal gestures. In the background, a little bit of everyday life: the hard, square, stone architecture arises from ochre, brownish, blackish mush of colour or mud. A demonstration of the function of the central perspective. An idealised representation of a tropical paradise. Strangely, there's no absurdity in this.
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Production: PL 2015
Since the late 19th century explorers from around the world were trying to climb Africa's highest mountain. Some of them made it to the snow-covered Uhuru Peak, others weren't successful and had to turn back. There were also those who lost their lives trying to climb “the roof of Africa.” Each year almost 200,000 tourists and climbers attempt to reach the top. A third do not succeed due to altitude sickness. However, many manage to finish the trek and receive certificates that confirm they climbed Uhuru. Meanwhile, nobody even hears about the real heroes of this risky expedition: the people who make climbing Kilimanjaro possible for tourists, and thus enabling them to achieve their goal and realize a dream. They are always overshadowed by the climbers – forgotten people... However, on occasion, the trail becomes birthplace of new friendships.
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