TILIPIRCHE

Francesco Piras / Italia 2023 / 18 min.

An arid land in Sardinia, invaded by locusts that wreak havoc by devastating all the vegetation in their path, leaving nothing for the animals to eat, especially the livestock, thus impoverishing the farmers, and in particular our hero, a middle-aged man, and his son, who are confronted with destiny and fight for a cause that, as we discover throughout the film, will be desperate. Filmed like a dramatic western, with a cinematic elegance that transports us into an atmosphere where it’s hot, very hot, where the locusts shake like our hero’s angry heart, where the emptiness of the plains brings us face to face with the existential emptiness and despair of its farmers, a kind of silent Sardinian cowboys without cows or horses, whom the director looks at with a “Kenloachian” or “Dardenian” eye, starving men who raise sheep that are just as starving, and who are abandoned by their state which no longer pays them financial compensation, and their nurturing mother, beautiful and cruel nature, which makes human beings pay for their mistakes. A film that, beyond its cinematic strength, humanity, beauty, accuracy and simplicity, and its very Sardinian atmosphere, has a universal scope, asking us about the consequences of climate change.

L’ESTATE DI GUIDO

Cesare Bisantis / Italia 2023 / 15 min

NADA DE TODO ESTO

Patricio Martínez, Francisco Cantón / Argentina 2023 / 17 min.

A seemingly simple incident unfolds into a nuanced exploration of social divides, aspirations, and the unexpected encounters that reveal our shared humanity. The film’s director has skillfully used this premise to highlight the stark contrasts between different worlds, and yet, finds a way to bring out the common threads that connect us all. The performances are subtle yet powerful, the cinematography beautifully captures the juxtaposition of the rich and the struggling, and the narrative gracefully balances humour and poignancy. The film stands out not only for its technical excellence but also for its ability to engage the audience in a meaningful dialogue about society and our place within it. It reminds us that even in moments of misfortune, there are opportunities for understanding and connection.

TITS

Eivind Landsvik / Norvegia 2023 / 12 min.

PIECHT

Luka Lara Steffen / Germania 2023 / 30 min.

A film that opens with love, through a kiss from two women, and takes us inside a contemporary micro-society that seems to carry the values of love, nature and a good old time regained: everything to seduce lonely city-dwellers tired of the excesses of capitalist society. However, our heroine, a young queer woman who accompanies her mother to this country village to take part in a summer party, notices strange things: the villagers are dressed anachronistically, photos are taken of a political candidate, children are trained like soldiers. Thus, the cinematography gives us step-by-step a sense of unease. The 4:3 format and the texture of the image which looks like at first a beautiful vacation film gradually gives us a feeling of confinement. The use of flowers, countryside, colours, and sunshine reminds us of the esthetic of a 3rd Reich film. Through its subtle story and its cinematic and ironic directing, Piecht depicts the danger neo-Nazi’s society that is making a dramatic comeback in Europe today, as the ghost that appears at the end of the film.

PAMELA

Daniel Muchiut, Marina Carrasco / Argentina 2023 / 18 min.

FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS

Mohamad W. Ali / India (Satyaijt Film Institute) 2023 / 28 min.

It is a beautifully filmed story with high cinematic value, with the power of grounded storytelling. The concept and rhyme are well set. The film successfully projects the triangulated relationships among the child, the mother, and the grandmother, as well as through the (absence of) the father facilitates the reflection on the international context of war and home. The jury would like to highlight that the film is a bit too long, but the cinematic value and the strong ending of the film are worthy of celebration.

HO BALLATO DI TUTTO

Sarah Narducci / Italia (CSC) 2023 / 15 min.

SPRING WALTZ

Stefano Lorenzi, Clelia Catalano / Italia 2023 / 12 min.

