NARRATIVE SELECTION   |  JUNE 2022

Vincent before Noon (2021)

Director: Guillaume Mainguet

Country: France

Duration: 15:00

Synopsis: A father pays his son a visit after years of conflict and turns up in the middle of his house move. The son Vincent reacts violently to that intrusion. Emotionally weakened, the father involuntarily reveals the true reason of his visit, which revives the tension between them. Within a few minutes, the anger, the memories and the crossed looks move the two men deeply.

The Elevators (2022)  

Director: Haitao Hu, Jin Yang

Country: China

Duration: 10:04

Synopsis: Xiaotong’s casual talk before the elevators annoys her father, which then leads to the quarrel between her parents. For a six-year-old girl, something beautiful begins to fade away.

Stanislavsky (2022)

Director: Кирилл Морозов

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 09:42

Control (2022)

Director: Will Dunlap

Country: United States

Duration: 19:35

Synopsis: A man living in isolation is drawn by an unusual map into an unforgiving forest. Featuring Will Dunlap (“Island”).     

Bead Brothers (2022)

Director: Aykut Temel

Country: Turkey

Duration: 24:01

Synopsis: Bekir (11) and his brother Ahmet (7), who were born in a world where violence is normalized and poverty and injustice begin, are two brothers who do not get along very well with each other.  Ahmet lives with the dream of his father’s promise of a bicycle to him. However, he soon comes face to face with the fact that this promise will never be kept. Because in addition to the insufficient economic situation of the family, the Father; He is a gambling addict, unemployed, powerless and aggressive man. The father even takes away the money that your mother makes by cleaning the stairs.  Bekir encounters a job opportunity one day when his brother Ahmet is about to give up on his bicycle dream. Bekir thinks that thanks to this new job opportunity, he can realize his brother’s dream of cycling by secretly saving money from his father.

Off the air (2022)

Director: Anastasia Zverkova

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 18:24

Synopsis: Former pilot Alexei lives on the shores of Lake Baikal. To forget himself after the death of his wife, he listens to the airwaves all day long. But escape from reality is impossible when nature forces are against. 

Allerseelen (2021)

Director: Michael J. Keplinger

Country: Austria

Duration: 09:16

Synopsis: 𝗔 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁. Monochrome and reduced in its linguistic scope, the approx. 9-minute short film »Allerseelen« represents a nightmare retelling and therefore largely dispenses with a strictly coherent and clear narrative for the sake of »dream logic« and an emphasis on more intuitive narrative associations. Recurring static noise in the sound and backgrounds often embedded in blackness in the image testify to the protagonist’s state of mind.

Strokes (2021)  

Director: Ilya Andilevko

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 30:00

Synopsis: Every date Denis goes on with Irene is a trial. Time after time, the girl subjects the young man to a variety of tests and suddenly shows aggression. He feels that his date is hiding something, but can’t figure out what — until one day, Irene decides to put him through a test which will force him to make a very difficult choice.        

The Blind Date (2022)

Director: Mihir Dhirajlal Upadhyay

Country: India

Duration: 16:51

Synopsis: The Blind Date  While it’s said that eyes are the windows to the soul, The Blind Date is a story of how blindness sometimes bares that soul. Raghav and Najma, lovers of diametrically opposite faith, have a relationship that speaks volumes of their love and connection with each other. They have seen, ironically, dreams of a future together. Lived experiences of enjoying sunsets at the beach, cherished good food and made promises, within the scope of their handicap.   A twist in the story compels Raghav to take a harsh decision, not because of lack of faith in Najma’s intentions, but because he loves her enough. Love doesn’t mean to possess, it needs to be set free.   A heartwarming story of love and sacrifice, through the eyes of blindness.

Dad (2022)

Director: Zhdan Tikhonov

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 08:39

Synopsis: Mom and her son decorate a Christmas tree. The mother finds out that the kid’s father will not come to wish his son a happy New Year. She continues to get ready to the celebration trying to hide her disappointment. She reads bedtime stories to her son. The boy waits until his mom falls asleep, make an order of flowers and a present via the Internet himself.

Professional (2022)

Director: Maxim Slyusarev

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 09:30

Synopsis: Vasily, showrunner of series projects, is in a creative crisis. Trying to find a new idea he appeal to his soul.

