Nominees for Best Director 2020
AURORA
Director: Philip Escobar Jung
Country: Germany
Duration: 24:14
Synopsis: 1979. Aurora, ein kleines Mädchen, das in den Bayrischen Alpen lebt, macht mit ihrem Vater Valentin einen Ausflug in die Berge, um einen Sternschnuppenregen zu beobachten. Aurora und Valentin machen von dem Ereignis Fotos, die Aurora am nächsten Tag ihrer Mutter Sylvia zeigen will. Doch beim Abstieg passiert etwas Unerwartetes, dass für Auroras innere Welt eine große Herausforderung sein wird…
Miss Barton’s Famous Cakes
Director: Jared Hirsch, Nelson Vicens
Country: United States
Duration: 12:59
Synopsis: A dark comedy disguised as a thriller about a famed baker and the mysterious allure of her cakes.
AND SO HE OPEN HIS EYES
Director: Sergey Vasiliev
Country: Russian Federation
Duration: 12:00
Synopsis: A small swindler after an unsuccessful coincidence finds himself in the afterlife court as a defendant. The judge is a man, who he literally to death annoy during his lifetime.
She-Pack
Director: Fanny Ovesen
Country: Norway
Duration: 18:10
Synopsis: It´s a birthday party at a public pool disco, and underdog Ronja challenges the girls’ alpha female to battle for dominance. The game escalates quickly, and as the thirst for power grows, Ronja and the other girls lose control.
Aio Zitelli
Director: Jean-Marie Antonini
Country: France
Duration: 20:00
Synopsis: In the midst of the trench warfare, the Corsican soldier Lucien Casalta is called urgently at the back of the lines by a court of the country as a translator. Upon his arrival, he is surprised to see that the young soldier tried for desertion is none other than his compatriot and friend, Joseph…
The Act is the Enemy of the Thought
Director: Moritz Draheim
Country: Germany
Duration: 27:56
Synopsis: “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” C G Jung “The Act is the Enemy of the Thought” explores the concept of memory, recollection and past and how they influence what we are. A phone call brings his own family history back into Paul’s life. As he visits his father on his deathbed, his sister tells him to process the settlement of the family estate “since our father is now in this state”. The trip to the place of his childhood turns into a trip into his and the family’s past. We accompany Paul on his journey between the past and the present, between reality, dream and recollection. The family estate develops its own persona, holding all the blueprints of involuntary and explicit family memory. Torn between his own identity, ego and superego there seems to be only one way forward for Paul.
Skin
Director: Guy Nattiv
Country: United States
Duration: 20:00
Synopsis: A small supermarket in a blue collar town, a black man smiles at a 10 year old white boy across the checkout aisle. This innocuous moment sends two gangs into a ruthless war that ends with a shocking backlash.
Chose mentale
Director: William LABOURY
Country: France
Duration: 20:00
Synopsis: Ever since she became electro-sensitive, Ema lived isolated in her home, cut from the world. Her only link with the outside is mental, through her out-of-body experiences. But one day, two boys break into her house, thinking that they were burgling an empty house. This meeting will throw Ema into her fears and shake her certainties.
Once Upon A Time In…Sai Wan
Director: Nate Ki
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 22:24
Synopsis: In 1989, there were rumors saying money became joss papers when a delivery guy returned to his restaurant after delivering food order to Room 4E of Sau Lai Building which was to be disassembled. Such rumors horrified restaurant staff members nearby as they all afraid that they would receive call from the ghost someday. Shui, who was a staff member from Chiu Fat Restaurant, however, manipulated people’s superstition, claiming that he received order from the ghost. He stole all the money after delivering food orders while replacing the money with joss papers. His boss and colleagues were shocked as they had never thought that their restaurant was chosen and cursed! Shui found that his trick succeed and thus decided to cheat money using the same tactics again and again…
Backwater
Director: Brendan McCallion
Country: Ireland
Duration: 24:00
Synopsis: In the depths of rural Ireland, Tommy has done everything to look after his sick father, succumbing to a life of isolation in the process. However, letting go proves to be more difficult than he had ever imagined.
NOVEMBER 1ST
Director: Charlie Manton
Country: United Kingdom
Duration: 24:41
Synopsis: Traveling to witness the execution of her son’s murder, a mother is torn between retaliation and reconnecting with her estranged daughter.
Awake
Director: Matan Rochlitz
Country: United Kingdom
Duration: 16:25
Synopsis: Awake is a short film by Shift.ms that explores the interplay between Multiple Sclerosis, sleep and mental health. It is an experimental documentary film that unfolds over one night. Voices from real late-night phone calls are woven together to reflect on life and death from the unique perspective of those experiencing both insomnia and a neurological disease.