Jury Award Winner

Best Documentary: Invasion: The Unist’ot’en’s Fight for Sovereignty

Best Student Documentary: Delphine “No Dogs”

Best Fiction: Brooklyn Park

Best Student Fiction: Die Autoficker (The Carfuckers)

Best Film by a Young Filmmaker (under 18) – Forobia

Best Documentary: We’re In Quarantine

Best Student Documentary: In Blood We Trust

Best Fiction: Selkinchek (The Swing)

Best Student Fiction: Fred’s Night Out

Best Film by a Young Filmmaker (under 18): Covid Scar

 

Finalists

The Official Selection 2020

Friday 17th July

17:30


Drifting with Debord

Documentary | David Archibald, Carl Lavery | United Kingdom | 17:35

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Me and You

Documentary | Constantine Gras, Natasha Langridge | United Kingdom | 10:05

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Still from Drifting with debord

20:00


 

The Record

Fiction | Chris White | United Kingdom | 04:38

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BROOKLYN PARK (dir. Duravcevic)

Fiction | Nikola Duravcevic | United States | 14:49

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Saturday 18th July

Saturday 14:00


Delphine ‘No Dogs’

Documentary (Student) | Anayis Der Hakopian | United Kingdom | 03:45

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Chinese People Love Bat Soup

Documentary (Student) | Sam Jones | United Kingdom | 08:44

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Still from Delphine

 

Saturday 15:30


In Blood, We Trust

Documentary (Student) | Daryl Brown | Not Specified | 08:29

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Near Miss

Documentary (Student) | Nigel Smith | United Kingdom | 01:29

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The Picket Line

Documentary (Student) | Joseph Scott | Ireland | 06:55

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Mark Faulkner

Documentary | Chris Reeves | United Kingdom | 10:00

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Still from In Blood We Trust

 

Saturday 14:00


Delphine ‘No Dogs’

Documentary (Student) | Anayis Der Hakopian | United Kingdom | 03:45

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Chinese People Love Bat Soup

Documentary (Student) | Sam Jones | United Kingdom | 08:44

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Still from Delphine

 

Saturday 20:00


A Viable Candidate

Fiction | Orson Nava | United Kingdom | 19:00

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Captive

Fiction | Yasin masoudi | Iran, Islamic Republic of | 01:03

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Be More With MeMore

Fiction | Evan Skladany | United States | 01:00

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Sunday 19th July

Sunday 13:45


Social Fabric

Documentary | Sam Meech | United Kingdom | 15:00

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Reclaiming Work

Documentary | Usayd Younis, Cassie Quarless | United Kingdom | 07:35

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Still from Social Fabric

Sunday 15:45


Pandemonium

Fiction | John Mossman | United States | 06:08

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LIMBO

Fiction | Anthony von Seck | Canada | 17:20

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Still from Limbo

Sunday 18:00


Shocking Facts About the Origin of Pandemics

Documentary | | United Kingdom | 04:18

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Invasion: The Unist’ot’en’s Fight for Sovereignty

Documentary | Michael Toledano, Sam Vinal | Canada | 18:19

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Invasion Poster

 

Sunday 20:00


I Am George

Young Film (Made by filmmakers under 18) | Lovro Hostić, Ivona Štefica Mihanović | Croatia | 03:27

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Duel

Young Film (Made by filmmakers under 18) | Niki Paleka, Aleta Franić, Dora Pecigoš, Jan Novak Vukašinović, Ursula Pavić, Noa Zelenko | Croatia | 05:01

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Forobia

Young Film (Made by filmmakers under 18), Young Film (Made by filmmakers under 18) | Andrew Wang | United States | 02:52

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The Covid Scar

Young Film (Made by filmmakers under 18), Young Film (Made by filmmakers under 18) | Patricia Hayes, Marc Hayes | Not Specified | 00:40

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Sunday 20:15


We’re in quarantine

Documentary | Efi Amanatidou | Not Specified | 20:28

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Sunday 20:35


Coronaspiracy

Documentary (Student) | Julian Liby | United States | 23:39

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Sunday 21:00


SELKINCHEK – THE SWING (dir. Sagnybaeva)