Why Are You Silent, Peter? (2022)

Director: Fedor Shade

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 10:00

Synopsis: Peter ties a 15-kilogram kettlebell to his head and dives into the tub. His girlfriend and flatmate do not understand what is happening, and Peter himself does not say anything.  An intimate drama about people living in the same apartment and not noticing each other’s pain.

The Frame (2020)

Director: Mert Sata, Berk Sata

Country: Turkey

Duration: 07:00

Synopsis: In a modern art museum, a painting brought for display is mistakenly hanged by the museum staff. End of day, museum staff notices her mistake and corrects the frame. But the visitors who come throughout the day, determine the value of the work, even though they do not know that the Frame upside down

The Della Morte Sisters (2019)

Director: Bill Sorvino

Country: United States

Duration: 17:50

Synopsis: A recent death in the family brings three sisters together where they discover a shared dark past that changes everything they thought they knew about each other and their family.

The Neighbor’s Dog (2022)

Director: Jonathan Ofek

Country: Israel

Duration: 16:44

Synopsis: Uri lives on his own, when a single mom and her young son move in next door things become very strange.

The Postman’s Dream (2022)

Director: Alexander Olegovich Krasnov

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 25:45

Synopsis: After finishing his studies with honors, young graduate Andrew is planning to move to Moscow. However, before leaving, he decides to visit his hometown and his childhood-friend Grisha. Upon his arrival, Andrew remembers what kind of person he was before.

Go! Capitaine (2021)

Director: Pierre-Loup Docteur

Country: France

Duration: 19:52

Synopsis: Laura and her son Max, a mature and lonely teenager, have found it difficult to understand each other since they moved. When Max crosses paths with Jo, a clumsy adventurer in an old-fashioned diving suit, it’s a chance for him to escape his daily routine for a brief moment.

O Mà ! (2021)

Director: Vincent Launay-Franceschini

Country: France

Duration: 24:16

Synopsis: Ange-Marie is a 45 years old fisherman in Cap Corse in Corsica. He lives with his brother and his old mother in a secluded place, where women are becoming scarce. One day, on returning from fishing, Ange-Marie finds himself alone on the “cow beach” and sees three beautiful swimmers. The image of these women then haunts him and draws him out to sea.

Perfect Loot (2021)

Director: Anatolii Tarabrin

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 29:30

Synopsis: In order to feed the family, a single father and a household master Tolya decides to break into a private house, but not for a robbery, but only to finish the work he started and take the money promised to him. But there is a lonely hostess in the house who had to leave, and the plan Either went downhill.

Three blades (2019)

Director: Matthieu MAUNIER-ROSSI

Country: France

Duration: 29:21

Synopsis: Haiti, nowadays. One day in the life of a family of three : three men, alone with their dreams and frustrations. Three generations under the burning sun. A day like every other day… And between them, everywhere, in every hand, there are blades : machetes. So when the night eventually comes…

Cafe (2022)

Director: Lia Davidovna Maximova

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 04:39

Synopsis: A lonely artist  stumbled into an abandoned cafe where an accidental meeting with a young waitress liberates him from his world of isolation and  brings him to life.

Usted dirá (I’m listening) (2021)

Director: Ignacio Rodó

Country: Spain

Duration: 01:00

Synopsis: Some therapies take years. Some take a minute.

Zombie pandemic (2022)

Director: Ignacio Rodó

Country: Spain

Duration: 01:00

Synopsis: Health authorities recommend ¿voluntary isolation?, facial mask and social distance from the zombies.

Fluoxetine (2022)

Director: Mohammad Masoud Nakhostin, Ali Narimani

Country: Iran, Islamic Republic of

Duration: 12:45

Synopsis: Roya, a young girl, is preparing for a two-person dinner party. It reminds her of another party in teenage years which affected her life. An incident in the first, causes unexpected happening in the second one. 

The Key (2021)

Director: Elshad ELsevER

Country: Azerbaijan

Duration: 17:50

Synopsis: UMID, the internally displaced person (IDP) due to War, loses the set of keys belonging to his house which is currently under occupation. The keys represent the last hope to come back to his house, so UMID still hopes he will be back one day but the accident bears a strong symbolic meaning to him. He interprets it as losing the last hope.  Thus, UMID sets off on the journey to kindle his hope, when he heads to the Key master inquiring whether the latter would be able to hone the copy of the lost keys for him without having any original sample in the first place.   At last, UMID and his family settle in the brand new flat at the newly-built building for. Thus UMID faces a dilemma; to accept the new set of keys thus beginning a new life, or to journey back and chasea the lost hopes.

