Short Matters 2016

The Ministry of Education and Culture, the European Film Academy and ARTos Foundation, with the support of the Department of Fine Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology and the Goethe-Institut, for the tenth consecutive year, invite short film lovers to the Festival of Awarded European Short Films, Short Matters! The screenings will take place at ARTos Foundation in Nicosia on the 13, 14 and 15 September and on the 6 & 7 October 2016 at CUT in Limassol.

The program of SHORT MATTERS! presents short films by the European Film Academy, which have been nominated for the Academy awards, by the fifteen most important short film festivals in Europe.

In each of these selected festivals listed below, the Jury that selects the awarded films also selects one of the European short films which is then automatically nominated for the European Film Academy Prize.

International Short Film Festival in Drama/Greece

Berlin International Film Festival/Germany

Cork Film Festival/Ireland

Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival/Portugal

Encounters Short Film and Animation Film Festival Bristol

Festival del film Locarno/Switzerland

Film Festival Ghent/Belgium

International Film Festival Rotterdam/the Netherlands

International Short Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand/France

Krakow Film Festival/Poland

Norwegian Short Film Festival Grimstad/Norway

Sarajevo Film Festival/Bosnia & Herzegovina

Tampere Film Festival/Finland

Valladolid International Film Festival/Spain

Venice Film Festival/Italy

Then, the program with the nominated short films tours various European cities, two of which Nicosia and Limassol. Originating from various European countries – Germany, Spain, Bosnia & Herzegovina, France, Denmark, United Kingdom, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Croatia, Israel, Palestine, and Greece – the nominated short films for 2015 are a multidimensional panorama of young contemporary European filmmaking.

The more than 3.000 members of the European Film Academy selected PICNIC by Croatian filmmaker Jure Pavlovic as the overall winner, a nomination by the Jury of the International Short Film Festival in Drama, President of which was Mrs. Elena Christodoulidou, Senior Cultural Officer of the Cinema Department of the Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education and Culture in Cyprus. The film was presented at the 28th European Film Awards Ceremony in Berlin, in December 2015.

Greek & English subtitles

Free admission

For film summaries and more information: short-matters.blogspot.com

Screening Programme:

DAY 1 (96’)

DISSONANCE

Berlin Short Film Nominee (Germany)

Germany, animation, 17’

Written, Directed & Produced by: Till Nowak

Director of Photography: Ivan Robles Mendoza

Editor: Philipp Hahn & Till Nowak

Production Design: Till Nowak

Costume Design: Heidrun Schwantge

Sound Design: Andreas Radzuweit

Original Score: Olaf Taranczewski & Frank Zerban

Animation: Till Nowak & Malte Lauinger

Main Cast: Roland Schupp (Pianist), Nina Petri (Mother), Hannah Heine (Daughter), Klaus Zehrfeld (Doctor), Leslie Barany (Narrator, English), Mirko Thiele (Narrator, German)

Synopsis: A genius musician lives a lonely life in a surreal, floating world. He plays the piano every day in a gigantic concert hall, but there is nobody to listen. One day his animated world collapses and he must face reality. He only has one wish: to share his music with his daughter, but her mother doesn‘t allow it.

The film has been selected for the competitive section of the 11th International Short Film Festival of Cyprus (ISFFC), and will premiere in Cyprus during the Festival on the 15/10/2016 – 21/10/2016, at Rialto Theatre, Limassol.

THE RUNNER (EL CORREDOR)

Valladolid Short Film Nominee (Spain)

Spain, fiction, 12’

Directed by: Jose Luis Montesinos

Written by: Jose Luis Montesinos & Iakes Blesa

Produced By: Arturo Mendiz & Jose Maria Torres

Director of Photography: Marc Zumbach

Editor: Jose Luis Montesinos

Production Design: Carlos Pequerul

Costume Design: Ester Palaudaries

Sound Design: Xavi Saucedo

Original Score: Javi Rodero

Main Cast: Miguel Angel Jenner, Lluis Altes

Synopsis: Five years ago the boss closed the company and fired 300 workers. The first day that he goes out to run he meets one of them.

OUR BODY (NAŠE TELO)

Rotterdam Short Film Nominee (Netherlands)

Serbia/Bosnia & Herzegovina/Germany, experimental, 15’

Directed by: Dane Komljen

Written by: James Lattimer & Dane Komljen

Produced by: Natasa Damnjanovic, Vladimir Vidic & Zoran Galic

Director of Photography & Editor: Dane Komljen

Sound Design: Jakov Munizaba

Synopsis: From here, you can see everything: the sea to the right, the mountains to the left, the sky in between.

SON OF THE WOLF (FILS DU LOUP)

Locarno Short Film Nominee (Switzerland)

France, fiction, 23′

Directed by: Lola Quivoron

Written by: Lola Quivoron & Pauline Ouvrard

Produced by: Margaux Juvenal

Director of Photography: Lucie Ternisien

Editor: Felix Rehm

Sound Design: Antoine Bertucci

Main Cast: Emile Berling, Stephane Lanneval, Loic Habert, Miglen Mirtchev

Synopsis: Between the walls of an ancient military fort, Johnny, a young boy, learns how to train and dominate Iron, his first guard dog.

THIS PLACE WE CALL OUR HOME

Krakow Short Film Nominee (Poland)

Denmark, documentary, 30′

Directed & Produced by: Thora Lorentzen & Sybilla Marie Wester Tuxen

Director of Photography: Thora Lorentzen & Sybilla Marie Wester Tuxen

Editor: Mik Stampe

Sound Design: Mathias Dehn

Original Score: Nikita Ogurtsov

Synopsis: A documentary film from Ukraine, summer 14. In this film war is an atmosphere, rather than journalistic facts. Through music we visit all layers of society. In the form of a poem we show how it feels when your country is in an invincible conflict.