Fiction | Samara Sagynbaeva | Kyrgyzstan | 20:00

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Still from The Swing

Sunday 21:20


Unbearable

Fiction (Student) | Caleb Stevens | United States | 02:19

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Cyril Offence

Fiction (Student) | Louis Linsey | United Kingdom | 14:44

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Fred’s Night Out

Fiction (Student) | Anayis N. Der Hakopian | United Kingdom | 04:07

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04_EMIL_CASTING.mp4 (dir. Zahavi)

Fiction (Student) | Lili Zahavi | Germany | 09:23

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DIE AUTOFICKER – THE CARFUCKERS (dir. Brezing)

Fiction (Student) | Josia Brezing | Germany | 01:12

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Sunday 21:50


Feature Film Programme

Each feature film is accompanied by a programme of Small Axe Shorts

Friday July 17th:

17.30 – I Am Not a Monster | Quirky, funny and pretty bonkers French film about learning how to be free
20.00 – The Grapes Of Wrath | 1939. One of the great ‘labor’ films of the depression era.

Saturday July 18th

14.00 – East Of Our Memories | New film about German nostalgia for the Communist GDR
15.30 – Unsung Hero: The Story of Jack Jones | New documentary biography of this forgotten hero of the labour movement.
17.45 – The Big Meeting & Gala Days | 2 films, separated by 50 years, that provide a historical perspective on the Durham Miners Gala.

20.00 – Human Resources | The second film of “the French Ken Loach”.  A young man from a working class family returns from University to join the management of the company that runs the town he grew up in. He is going to have to decide whose side he is on.

Sunday 19th July

13.45 – Wapping: The Workers’ Story | A retelling of the story of the Wapping printers strike from the workers’ POV.
15.45 – Under The Knife | In the post-Covid world this is crucial viewing for anyone who wants the NHS to remain a public service.
18.00 – Solidarity | A new film exploring the experience of blacklisting in the building trades.
20.00 – Small Axe Awards | Full programme of challenging new short films, and the announcement of the 2020 Small Axe film awards.

Semi Finalists

Films we that we couldn't show but deserve recognition.
 
 
Bare in 2020
Shelly Anthis - Canada - 01:45

Documentary

In the streets of Winnipeg, Manitoba in the HEART of Canada, home to nearly a million takes on an ominous presence in the early stages of a pandemic. Coming to a city near you!

https://filmfreeway.com/submissions/15292794

 
 
Buonanotte/Goodnight
Yohana Ambros - Italy - 10:25

Documentary

Milan under Covid-19 lockdown: a day in the life of a homeless video maker

 
 
Cling Film
Helen Judge - United Kingdom - 01:37

Documentary

Social distancing for the older woman.

 
 
High Pressure
Mattia Mura - Italy - 18:18

Documentary

Mattia and Stefania are a couple living in Milan, Italy. Their lives have been drastically stopped by the Covid-19 Pandemic. When Mattia suddenly discovers to have an issue with high pressure, things start getting even worse. An overview of the pandemic crisis in the Lombardy region from the perspective of a young couple and a hymn to hope.

https://filmfreeway.com/submissions/15773758

 
 
Jamal
Michael Slowe - United Kingdom - 14:40

Documentary

An eloquent and personable Rastafarian graphically explains his philosophy whilst growing and cultivating an orchard on a small Caribbean island.

 
 
Occupying Time: The Battle of Algiers
Alan O'Leary - Denmark - 05:28

Documentary

Experimental videoessay on time and temporalities in historical/political film classic The Battle of Algiers (Italy/Algeria, 1966). All audio and visual material used in the essay, apart from credits and intertitles, comes from The Battle of Algiers itself.


 
Songs From Next Door
Phil Moody, Carolyn Edwards - United Kingdom - 10:10

Documentary

The film makers found a random selection of friends and acquaintances with different linguistic heritage who lived close by, and filmed them in the week of the UK General Election that saw Boris Johnson sweep to power on a broadly nationalist platform. The result is a gentle and carefully photographed documentary short celebrating languages, song and notions of home.

 
 
Spirits Speak about the Pandemic
Mary Vollero - United States - 04:13

Documentary

A video about the pandemic, covid-19. Inspired by messages from loved ones on the other side.