Elders (2019)

Director: Parisa Sedaei-Azar, Ramin Farzaneh

Country: Iran, Islamic Republic of

Duration: 18:36

Synopsis: The old man wants to run away from the nursing home

Red Riddle (2020)

Director: Mehdi Jodat

Country: Iran, Islamic Republic of

Duration: 14:15

Synopsis: The story of the film is narrated by a boy in love who, after a long struggle, decides to share his secret with  that girl this time. He invites him to a cafe where his friend arrives and disrupts all the boy’s plans.

Muncher (2020)

Director: Navid Solati

Country: Iran, Islamic Republic of

Duration: 18:39

Synopsis: He’ll increase the number of hunters tonight. They guess it’s a boar. What can a boar be doing in the heart of Tehran?

Blockage (2021)

Director: Mohsen Mohammadi Shasha

Country: Iran, Islamic Republic of

Duration: 11:03

Synopsis: A middle-aged man enters a staircase. The AI public addressing system warns for the time limit as the staircase is synthesized and safe for a limited amount of time at a safe oxygen level only. He walks down for quite some time, where he is not able to find an exit. Despite his tiresome effort and the suffocating conditions, he put himself together to find his way back upstairs. 

Exchange Offer (2020)

Director: Saunak Mitra

Country: India

Duration: 29:59

Synopsis: A complaint registered to the manufacturing company for a dead computer brings back nostalgia and surprises in the life of a retired school principal who leads a lonely, mundane life.

The Poor People (2020)

Director: Lolita Naranovich

Country: Not Specified

Duration: 15:00

Synopsis: Logline: While a storm rages, Vera prays for her husband, a fisherman who is at sea, and five hungry children who sleep next to her. The fisherman nearly drowns. Vera visits a neighbor who has two small children and finds her dead.  Sinopsis: A fisherman is about to drown in a raging sea. In a hut, Vera, wife of the fisherman, cradles her baby and puts her down next to the four sleeping children. Vera cries and prays for the fisherman to stay alive. The eldest son wakes up and asks her if dad is back. Vera takes a slice of the only loaf of bread they have and runs through the forest. She enters a neighbor’s hut and finds her neighbor dead rocking a cradle with two small children in it with her cold hand. Vera prays and then goes on sewing a sail at home. The fisherman returns home. Vera causiously tells him about the tragedy and the orphans. The fisherman suggests getting the children. He wonders why Vera doesn’t want to get them, and Vera shows him that the children are already there.

The Hot Stone (2022)

Director: Lolita Naranovich

Country: Not Specified

Duration: 16:53

Synopsis: Ivashka steals apples from a state garden. An old garden keeper, who walks with a limp, catches him red-handed, but lets him go without saying anything. In the forest, Ivashka finds a magic stone which can make you young again. The boy wants to use the stone to repay the keeper for all his kindness.

The Important Day (2019)

