NARRATIVE SELECTION   |  DECEMBER 2021

The New Bourbons (2018)

Director: Julian Bordeau

Country: Belgium

Duration: 17:31

Synopsis: Versailles, in the outskirts of Brussels, is far from the touristy spots you find in the city center. Prisoner of its concrete towers, Abou discovers what the butterfly effect really looks like and tries to run away from its side effects.

The Interview (2021)  

Director: Egor Yatsenko

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 14:06

Synopsis: “The Interview” is a story about an unlucky actor Sasha, who has been playing the same roles in a provincial theatre for many years. Everything would have continued like this, but the universe has its own plans for the hero: the artistic director decides to modernize the theatre and removes the actor from the leading roles, the wife informs him of her pregnancy, and telephone scammers steal not only Sasha’s money but also his colleagues’. The hero has no choice but to undertake a desperate act – he takes part in an interview, where he will have to play an incredibly difficult and, apparently, the most important role in his life.

I, Adonis (2021)

Director: Angelo Raaijmakers

Country: Netherlands

Duration: 14:38

Synopsis: Nicky’s world revolves around fitness, with the goal of getting bigger and stronger. But when hidden childhood memories emerge, Nicky starts losing control and his body obsession sets off in an unhealthy direction.    

My Best Friend Caroline (2021)

Director: Sarah Corean

Country: United States

Duration: 04:19

Synopsis: A troubled pre-teen is interviewed about her relationship to a classmate at school.

TALA’VISION (2020)

Director: Murad Abu Eisheh

Country: Germany

Duration: 27:47

Synopsis: Trapped in a war ridden reality, with the hope of one day playing in the neighborhood’s football field, 8 year old Tala finds solace and freedom in a forbidden television. However, the secret TV becomes a matter of life and death.

The Devil’s Avocado (2021)

Director: Edoardo De Luca

Country: Italy

Duration: 02:47

Synopsis: Do you know how many kilometers your avocados have to travel to reach your table? Your environmental impact while buying them? Or even how much water is needed for an avocado toast? We realized that we tend to take care of problems as long as they are covered by medias; then we forget them. This movie looks at a crucial ethical problem that’s close to us all, in a comical way.

The lake (2021)  

Director: Nyima Cartier

Country: France

Duration: 28:15

Synopsis: An old man, who believes he can communicate with extraterrestrial beings, suddenly disappears in the middle of a lake. His estranged daughter Christine is skeptical and thinks that he drowned. But when she meets a local boy who strongly believes in her father’s supernatural connection, Christine begins to have doubts.        

S.O.S (2021)

Director: Sarah Hafner

Country: France

Duration: 11:24

Synopsis: Pollution, global warming, overpopulation, for Jean-Claude and Maddy, there is only one solution: to leave the earth and ask for help from extraterrestrials. But when a little green man comes along to save them, things don’t quite go as planned.

On the Bones (2021)

Director: Anastasiya Sovashchenko

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 30:00

Synopsis: Three childhood friends Badbug, Danya and Alina go on a trip to scatter the ashes of their friend Vasya over a cliff, in a place where they often liked to spend time, then they were a teenagers.  Each of them has their own secret connected with Vasya. On the way, everything secret becomes clear. Alina confesses to Danya that she and Vasya had love, this confession becomes the final point in the relationship between Danya and Alina, because Vasya is his sister. The Badbug confesses to Danya that he was an unwitting witness to Vasya’s death and could not catch her, she crashed, by a fatal accident, falling from the roof.  Always correct and clear Danya understands that the familiar world was completely destroyed with the death of his sister, but he does not understand how to live in this new world.  Three friends lost in space and time say goodbye not only to their friend, but to their childhood and past life.  None of them understands how to survive the loss of a loved one, grief finally separates them, showing through the dance of each hero that love and friendship are ephemeral, and the only real thing in life is loneliness. Will the heroes be able to unite? Is it necessary at all? We will find out

Sons of Toledo (2021)

Director: Monty Cole

Country: United States

Duration: 19:58

Synopsis: After receiving the early morning news of his younger brother’s murder, a mourning barber pushes through the muddy waters of grief to find the courage to do the impossible – give his brother one last cut.