 
 
Sport(ables) (eng subtitles)
Petri Puroaho - Finland - 06:59

Documentary

During Covid-19 -confinement you have lots of time to think and reflect your past history of sports. I bring you a psychological and musical innerself journey through football-memories that start to look like a virus itself. Film became a constant battle of the fact that can I trust my own memories? Is current confinement different from the past experiences? The dream was real but the memories tell you a different story. Do you have similar experiences?

 
 
The Killing of Time
Neil Murphy - Not Specified - 05:55

Documentary

Shot during the COVID-19 confinement in Spain, a reflection on the situation from a philosophical viewpoint. Sharing my own thoughts about the pandemic's outcomes, transforming into a more self-aware humanitarian meditation.

https://filmfreeway.com/submissions/15425422

 
 
vaCc1n9
Olli Kasper - Finland - 04:45

Documentary

vaCc1n9 is short documentary about the coronavirus crisis, but the main character is planet earth and this virus is actually a vaccine for the planet. Vaccine for a virus called humans. Video is compiled mostly from license free music and clips, but include also shots filmed by me and music that had to been licensed.

 
 
WAITING –Bruschetta from Italian Balconies
Lia Beltrami - Italy - 03:52

Documentary

Italy is suffering a lot and reacts with the taste of life starting from the balconies. We from our balcony offer a bruschetta and the beautiful song "Tell me when, when, when".

 
 
ALS JE LATER GROOT BENT - WHEN YOU GROW UP (dir. Baggermann)
Max Baggermann - Netherlands - 21:14

Documentary (Student)

What is work? Everyone works and has to work. The 40-hour workweek is a standard in our capitalistic society. Our work consumes the most of our available time for almost our whole lives. Office jobs and assembly-line work have become a symbol for wasting our time to useless labor. The film shows us a day in the life of the working man and the routine and grind that comes with it. With patience, the film shows commuters in traffic lines and public transport, all heading to work. Huge office buildings where hundreds of people are working, all identical behind a computer screen, typing. Endless repetition behind the assembly line. The documentary takes a look at people during a workday and makes you reflect on the meaning of labor.

https://vimeo.com/344273742

 
 
DAS BUCH SABETH - THE BOOK OF SABETH (dir. Kogler)
Florian Kogler - Austria - 29:27

Documentary (Student)

We encounter 95-year-old Elisabeth Mnatsakanjan, a writer, poet, painter, and scholar from the USSR who emigrated to Vienna in the 1970s. Her stories, her poems, her music and an encounter with an old friend depict a life dedicated to the arts and language.

 
 
La Reina
Julia Konarska - United Kingdom - 12:42

Documentary (Student)

La Reina revolves around one subject – Edisson Medina a.k.a Paquita De La Torres, the second name being his drag persona. Edisson was born to Ecuadorian parents in London and this is where he was raised. He is a part of the London queer Latinx community, performing in Exilio, one of the biggest queer Latinx clubs in London. The documentary shows him in and out of drag, performing and discussing what drag means to him but also the discrimination he has faced for being queer and the prevalent lack of inclusion towards drag performers.

 
 
Learned, Loved, Left
Camille Cohen - United States - 11:00

Documentary (Student)

Personal Documentary Film from an American student Abroad in Bangkok Thailand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 
 
Because I could
Niki J. Borger - United States - 05:08

Fiction

Set twenty years in the future, four adults confess their day-to-day climate sins and why they didn't do things any better.

 
 
Boom (Rodriguez)
Leyla Rodriguez - Argentina - 06:34

Fiction

BOOM addresses the synthesis of nature and culture and their reciprocal potential and rivalry in a playful manner and it emphasizes a continued existence for both sides as a carrier of memories and identity.

 
 
Code
Amy Larimer - United States - 02:50

Fiction

A young man receives an exciting delivery. Created in isolation in Madrid, spring 2020.