Director: Olesia Aleinikova

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 19:50

Synopsis: Misha (10) is an unusual child. They say “the head in clouds” about such people. A violin virtuoso, he does not just play music, he sees it. Every sound, every note is a colour.  The melody is a colourful pattern. Misha perceives the world delicately, but cannot get along with agemates. They dislike this strange timid guy, especially because the adults emphasize his talent and praise him. He is a genius and a future star for the teacher but a sissy for the boys.  There is a very important day approaching in the music school – the competition where the famous producer will be present. The teacher asks children to prepare themselves thoroughly but everybody understands the producer will be there because of Misha.  His parents manage to persuade this busy man to come. And only Misha does not think about the victory at all. He is just fond of music in its every form.  Misha hears a very beautiful song in the subway crossing.  This is the song of the vagabond. People pass by the dirty vagabond but the boy is fascinated by the song, though his mother doesn’t let him hear it till the end.  Misha is compassionate about the vagabond. In the night the boy crashes the money-box to give him all coins. But there is nobody in the crossing in the morning.  Meanwhile everybody waits for the producer to come to the music school. The ambitious Misha’s mother dreams to make him the star by all means. And it doesn’t matter for them whether he wants it or not. He is so small to understand the importance of the success in the modern world.  The teacher is at last ready to shine her pedagogic talent – it is she who brought up the genius. She doesn’t notice that her obsessive praise intensifies the envy and provokes the conflict. The class leader Denis wants to win too but doesn’t believe in the chance – everybody admires only Misha. Denis thinks Misha gets everything so easy. It is unfair.  The boys led by Denis and Sveta the blogger decide to teach Misha a lesson. They trap him in the toilet and pour the boiling water over his hands so he cannot play. Curious Sveta usually shooting everything for her blog, shoots this too. But having seen the awful act of the boys she is afraid but she doesn’t say  anybody a word about it. And Misha’s parents with the teacher, caring only about the producer, do not even notice anything wrong.  At last Misha is on the stage. Everybody waits for the virtuosic play but the boy just stands with his violin in hands. Colours and sounds disappeared for him. This is a grandiose failure. The producer is disappointed. Ashamed parents leave the hall silently so the producer cannot see them. The teacher asks the producer to listen to other children because there are, so to say, plenty more pebbles on the beach. Denis who got the first prize, for example. But he angrily leaves the school, he spent so much time in vain. Only Sveta thinks about Misha. She regrets that she did not say anything to the adults like a coward. But it is too late.   Misha leaves the school silently. He does not care about his fiasco. The most awful thing for him is that the music and colours disappeared, the world became grey. But suddenly he hears the vagabond’s voice in the subway crossing. Colours come back again step by step. He comes to the vagabond, takes his violin and plays, despite the hurt of the burn hands. Suddenly Misha sees Sveta. She is listening to them and crying. The boy’s music doesn’t leave anybody indifferent. He seems to fly over the people and his music overwhelmed the city.

Case 0013 (2018)

Director: Avdjin Kutakis

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 23:25

Synopsis: The Russian Empire, 1870. Under the judicial investigation is a priest who killed the bell ringer in the church utility room. Between the prosecutor and the lawyer a fierce struggle for attention and sympathy of the jury unfolds, while the defendant painfully tries to remember what happened that night and whether he is really guilty.

#extraordinary (2020)

Director: V. Buharov

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 30:00

Synopsis: Twenty-first century. Russian cinema has undergone major changes. Cyber actors came to replace the artists. It became profitable for agents to have such cyber people, since they are not whimsical in their work, can perform all the tricks themselves and work non-stop for 48 hours. But a machine is not a man.

Eloise Lou (2021)

Director: Marc Baradat

Country: France

Duration: 23:10

Synopsis: Christophe often parks by the house of his 16 years old daughter, who doesn’t know him. That day, Eloise storms out of the house. She sees Christophe, walks towards him, and asks him to give her a ride. In the car, she later tells him that she’s heading to her real father’s, whose existence she just learnt about…

Promises of Snow (2021)

Director: Matthew Ramsaur

Country: United States

Duration: 15:20

Synopsis: An FBI agent arrives in a small Louisiana town to investigate a sex trafficking ring, prompted by the arrest of a girl whose situation seems terribly familiar.

Snow in August (2022)

Director: Nozomu Namba

Country: Japan

Duration: 09:15

Synopsis: It has been a little more than a month since his father Minokichi passed away. His only son, Fuyugo, visits his father’s room with his estranged wife, Chihiro. This is a midsummer story about his mother’s secret.  This is a short movie inspired by the famous Japanese folk tale “Yuki-onna”.

Poor, Issunboshi! (2022)

Director: Nozomu Namba

Country: Japan

Duration: 07:12

Synopsis: The man swore revenge against the “Issunboushi”, kidnapped the princess, and sent her a letter of fulfillment. There are only three minutes left until the time limit. Will “Issunboushi” really appear? A new fairy tale inspired by the famous Japanese folk tale “Issunboushi.

Love 30 meters above the ground (2022)

Director: Nozomu Namba

Country: Japan

Duration: 05:30

Synopsis: After being dumped by Princess Kaguya, Kuramochi heads for the roof of a building, prepared to die. There he meets Miyako, a mysterious woman. A man who cannot die and a woman who wants to die. A slightly strange love story inspired by the Japanese folk tale ” Kaguyahime”.

Urashima’s Legacy (2022)

Director: Nozomu Namba

Country: Japan

Duration: 06:22

Synopsis: Urashima Taro left behind a vast fortune when he passed away. His two daughters discuss the matter at a lawyer’s office. The sisters are at odds over their inheritance. What is in the “Tamatebako”…? This short comedy is based on the famous old Japanese legend “Urashima Taro”.