I’d like to thank… (2021)

Director: Jonathan J Smit

Country: Netherlands

Duration: 11:15

Synopsis: From childhood on, Annerieke has had this one dream, winning first prize in a majorette tournament. By now, she is on the wrong side of thirty but her dream is still very much alive and her acceptance speech is still burning a hole in her pocket, untouched. And then, when her moment finally seems to have arrived, her speech doesn’t go like she has practised in front of the mirror all these years.  Due to all the stories, stress and emotions  she gets carried away more and more in the moment. Slowly, all the pent-up frustrations and disappointments come to the surface: the biased jury, her bitchy competitors and the chips-gobbling audience. And yet, despite of everything she enjoys what she does. You don’t have to be the best to have fun.

Many happy returns (2021)

Director: Виталий Александрович Кошкин

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 29:35

Synopsis: Through the story of the hero’s life, the viewer learns the history of the temple of John the Predtecha. This is the arrest of the first abbot of the church, the salvation of the icon from the destroyed church, and the stories of the lives of people who, despite the hard times – persecution of the church, the war – were able to keep faith in their hearts, thanks to the fact that the doors of the church from 1903 to the present day have always been are open.

A Letter To My Friend In France (2020)

Director: Akram elbezzawy

Country: Egypt

Duration: 12:54

Synopsis: When imagination and freedom of speech are hindered by pre-determined boundaries, only a higher power can provide a breakthrough. Rami’s encounter with “his friend in France” proves this thesis, and with a little impulsivity and imagination, the young protagonist learns a bit about himself.

STUDENT SELECTION   |   DECEMBER 2021

A Long Way (2021)

Director: Anastasia Serdyuk

Country: Czech Republic

Duration: 20:45

Synopsis: A documentary essay about the family memory of director Anastasia Serdyuk. The move of her family from Siberia to the Baltic Sea makes the author look into family history. However, the author hasn’t only to sort through family archives and look for lost relatives, but also to face the tangled labyrinths of memory as such.

Burning masks (2020)

Director: Manuel Hanot

Country: Belgium

Duration: 19:59

Synopsis: Sasha works in a start-up where she feels out of place. Axel, his boss is a young wolf who dreams of being the future Mark Zuckerberg. For her first real job, Sasha works hard day and night, but it’s never enough for Axel. Her meeting with a band of masked cyclists will take her to a strange ceremony that will remind her of what is deep in her guts…    

Dark Eyes (2021)

Director: Karen Jemison

Country: Australia

Duration: 18:44

Synopsis: Dark Eyes is arguably Russia’s most famous folk song, and one that has captured hearts around the world for the past 100 years. This portrait of a song explores the somewhat controversial history of Dark Eyes, its musical versatility and cultural relevance. Performances by Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Liberace, a 13-piece orchestra and Russian folk group makes it clear why this song has stood the test of time.

Genethic (2021)

Director: Laia Batlle Bos, Cristian Casas Castillo, Laia Cuffi Falgueras, Marina Salas Ferré, Irene Fernández Ayguadé, Sergi Ferrà Montero, Gerard Grifell Botargues, Silvia Ros Fité, Sergi Solanes Vilanova, Felix Tejedor Regás, Joan Valdivielso Llaudet

Country: Spain

Duration: 02:31

Synopsis: For the first time, a cute little creature will come outside to see the world. The creature will find surrounded itself by magic and adventures, but will everything be as beautiful as it seems?

My VR (2021)

Director: Ildar Shangaraev

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 11:18

Synopsis: The experimental VR-club helps clients to get back at the most important moments of their lives. The story is about a young actor, an employee of this club. He tries to help visitors deal with their past, but could not figure out his own.

The Fisherman (2021)

Director: FRANCOIS BALANANT

Country: France

Duration: 04:51

Synopsis: An old fisherman and his two small children live by the shore. They will undergo a terrible storm which will submerge their house and swallow everything up, but there is still a way to find their memories …

LICORICE (2020)

Director: Hillel Klein

Country: Israel

Duration: 12:00

Synopsis: Yosef, a special needs young adult, listens to tape recordings from his dead father in order to help him get through the day. As he attempts to grapple with adult life, Yosef grows and learns from his relationships with others when he experiences the insensitivity, and also the kindness, of strangers.