 
 
Cueball
Brandon C Lay - United States - 13:40

Fiction

Living Proof Pictures is pleased to present the newest short film by writer/director Brandon C. Lay. Cueball staring Sarah Cugini and Jeremy Thompson. Sara (Sarah Cugini) is a TikTok and Instagram model stuck at home during the pandemic with her layabout boyfriend Jer (Jeremy Thompson).

https://filmfreeway.com/submissions/15764549

 
 
Daido Moriyama Revisited by Osdho
- Spain - 02:38

Fiction

As the exposition from the Japanese photographer, Daido Moriyama, was in quarantine and waited for the first visitors at the Fundació Foto Colectania in Barcelona, ​​Spain. We have selected several of his images. My partner and I have made a free (acting) interpretation of his work, but based on our own perception of confinement, terrain vague, and basic, twisted instinctive feelings. I shot it, as if it was an interpretation of his scenes, the moments before the decisive moment of the capture. I tried to film the essence of Daido's approach and edited it as an immersive and visceral story.

 
 
Dystopian Snow Globe
Charlotte Wincott - United States - 12:33

Fiction

 
 
Emma
Kevin Spink - Australia - 06:52

Fiction

Emma is a regular human that is faced with daily modern obstacles; yet underneath her smile hides a secret.

https://vimeo.com/325592975

 
 
Flag Country
Pamela Falkenberg, Jack Cochran - United States - 05:51

Fiction

Outlier Moving Pictures' new poetry film is based on Dave Bonta's haibun poem, "Flag Country," which tells a story about an unplanned stop during a road trip, arrested to see an enormous flag at a car lot in Orbisonia, PA. Our mesmerizing views of the flag furling and unfurling in the wind, along with the "skywritten" text, induce the hypnotic state described in the poem, accompanied by a soundscape that conducts a whirlwind tour of American aspirations and moments of civil dissent, revealing the challenging gaps that continue to exist between our ideals and our actual achievements.

https://vimeo.com/358173469

 
 
FREEDOM & FEAR
Johannes Ziegler - Germany - 14:00

Fiction

The world in 2025. Strict restrictions and quarantine measures still apply. The global economy plunged into a deep crisis from which it has not yet recovered. The silent fear of the COVID-19 virus and state control are widespread. A mother and her daughter live in silent fear of a virus and the oppression, the invisible control that is supposed to protect our society. Everyday life has changed. He has become calm, characterized by simple tasks and the urge to survive. In these circumstances, the mother tries to complete a work whose completion becomes the symbol of our time. It is a serious decision that our society has to face: fear or freedom. - "This film was created during global quarantine efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic."

https://vimeo.com/428625763

 
 
FYRVAKTAREN - BATHTUB BY THE SEA (dir. Rønneberg)
Ole-André Rønneberg - Norway - 14:45

Fiction

Day in, and day out Gunnar is doing the same things. He drinks his coffee, fishes with his boat, and on Wednesdays and Saturdays he is having his out door bath. But one day a mermaid comes in with the tides, and he must use his bathtub for her. When the bathing day comes and the bathtub is occupied it is getting complicated for Gunnar.

 
 
"Ghosts"
Diego Escobar - El Salvador - 04:34

Fiction

A mother does everything within her reach to try and make her daughter happy during quarantine, to avoid making her memories ghosts from the past.

 
 
Karma
Marcelo Silva - Chile - 00:35

Fiction

Death is a fact implicit in any pandemia. What's the difference now?

 
 
MILA (dir. Vakalios)
Andreas Vakalios - Greece - 14:50

Fiction

Based on a true story, "Mila" is a "polaroid picture" of a daughter's and a father's last encounter at the hospital. She is a twenty year old girl who likes to skate and who hates talking to her mom. He is a forty-five year old hospitalised alcoholic life artist. They haven't spoken or seen each other for years. Their encounter at the hospital might change everything. Or, it might not. The film was shot on location in a working hospital with natural light bounced into the hospital rooms with the use of DIY stands and mirrors.

 
 
MÜTTER - MOTHERS (dir. Köhler)
Lorenz Christian Kohler - Germany - 08:57

Fiction

A female arabic refugee in immigration authority: She is begging to catch up with her children. They got separated. The responsible official tells her that his hands are tied. As the situation escalates the official throws the woman out of his office. A bit later, we see him, visiting his old mother. With her, we are traveling in her past – we will see what happened with her, 40 years ago in West-Berlin...The same situation, the same dialogues, the same office... The film is dealing with the tragedy of separation between children and mothers beyond cultural differences.