Breakfast with Diana (2022)

Director: Natalia Nagornaya

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 16:11

Synopsis: A group of girls meet in the morning ahead of a little trip. During the breakfast, one by one, weird fragments from the last night are revealed, risking to ruin their journey. Will the girls be able to put this puzzle together and keep their composure?

News of the day. HOMO SAPIENS (2022)

Director: Irina Asaenok

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 26:48

Synopsis: “NEWS OF THE DAY”  Show me your news feed and I’ll tell you who you are. Author unknown.       The vast digital world is increasingly absorbing a person. An avalanche of real and unreal events replace each other in the news flow. How to focus on the main thing, not to miss the important? How not to lose yourself and remain a man in the human world?  Movie synopsis: The action takes place in a fictional reality, where strange, crazy and paradoxical things are commonplace and news routine. The once very popular news agency SMIXER has lost its battle with the digital app MULTNEWS. Pal Palych, the founder of Smixer, announces to the editor-in-chief Baranov about the closure of the agency. Baranov pleads for a last chance – There is sensational news that will return high ratings to the agency – A MAN IS RUNNING FROM THE CITY ZOO! Baranov has exactly one day to save the agency, he suddenly takes a risk – he gives the case of the escaped Man to two interns – first-year journalists Denis and Dasha. The guys zealously get down to business and go to the crime scene – to the city Zoo! Zoo director Alla Leopoldovna Siam is open to journalistic investigation, but she is clearly hiding something. The case is at an impasse… Meanwhile, the man is free. What awaits him in the city? Will the interns be able to complete the investigation, find The Man, make their way through the vibrant but meaningless digital reality and restore their agency to its former glory? We learn about this in the finale of the film “News of the Day. homosapienc”

STUDENT SELECTION   |   JUNE 2022

The Fountain (2021)

Director: Ilayda Işeri

Country: Turkey

Duration: 18:59

Synopsis: What happens to ordinary people when an empire collapses? 30 years ago, the Gagauzian minority living in the northern regions of the Black Sea was left abandoned in the middle of opposing political powers of Russia, European Union, Ukraine, Moldova, and Turkey. Today, Gagauzians have nothing other than their bonds to each other.  The Fountain is about the ceasing culture and language of the Gagauz people. It portrays the effects of the rise and fall of the Soviet Union on different generations while displaying the consequences of the vast social assimilation by following the daily lives of local families. The tradition of the Gagauz community is unique and preserved almost intact for centuries. However, it is rapidly fading now, as the elderly pass away.  Unfortunately, the fountain flows weaker and weaker through the new generations.

CONSCRIPT (2022)

Director: Nikita Bigdan

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 21:43

Synopsis: Slava runs away from the army, when he finds out that his school love gets married. For her his appearance becomes a complete surprise.  

On the inside (2021)

Director: Julia Kudoyar

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 14:00

Synopsis: Clinging by any means to the opportunity to live and work in a big city, a young representative of the tabloid press, who came from the provinces, on the instructions of the editorial board of Zhizn Tochka Ru, destroys the “object” of her first reportage with a stream of lies and dirt.

SURPRISE! (directed by Elizaveta Pichugina) (2022)

Director: Elizaveta Pichugina

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 17:43

Synopsis: Spineless Vadik wants to avoid an engagement with the sumo wrestler Larisa on her birthday, but she is passionately in love with him. Her die-hard relatives are pressing: a marriage proposal is the best gift. How can a helpless Vadik be saved?..

WARD №6 (2022)

Director: John Beliba

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 19:44

Synopsis: A former doctor is invited to the ward of the mentally ill, under the pretext of examining a patient. But instead of a medical examination, he is locked inside, believing that he himself needs help.

closer (2022)

Director: Li Lu

Country: Bangladesh

Duration: 20:00

Synopsis: This time she decides to walk closer to her father, only to discover a farther distance between the two families, an empty room as if Vivi had never entered her father’s heart.

Off the Path (2022)

Director: Inna Ivanovskaya

Country: United States

Duration: 11:39

Synopsis: Moral dilemma of the main character who is going through hardships in a relationship with his father and trying to find his path in life despite unexpected turns of fate.

