All Films

Of the Unknown

2014 • 10 min • Hong Kong, United Kingdom

A short visual meditation, OF THE UNKNOWN is set in Hong Kong where millionaires and the ‘working poor’ live side by side in one of Asia’s wealthiest and most densely populated cities. The film explores how our notions of freedom and happiness are shaped by the place we occupy, both literally and metaphorically, in our society. What is the importance of freedom when one faces a daily struggle for survival? Is it even possible to have dreams, or to dream, if one was never given any opportunities in life? https://vimeo.com/113548756

Golden Time

2014 • 22 min • Japan

In Japan, during the eighties, a recently discarded old television set refuses to accept its fate and tries to break out of the junkyard where it has been sent.

Dance With Me

2014 • 45 min • Latvia

A high-school folk dancing group heads to Latvian School Youth Song and Dance Festival, an event that takes place every five years and is part of the Latvian national identity – this is the culmination point of five years of work. Away from their homes and parents, they spend seven days and nights together. They are 18 and have just graduated, and this seems to be the last idle summer of their lives. Dreams mix with boredom, silly jokes with serious conversations. Taking care of one another creates affection and grows into a collective power. There are thousands like them at the festival. Every individual sensation turns into a common celebration that becomes more than just a tradition.

We Meet in Peace

2014 • 16 min • South Sudan, United States of America

James finds a book with blank pages and decides he wants to be a great writer one day. One problem: he doesn't know how to read and write.

China's Last Little Train

2014 • 48 min • United States of America

In a mountainous region of Sichuan, best known for pandas and earthquakes, there are no roads, no cars, no buses. But there is … a train. This documentary tells the story of the last working narrow gauge steam railway in China.

Imperium Vacui

2014 • 5 min • Italy

A man fights against a regime where all traces of humanity have been lost, but his act of rebellion seems like it’s framed within the System. He can’t do anything other than play his role in the pointless power game.

Tongues

2014 • 17 min

A young man joins a megachurch and struggles to speak in tongues - until the Pastor's daughter agrees to help him out.

En crítica

2014 • 16 min • Argentina

Buenos Aires. 1928. Midnight at the editorial department of the mythical newspaper 'Critica'. Once again, Roberto Arlt (one of the most renowned Argentine writers) must go on the hunt for a sensationalist story.

Open Relationship

2014 • 14 min • Spain

Oscar and Sergio have been in a relationship for 5 years. They live together and they have very different personalities: Oscar is more passionate and emotional and Sergio has a much more mental role. On a random afternoon on a random day, one of them decides to ask the other if he would be interested in starting an open relationship.

Ocaso

2014 • 17 min • Mexico

Jonas, a 14-year-old teenager, takes a walk by the river that runs by his house. His friend Marina shadows him. They meet, spend the afternoon together, and as the daylight fades, so does their innocence.

Barracuda

2014 • 30 min • Sweden

Two half-brothers are forced together on a fateful night into a hospital where they must face their dark past, nightmares... and reconciliation with their dying father.

Paul and Virginie

2014 • 19 min • Belgium

Paul lives alone with his mother Virginie. Weakened by disease, she is unable to go about their daily life anymore. Paul, driven by the unbreakable bond of love that exists between him and his mother, tries to take matters into his own hands.

The Palace on the Sea

2014 • 15 min • Taiwan

Simple, yet complex. A man (favourite actor Wang Shin-hong) meets a woman (standard actor Wu Ke-xi) on a moored ship, a sort of floating palace decorated like a Buddhist temple. The woman or her spirit struggles with her memories and the man takes on the form of a Buddhist monk in his next life. Complex and yet simple. The man, the woman and the camera move gracefully 'dancing' through the space. Only the thought of escape.

Tuzki: Love Assassin

2014 • 3 min • Japan

A darkly cute tale of foiled romance and contract assassinations starring Tuzki (兔斯基).

Sthorzina

2014 • 24 min • Romania

Viorel is 12 years old boy and he lives with his grandfather near the Danube river. He helps his grandfather to fix the figurines of an old merry-go-round. Mirko is the son of the local police officer on the Serbian shore of the Danube. The two kids have a remote controlled small boat which they use to send each other various objects. When Viorel finds a gun in his grandfather's attic their lives will change.

Bus Story

2014 • 11 min • Canada

This funny short animation was written and created by Tali and is inspired by the filmmaker's misadventures as a school bus driver in the Eastern Townships. Our protagonist dreams of becoming a bus driver in order to cruise down quiet country lanes and connect with nature, her young charges and their parents. But her idyllic view of her new job is sorely tested after she meets her surly boss, named Killer, and discovers that winding roads can prove treacherous in winter, especially with a faulty clutch. Through her cheeky humour and oblique look at the reality of people living in the Quebec countryside, Tali delivers a film that is unique, witty and touching.

Bending the Light

2014 • 60 min • Japan, United States of America

From acclaimed director Michael Apted (The Up Series, Masters of Sex, The World is Not Enough) comes a revealing look at the art of filmmaking and photography. A journey of glass, the documentary explores the relationship between the artisans who create camera lenses and the masters of light who use these lenses to capture their beloved art form. Bending the Light features never-before-seen footage from inside a premier Japanese lens factory, intimate interviews with lens engineers, and a peek into the world of award-winning photographers and cinematographers Stephen Goldblatt, ASC, BSC, Greg Gorman, Simon Bruty, Laura El-Tantawy, and Richard Barnes.

As Time Flies Slowly By

2014 • 25 min • Brazil

m.A.A.d

2014 • 15 min

A double screen projection film portraying the city of Compton, and a beguiling non-linear paean to everyday moments of life, death and magic — with tracks from Kendrick Lamar's album "good kid, m.A.A.d city" as the soundtrack.

The Man vs. The Machine

2014 • 18 min • United States of America

On May 2,1997, Garry Kasparov, arguably the greatest human chess player ever, sat down in New York City to do battle with IBM's chess-playing computer, Deep Blue. While the much hyped match of man versus machine consisted of six chess games over nine days, there are many who would claim the entire contest was decided in just one move. This short documentary tells the epic tale of how mankind lost to the machine and highlighting what may have been man's ultimate downfall…having emotions.

Waking Fear

2014 • 20 min • United States of America

Waking fear tells the story of a man suffering from reoccurring nightmares of death and mystery. But what is reality and what is just a dream? The line slowly fade between the two in this psychological thriller.

Verde

2014 • 60 min • Chile

Valparaíso, Chile. Manuel tired after eleven years of relationship decides to rebel at the orders of his wife Gaviota who suffers from depression. Locked in the bathroom they will bring out their fears, resentments and frustrations by discovering their darkest secrets.

The Chicken

2014 • 15 min • Germany, Croatia

As a present for her 6th birthday, Selma gets a live chicken. When she realises the animal is going to be killed to feed the family, she decides to save it and set it free, unaware of the high stakes such action will lead to.

Hide N Seek

2014 • 49 min • South Korea

Mi-young is playing hide-and-seek with a doll. Oh-gun lives hiding his dark history and Min-su follows Oh-gun to revenge. One day, destiny of these three was entwined, and their story begins.