 
 
Once Upon a Time
Jason Acero - United Kingdom - 03:29

Fiction

Stay at home, stay safe, is probably the most repeated phrase we've listening the last four weeks, but is home safe? No for a lot of women.

 
 
Renacer - Reborn
LeO. - Mexico - 04:41

Fiction

This is a story told from the future and shows how COVID-19 in Mexico triggered solidarity and union in Mexicans to reinvent their country: Professionals from different areas redistribute from large cities into small towns to keep safe and to manufacture the necessary medical equipment. As time passes, the factories evolve to develop new technology for energy production and agriculture. This in turn, gives Mexico the opportunity to generate revenue beyond tourism and oil, creating a better quality of life for Mexicans in the long term.

 
 
SAFIYYAH (dir. Goksøyr)
Mattis Ohana Goksøyr - Norway - 09:06

Fiction

Danish Amir connects with a local girl, Sarah, on a dance floor in central Oslo. He ends up going home with her, but, halfway into bed, he discovers that she is Jewish. Shocked, he reveals his Palestinian background and makes his exit from the now tense situation. Once outside, he sees that his phone is dead, and, alone in an unfamiliar city, he is forced to knock on Sarah’s door. He asks to borrow her charger and she hesitantly lets him back in. The film is a meeting between Danish-Palestinian Amir and Norwegian-Jewish Sarah.

 
 
SDtoHDuprezMaxV2_009.mp4 (dir. A. Spence)
Anna Spence - United States - 04:16

Fiction

Booted from the limelight, Max Headroom now roves the video signal on the search for meaning. Once summoned to the screen, he talks to the audience in hopes of remembering his past life. As we watch Max, (and as he continues to watch us), he begins to understand what it will take to escape from his purgatory.

https://vimeo.com/201969854

 
 
SOMEONE GOOD WILL FIND YOU (dir. L. Strogov)
Leelila Strogov - United States - 08:40

Fiction

A well-intentioned Chinese immigrant father tries to teach his son, David, how to “make it” in America. When David becomes enamored by a Superman costume in a store window, his father sees an opportunity to impart to him the importance of hard work, thrift, and delayed gratification. But when the time comes for David to reap the rewards of his efforts, it turns out that the lessons he’s learned transcend those his father intended. Revealing the human capacity for connection, compassion, and sacrifice, Someone Good Will Find You is a story about the lessons parents try to teach their children, and the unintended ones children learn on their own.

 
 
SPOON (dir. Velasco)
Victor Velasco - United States - 04:35

Fiction

In the city, a business man walks to work on a Monday morning when he's interrupted by a junkie-like kid who asks him: Do you want some soup?

https://vimeo.com/374544981

 
 
STOLPERSTEINE - STUMBLING STONES (dir. Mosadegh)
Reza Sam Mosadegh - Germany - 13:18

Fiction

In 1986, as the child of a refugee family, Reza Sam Mosadegh fled from Iran to Germany. He was not allowed to return to Iran for more than 20 years. The only visual connections to his old homeland were Iranian films and camcorder recordings of his family. Thus, Reza recognized the important meaning of film in his early years. Thereupon, he studied media economics and media sciences. During his studies and under the supervision of a mentor, he has successfully established himself as a director through various projects. At the age of 25, he has won his first director awards at the "ElevateFilmFestival" in Los Angeles. Reza has high expectations in terms of visual language, the latter is important to him because, as a refugee child, he wanted to understand films despite the language barrier.

https://vimeo.com/334963115

 
 
Swimming Lessons
Dimitris Giouzepas - Greece - 05:15

Fiction

A short film created during the resent lockdown because of coronavirus (but has nothing to do with). It is an attempt to make a multi-sensory experience of the sea through the senses of a blind young man who is having his first swimming lesson.

https://vimeo.com/414829971

 
 
THE COCAINE FAMINE (dir. McMullen)
Sam McMullen - Ireland - 13:06

Fiction

The Cocaine Famine is an Irish black comedy about cocaine and the futility of nationalism. Set in an isolated shed in rural Ireland, three characters play out an absurd scene in real time. The result is a short film full of playful humour and hard-hitting historical facts.