DOCUMENTARY SELECTION   |   DECEMBER 2021

Lost Time (2021)

Director: Jack Chapman

Country: United Kingdom

Duration: 12:20

Synopsis: When his wife dies, a 92 year old’s saving grace is the brotherhood of his local bowls club, which is forced to close during the pandemic

Salsa.Open.Moscow. (2020)

Director: Viacheslav Karbanov

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 27:55

Synopsis: The megapolis draws people into the world of digital gadgets, leads away from reality. A man hides behinds the avatars,  becomes lonely and loose the individuality.  The film maker and protagonist is a Hi tech and Virtual Studio guru who is not satisfied with this imposed lifestyle. He builds his own system of coordinates based on real life communication between people, prefers bicycles to cars, sports to social networks, and even his hobby is Cuban salsa in Moscow. Did you know that Salsa Open Air in Moscow is the largest regular salsa outdoor venue in the world? The film is about a man in the megapolis; it is either on the Moscow salsa cultural phenomenon. The film was intentionally created by only the filmmaker. It was another challenge he solved under life’s current rules.

Portraits of a Jazz Artist: Innokenty Ivanov (2021)

Director: Michiel ten Kleij

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 18:21 Synopsis: An exploration of the Jazz music life of a  Ukrainian Jazz Vibraphone artist in Russia

ANIMATION SELECTION   |   DECEMBER 2021

Mondo Domino (2021)

Director: Suki

Country: France

Duration: 06:15

Synopsis: In a deafening noise of chainsaws, loggers happily humming as they cut down trees to be used as decor for a fashion show. A contemporary cartoon satire, in the form of a burlesque action musical tragi-comedy, leads us into a delirious whirlwind of chain reactions as chaotic as they are grotesque…

The Secret of Mr. Nostoc (2021)

Director: Patrice Seiler, Maxime Marion

Country: France

Duration: 10:55

Synopsis: Mr. Nostoc lives in an hectic city. Not stressed or pressed by time, he goes to work, and always has a new surprise under his hat.  When night comes, he goes into his attic and stays there for hours. Working on his secret.        

A Brief History of Us (2021)

Director: Etgar Keret

Country: Poland

Duration: 06:22

Synopsis: The story is about a couple who have gone so long together that they almost became one.   

Ahead (2020)

Director: Andrea Santiago

Country: Mexico

Duration: 12:10

Synopsis: Maria wishes to be part of the big-head community. To be accepted, she must stop being herself and give up her only friend.

EXPERIMENTAL SELECTION   |   DECEMBER 2021

Estella Cancels Cancer (2021)

Director: Kadriia Tuktamysheva

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 07:48

Synopsis: The true story of a young lady. Once Estella found out she had stage 4 cancer. So she is learning how to live with it. Her life is very ordinary, but she is special, she is bright, stylish and open minded. And we can see how she gets through the challenges and what she feels about it.      

bath (2021)

Director: Roma Glova

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 01:54

Synopsis: there’s something behind the curtains 

Being (2021)

Director: Nitish Kumar Bhardwaj

Country: Belgium

Duration: 10:53

Synopsis: Life is a constant battle, some of us have a paralyzing feeling ,an invisible bondage or heaviness is pinning them down every day.  Through this film I want to say, that they are not alone, and that whichever battle they are going through, it is always one worth fighting. Because you always manage to come out stronger at the end. You are always able to cut loose and leave the staring and judging eyes behind.

MUSIC VIDEO SELECTION  |   DECEMBER 2021

Spitting Ibex – Dingo Jackson (2021)

Director: Florian Kittner

Country: Austria

Duration: 08:44

Synopsis: Only a few minutes lie between guilt and innocence. Dingo Jackson’s future is now in the hands of the judge. Convincing him of his innocence seems hopeless. His opinions are too entrenched, he stands there in his gown too powerful.  Guilt, prejudice, justice – three powerful words that are often interpreted differently. Spitting Ibex’ interpretation is elaborately realized as a cineesque short film called “Dingo Jackson”. To be apolitical is no solution…the raised forefinger is nevertheless looked for in vain. Critical, straightforward but with humor – they don’t presume to swing a hammer.

Oblivion (2021)

Director: Dominic Arun

Country: India

Duration: 07:00

Synopsis: A 7-minute musical short video featuring an imaginative exploration of memory, perception and subjectivity via the mindscape of a young man caught between life and death.

Tom Sawyer – Monaco (2021)

Director: Yulia Uzkikh

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 04:13

Synopsis: The story of a girl who treats relationships like a collector. Romantic rock and roll with a warm vintage sound.