Viridis May Day (2022)

Director: Yinuo Qiu

Country: China

Duration: 08:37

Synopsis: This is a story that happens in a small town in the south of China. A teenage skateboard boy and an edgy, funky fashion girl are constantly walk pass by each other in the crowd, and they never see each other. They share a secret base in the city, but they did not know about it.  The boy used to walk on the left side and the girl used to walk on the right side. One day, they meet, and it is like two matches souls crush to each other. They start a beautiful love story.

Hinges of Paint (2022)

Director: Luiz Henrique Vieira

Country: Brazil

Duration: 14:06

Synopsis: In an Artistic Residency mentored by the renowned plastic artist Ricardo Kolb, 11 artists were selected for an immersion in the universe of Abstract Expressionism. In this experience, described as a creative egregore, participants wander between the connection with the interior through painting and the importance of collective work.

Give it back! (2019)

Director: Ruchama Ehrenhalt

Country: Israel

Duration: 14:14

Synopsis: Olivia just moved to Israel from New York. Throughout her first day of school in the 6th grade she tries to survive, navigating through the new country she just landed in, her new school and new peers, unsure where she will end up at the end of the day.

LOVE ME TENDER (2021)

Director: YUPENG HE

Country: United States

Duration: 15:00

Synopsis: The lack of love from the father makes Xiao Man deeply insecure, while his mother does not care about him. Gradually, he grows a resistance to heterosexual relations. Xiao Man yearns for a strong arm, but the middle-aged man he loves is a man with a family. The middle-aged man leaves him, and Xiao Man’s mother also leaves him for re-marriage…

It matters to me (2022)

Director: Laura Dzhagaryan

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 19:42

Synopsis: The history of the relationship between brother and sister, when there are too many grievances, claims and love

Dayal-Among the Spirits (2022)

Director: Syed Muneeb Kazmi

Country: Pakistan

Duration: 19:52

Synopsis: Dayal is a documentary film I made for my final thesis, which journeys into the spiritual world of Shamans in the remote mountain regions of Gilgit, Pakistan. The film delves deep into their Shamanic traditions, rites, and beliefs

7_minutos (2020)

Director: Christian Schneider

Country: Portugal

Duration: 07:00

Synopsis: Julia is a victim of sexual violence. Rubens is a police inspector who lives a failed marriage. They don’t know each other, until their destinies intersect.

Family Game (2022)

Director: Antoine Le Gallo

Country: France

Duration: 06:45

Synopsis: In 2097, humanity faced overcrowding, the birth rate multiplied creating thousands of orphans. In some orphanages children have the chance to find a family by participating in a game.

All return from there (2022)

Director: Galina Pavlovna Bigun

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 08:35

Synopsis: A young soul, convicted of a body, ends up in a holding cell after being condemned by God to life on Earth. She is met by an old soul who has already been to Earth many times. A dialogue starts between them. One soul is pessimistic, another feels that they will have a more pleasant experience of being on Earth. They try to predict what parents they will be born to, whether their life will be easy or not, in what country they will live.

The Echo (2022)

Director: Yuyuan Zhong

Country: China

Duration: 19:37

Synopsis: Lee Ruoyi, who works in a design company, has been mentally manipulated by her boyfriend Gu Xiao. Just before her 29th birthday, Ruoyi finds that she can hear voices from the future through the ventilation tube in the kitchen. On the same day, the voice tells her to “Run, quickly!”. Before she can respond, she sees her boyfriend Gu Xiao approaching from behind with a knife. Ruoyi runs out and Gu Xiao chases after. It turned out that Gu Xiao was preparing to kill Ruoyi after hearing a voice coming from eight years later. Love, career, life, death and space intertwine together. Will they end up in tragedy, or happiness?

Outside the Door (2022)

Director: Zhuojing Ma

Country: China

Duration: 16:50

Synopsis: Wenwen returns to her hometown because of her grandmother’s death, but is refused to attend the funeral on account of her pregnancy. Her parents are not very content with her marriage. Meanwhile, the new family built with her husband is overwhelming her. A new family replacing an old family, Wenwen feels like an outsider just standing out of the doors of these two families.

DOCUMENTARY SELECTION   |   JUNE 2022

Vanished in Ohio (2022)

Director: Tatalovic, B. R., Ochwat, Deborah

Country: United States

Duration: 13:52

Synopsis: “Vanished in Ohio” explores the problem of missing women in Ohio, sex trafficking and mainstream media coverage.