Through the art of animation, the filmmakers bring us deep into the forbidden love between two artists separated by a wall, and a war. The combination of the painful consequences of borders and conflicts with a beautiful artistic work makes us immersed in this strong love story.  One is trying with all the creative skills to join the other by the force of love. The other is waiting and using imagination to cope with the longing and loneliness. Their souls want strongly to be together, but the external aggressive power destroys gradually the one who is trying to cross the border.  The animation style mixes old traditional drawing styles with modern technology. The body movements and facial expressions are realistic and natural, so it seems like digital skills have been used with a connection with both the body and the soul.  The grey crayon lines remind us about how we can create strong stories with pen and paper when we nearly have lost everything. This story shows us how destructive conflicts intervene and hinder the relationship of human beings loving each other, but also how we can cope with an extremely difficult situation with our imagination.

DEDE IS DEAD

Philippe Kastner / Repubblica Ceca 2023 / 8 min.

THE FATHER’S PLACE

Francesco D’Ascenzo / Italia 2023 / 20 min.

Antonio, after many years of separation, lives with his father, Rosario, a well-known boss of the Neapolitan underworld who has recently been freed after 30 years in jail. The film deals with the difficulty of living a father-son relationship in light of the father’s crimes.  The balanced mixture of the spoken and unspoken allows the viewer both space and time for their thoughts. The relentless, intimate openness of the two, captured by the camera in precise portraits, the time-taking observation of everyday activities and a strong audio-visual design make the film a thought-provoking, disturbing and eye-opening portrait that resonates in our minds for a long time and in which themes such as crime, punishment, forgiveness and love are dealt within extraordinarily.

CARPENTER

Xelîl Sehragerd / Iran 2023 / 13 min.

S’OZZASTRU

Carolina Melis / Italia 2023 / 9 min.

A tragedy that happened in Sardinia in 2021, when a fire destroyed 70,000 acres of land, houses, animals and olive trees.  The story is told from the perspective of a thousand-year-old tree, a resilient ambassador of Nature and a silent witness of History.   The masterfully designed, floating animation encourages the viewer to experience a story told like a fairy tale until the moment when the real horror is visualized with a few black-and-white images. The unique narrative perspective, the inspiring interplay of colours, shapes and the rhythm of the animations, the breathtaking music and sound design in combination with an emotional, emphatic narrative voice make this film a striking piece that reminds us that with the destruction of nature through climate change, we will also erase the history of our existence.

ARTEMIS

Martijn Veldhoen / Paesi Bassi 2023 / 17 min.

PITAGE

Ali Khaledi / Iran 2023 / 10 min.

The film begins as an everyday observation of a man having his hair cut. The story’s setting and the characters’ backgrounds are unclear at the beginning.  But once a prison guard enters the scene, it slowly becomes aware that the story is set in a prison in Iran where a prisoner sentenced to death receives his last haircut. Piece by piece, the viewer begins to uncover things, making every detail matter.  With little dialogue, precise staging of perspectives, breathtaking acting, exact timing and blocking and claustrophobic narrowness through framing and light, the film develops a narrative pull that the viewer cannot escape. The full dimension of the story is finally revealed at the end, leaving the viewer alone with their emotions.  Rarely has a film managed to describe the social situation of a country so precisely, so emotionally and so effectively.

KEEP

Lewis Rose / Francia, Regno Unito 2023 / 21 min.

BONBONÉ

Rakam Mayasi / Palestina, Libano 2017 / 15 min.

BEYOND THE BORDER

Dominik Zbořil / Repubblica Ceca 2023 / 27 min.

The futuristic film story is well-situated in the context of contemporary society where issues and multi-levels of trust, censorship and risk take place. The cinematic value of the film is strong, presented with carefully composed elements of casting, scenes, and music that create an immersive atmosphere for audiences. The film reflects upon how the interpretation of ‘travels and borders’ can go beyond geographical boundaries, delineating the complications in a reality where interpersonal and interinstitutional relationships are contested.

THE CAR THAT CAME BACK FROM THE SEA

Jadwiga Kowalska / Svizzera 2023 / 11 min.

ONEIRO – 360 VR MOVIE

Milos Tasic / Serbia 2023 / 7 min.