 
 
The Invitation
Meltem Cemiloglu - Turkey - 02:17

Fiction

Meltem is a 40-year-old woman who lives alone. She remains isolated at home for a long time due to the Covid-19 virus outbreak. A typical middle class person, Meltem plans an invitation for dinner. Meltem, who cannot even apply her nail polish without looking at YouTube, prepares spaghetti bolognese and salad for the dinner invitation. This dish is a reflection of her isolated life and mood that is the result of the virus epidemic.

 
 
We Know You Missed
Umut Kayacan - Turkey - 02:50

Fiction

We all missed going out, our normal life. But are we really aware what we are living? This is a short film made entirely with stock footage in quarantine.

 
 
Flatline
Shannon Meilak - Australia - 08:27

Fiction (Student)

A jovial man slowly becomes a zombie whilst attempting to apply for government welfare. He finds himself caught in bureaucratic red tape and struggling with his escalating hunger for human flesh.

 
 
Ralof's Remedies
Noah Meister - United States - 04:45

Fiction (Student)

A young man seeks help to aid his sick village.

 
 
SOLITAIRE (dir. E. Brodach)
Elena Brodach - Russian Federation - 18:00

Fiction (Student)

Alexandra, a French architect working on a significant project in Moscow, is an intelligent, driven and independent career woman. But when her life’s desire turns to having a child, and with her biological clock ticking, she is suddenly faced with a serious choice: does she have the time to wait for love or must she take responsibility to have a child alone?

 
 
Take Care
Djamel Turner - United Kingdom - 05:28

Fiction (Student)

After another night thinking about her and not being able to talk about it, Magnus finally decides to call his ex.

 
 
THE ACT OF DEVOURING (dir. E. Ziyalar)
Emir Ziyalar - Czech Republic - 24:00

Fiction (Student)

A troubled man is forced to repeat a grim task in 1940’s Czechoslovakia. Over time, he starts to fail his task and work on his grotesque secret instead. The fear of his secret being discovered slowly becomes unbearable.

https://vimeo.com/298169755

 
 
THE HOOD (dir. Delgado)
Patricia Vidal Delgado - United States - 10:00

Fiction (Student)

Under the pretext of preparing for a role, an actor walks the streets of the neighbourhood of Compton, in Los Angeles, looking for information and inspiration. The actor ends up getting involved in a series of events, which the film stages as if it were a documentary, in a device that sometimes reveals that the camera observes small details that the protagonist does not see, thus making our point of view the true point of view, in an intelligent and subversive exploration of the rules of a genre.

https://vimeo.com/326665325

 
 
VIDEODISC, or The 120 Minutes of Search
Matias Montemayor - Mexico - 07:38

Fiction (Student)

A couple desire to watch a movie amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

 
 
WAITHOOD (dir. Mees)
Louisiana Mees - Belgium - 21:38

Fiction (Student)

If youth is the season of hope, it is often so only in the sense that our elders are hopeful aboutus.Andeachcrisisseemsfinalsimplybecauseit’snew.–GeorgeEliot 'Waithood'is a portmanteau for 'waiting' and 'adulthood'. Athens 2019. 44% of youth is unemployed, a generation lost in no man’s land, wandering outside of the classroom and the labor market amid a booming sharing economy and expanding gentrification. Five youngsters avoid waiting for an empty future by seeking entertainment in the luxurious Airbnb establishments that one of them is cleaning for a meager fee. On the rooftops they look out over a city in turmoil, daydreaming about a world of possibilities.

https://vimeo.com/278698757

 
 
The Covid Scar
Patricia Hayes, Marc Hayes - Not Specified - 00:40

Young Film (Made by filmmakers under 18), Young Film (Made by filmmakers under 18)

The COVID scars go beyond the skin.

 
 
The Quarantine Rag
Charlotte Quintanar - United States - 00:52

Young Film (Made by filmmakers under 18), Young Film (Made by filmmakers under 18)

Making cleaning the bathroom more fun with a creative clash of animation and reality.