MOTIVE (2019)

Director: Stelios Demetriou

Country: Cyprus

Duration: 12:06

Synopsis: “Motive” tells the story of a woman, representative of any individual whose personal space is defined by what would be considered atypical for the majority. The protagonist  vitality depends upon sustaining her daily patterns, tasks, and responsibilities toward what she cares for, and above all towards herself. We observe the character’s drive to stay connected to what best represents her at the core.

LITANY FOR THE GODDESS (2019)

Director: ensadi joko santoso

Country: Indonesia

Duration: 15:00

Synopsis: The Sunda Baduy tribe or Kenekes people,living in westernmost of Java, Banten province, Indonesia. have full respect for their Goddess of rice (paddy), Dewi Sri Pohaci Sanghyang Asri The Goddess whom they believe to bless them with everlasting fertility to their land and their paddy Amazingly, they take very good care of the rice seeds native  Indonesia, some seeds are no longer found anywhere else in this country. a people who deserves  to be respected They live modestly, in harmony with nature and always grateful for God’s blessings, they believe that it is forbidden to shape the land to their own will. “Mountains shall not be brought down, valleys shall not be ravaged”

Sorojchi (2020)

Director: Javier Sobremazas

Country: Spain

Duration: 19:59

Synopsis: “Sorojchi” is how altitude sickness is known in Bolivia and is something that all visitors to the cities of El Alto and La Paz feel. In these two cities we meet four urban artists who through their work share their views on Bolivia and Bolivians, immersed in a social and political turmoil.

donna (2022)

Director: Jonathan Gringauz

Country: United States

Duration: 10:37

Synopsis: Told through stunning Super8 footage, “donna” is an intimate portrait of life as a working mother, a 50-year marriage, motherhood, and growing older. In conversation with her 20-year-old grandson, her life unfolds before us, with Donna reminiscing and offering her wisdom to all.

Above Us Only Sky (2021)

Director: Eduardo Gripa

Country: Brazil

Duration: 11:00

Synopsis: Luiz Lennon sells Beatles CD’s and DVD’s in downtown São Paulo. This retiree man supports his family from the profits he makes selling the goods, fueled by his teenage dream even as everything seems to fall apart.

Triptych (2022)

Director: Yana Osman

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 07:50

Synopsis: Big Clay #4, a 12-meter sculpture by Swiss artist Urs Fischer, was installed in Moscow  in August 2021 and caused a mixed reaction. Gradually, the Russian context supplemented the work with two new parts – thus, from a single work, Big Clay turned into a triptych. And into a  metaphor of the country.

«Москва. Полный ицукен» (2022)

Director: Яна Осман, Антон Хамчишкин

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 07:00

Synopsis: Йцукен – это попытка описать что-то более удобным способом. Например, Г – это Горький. Горькие: Парк, МХАТ, портрет, памятник. М – это Маяковский. Памятник Маяковскому рядом со станцией метро Маяковская, в которой под стихами Маяковского стоит бюст Маяковского. Ш – это Шоссе энтузиастов. Чехов называл Шоссе энтузиастов горестным и безнадежным.

Days of Ignorance (2021)

Director: Abolfazl Tajik

Country: Iran, Islamic Republic of

Duration: 19:00

Synopsis: Ali-Mohammad, an 84-year old man, was the last survivor of the rural felt-crafters in Neyshabur region. The film depicts his life and work.

Математика Любви (2021)

Director: Дмитрий Майоров

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 25:00

Synopsis: В селе Исаковское Костромской области живет бывший военный, бывший «браток», бывший коммерсант, и нынешний настоятель храма Отец Александр. К нему приезжает Дарья живущая в Испании и мечтающая сделать какой-то проект, который бы помогал людям. Дарья обеспечена ресурсами, имеет хороший житейский опыт, но совершенно не знает как его применить во благо других. Одна из ее подруг открыла школу в Африке. Что же сделать Дарье? Она общается со священником, при этом делая об этом небольшую передачу, и в ходе нее делится своими проблемами.

ANIMATION SELECTION   |   JUNE 2022

Reflexion (2020)

Director: Alan Bidard

Country: Martinique

Duration: 05:00

Synopsis: When social distancing goes wrong…

The Book of Law (2020)

Director: Sajjad Azizi

Country: Iran, Islamic Republic of

Duration: 14:07

Synopsis: A Judge is Looking for a Case that Can Cause an Execution.        

The Little Sparrow (2021)

Director: Elahe Falahian

Country: Iran, Islamic Republic of

Duration: 02:13

Synopsis: A little blue sparrow is free in the sky and flies with the movement of clouds. The sparrow comes to the ground for a moment and sits on the edge of a bowl and gets caught in that bowl for a short time.      

EXPERIMENTAL SELECTION   |   JUNE 2022

INSPIRATION (2022)

Director: Alberto Martín-Aragón

Country: Spain

Duration: 06:33

Synopsis: A woman writer tries to regain her lost inspiration through a strange pill. Is that pill real or a projection of her pride and will?        

Shift (2022)

Director: Gulnaz Galimullina

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 23:35

Synopsis: In search of confidence, the protagonist goes to the Master for buying  a sample of a bold movie character. As it turned out, this is “the most popular product” and there are few characters were left.  In addition, there is a “side effect” – the acquisition of unpredictable traits, getting into an unexpected series of events. Despite this, the Guest agrees.  The hero appears in three films. His consciousness begins to get confused with real and subjective images. In the end, in a struggle with himself, he falls out of the fitting room. He, exhausted, confused, but clearly understands that he does not need such confidence.  The main question that the viewer asks is: who is this Master? Maybe he’s not just a character salesman.

Come Across The Future (2021)

Director: Chengchao Jiang

Country: China

Duration: 10:49

Synopsis: One morning, I came to the city in the future to look for my past memory. I came to the familiar street, came to the familiar city, and found the love between light and shadow, but all this no longer exists like clouds and smoke. Feelings are like time, quietly passing away, leaving only memories of the past and persistence in the future. I hope everyone can recall the past and meet the future.

Where there is wind (2022)

Director: Pei Ge

Country: China

Duration: 26:50

Synopsis: Conversations between a father and daughter unfold everywhere. They talk about tomatoes, kites, garbage, baby teeth, the Dead Sea, a missing hedgehog named Tuan Tuan and a mechanical beast with the same name, as well as a dream that father and daughter shared. Meanwhile, something is happening in a fish tank.

Training (2021)

Director: Evgeny Alexandrovich Michkov

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 13:35

Synopsis: The film gives you the opportunity to feel like a participant in a real psychological training and get a positive effect from the therapy done on yourself. This is the only film that you need to watch with your eyes closed.

How Should One Wait For GODOT (2021)

Director: Arshia Zeinali

Country: Iran, Islamic Republic of

Duration: 28:04

Synopsis: “How Should One Wait for Godot” is an adaptation of Samuel Becket’s two plays, Waiting for Godot and EndGame. Does waiting for Godot help us reach the destination? Perhaps we did not know how to wait the proper way!

Contagion (2020)

Director: MEYSAM MORADI

Country: Iran, Islamic Republic of

Duration: 13:14

Synopsis: I have fallen into the trap of a predetermined and purposeful life. In a time and place not far away or near. Maybe right now.

My Critic (2022)

Director: Julka Polaczek

Country: Poland

Duration: 23:20

Synopsis: A group of Performers is preparing to meet their alter ego – a group of Critics. Story of the approach to one’s own efforts, the power of common creating and self-acceptance.

MUSIC VIDEO SELECTION  |   JUNE 2022

Amistad (2022)

Director: Igor Evard

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 04:36

Synopsis: Amistad is a MUSIC-VIDEO in which the reality and fantasies of a professor and a student are contrasted. In dancing their confrontation, they are embodied in harmony.

COPIKORRUPT – SEEMS LIKE HUMAN CORRUPTED (2022)

Director: Igor Eyt, Alexandr Krasnovitskii

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 02:51

Synopsis: The video Seems Like Human Corrupted is a story of the emotional state of a person, who has highly developed psychological traumas, a person who is forced — by family and society — to look at life through the lens of his fears.

ONCE (2020)

Director: Maria Kalatozishvili

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 01:55

Synopsis: A little boy’s thoughts about how one day everything around him will change, for he will grow up.

Ways To The Light (2022)

Director: Alexander Perfilyev

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 04:32

Synopsis: The story is about four different characters, friends, getting away from the city to a utopia of a pseudo soviet Russian village/country house lost somewhere in the past. Friends are taking part in different traditional country life errands. The plot combines all the positive traits of a Soviet Russia with its banned in soviet times roots Orthodox Christianity, folklore. etc. Makes the audience reminisce of the past in general and hope and look forward to a better times.