Two friends on the floor

proud pine trees and current rivers

grenades without detonation.

In the staircase dust is dancing.

Women bring home sunflowers.

Deafening silent is Ukraine,

before the boys are leaving.

War is strange,

people try to make sense,

in this place we call our home.

“War” is normally understood as action, and the images we think of are the ones from a battlefield. In this film, “war” is something else. It is depicted as most people will experience it; something out of your control, far away from you, something you worry about. A worry you try to suppress, while trying to continue living. Something that might separate you from someone near to you. With a main focus on imagery over dialogue and with a fragmented storyline, the film depicts the conflict in Ukraine, and how it affects everyday life of those who stay at home; of those who are waiting.

DAY 2 (94′)

THE TRANSLATOR (ÇEVIRMEN)

Sarajevo Short Film Nominee (Bosnia & Herzegovina)

UK/Turkey, fiction, 23′

Written & Directed by: Emre Kayiş

Produced by: Oytun Kal

Director of Photography: Nick Cooke

Editor: Ricardo Saraiva

Production & Costume Design: Billur Turan

Sound Design: Raoul Brand

Main Cast: Sherko Ali (Yusuf), Gamze Kacak (Amina)

Synopsis: Yusuf, a Syrian refugee boy who lives in exile in a remote Turkish border town is chosen for his newfound power but he has to experience how to use it, at the cost of his innocence.

OVER

Bristol Short Film Nominee (United Kingdom)

UK, fiction, 14′

Written, Directed & Produced by: Jorn Threlfall

Director of Photography: Richard Mott

Editor: Amanda James

Production Design: Chris Lightburn-Jones

Costume Design: Lucy Hagan

Sound Design: Patch Rowland

Original Score: Lennert Busch

Animation: Jorn Threlfall

Main Cast: Jim Woods (Man)

Synopsis: OVER presents a crime scene. During the course of nine wide shots, told in reverse order, we witness an intriguing story unfold. What has happened in this quiet neighborhood? A murder, a hit-and-run, an accident? The reality is profound, and deeply unexpected.

The film has been selected for the competitive section of the 11th International Short Film Festival of Cyprus (ISFFC), and will premiere in Cyprus during the Festival on the 15/10/2016 – 21/10/2016, at Rialto Theatre, Limassol.

LISTEN (KUUNTELE)

Tampere Short Film Nominee (Finland)

Denmark/Finland, fiction, 13′

Written & Directed by: Hamy Ramezan & Rungano Nyoni

Produced by: Valeria Richter & Helene Granqvist

Director of Photography: Lars Vestergaard

Editor: Rikke Selin Lorentzen

Production Design: Jakob Stig Olsson

Costume Design: Camilla Nordbjerg

Sound Design: Thomas Jager

Original Score: Kristian Selin Eidnes Andersen

Main Cast: Zeinab Rahal (Mother), Amira Helene Larsen (As Translator), Alexandre Willaume (Policeman), Nanna Bottcher (Policewoman), Yusuf Kamal El-Ali (Son)

Synopsis: A foreign woman in a burqa brings her young son to a Copenhagen police station to get away from her abusive husband, yet the translator assigned to her seems unwilling to convey the true meaning of her words to the police, thus corrupting the truth of her terrible situation.

E.T.E.R.N.I.T.

Venice Short Film Nominee (Italy)

France, fiction, 14′

Directed by: Giovanni Aloi

Written by: Nicolo Galbiati

Produced by: Zangro Zangro &Baptiste Bauduin

Director of Photography: Andrea Baronne

Editor: Diego Schiavo

Sound Design: Giovanni Frezza

Original Score: Giorgino Maccarinelli

Main Cast: Serena Grandi, Ali Salhi

Synopsis: Italy, during the year 2015: Ali, a Tunisian immigrant working in asbestos removal receives the visa which will allow his wife and daughter to join him. To get ready to welcome his family, he must make a radical decision.

KUNG FURY

Vila do Conde Short Film Nominee (Portugal)

Sweden, fiction, 30′

Written & Directed by: David Sandberg

Produced by: Linus Andersson & Eleni Young

Director of Photography: Mattias Andersson,

Martin Gardemalm & Jonas Ernhill

Editor: Nils Mostrom

Sound Design: Patrik Oberg

Original Score: Mitch Murder

Animation: Fido Ab

Main Cast: David Sandberg (Kung Fury),Eleni Young (Barbarianna), Leopold Nilsson (Hackerman), Jorma Taccone (Hitler), Triceratops (Triceracops), Steven Chew (Dragon), Andreas Cahling (Thor), Helene Ahlson (Katana), Eos Karlsson (Red Ninja), Per-Henrik Arvidius (Chief)

Synopsis: Miami Police Department detective and martial artist Kung Fury time travels from the 1980s to World War II to kill Adolf Hitler, a.k.a. “Kung Fuhrer”, and revenge his friend’s death at the hands of the Nazi leader. An error in the time machine sends him further back to the Viking Age.

DAY 3 (92′)

SYMBOLIC THREATS

Grimstad Short Film Nominee (Norway)

Germany, documentary, 15′

Directed & Produced by: Mischa Leinkauf, Lutz Henke & Matthias Wermke

Sound Design: Alexander Heinze

Synopsis: Poetry or threat? An act of surrender or perhaps art? These were the theories that New York puzzled over last summer. How can one incident be interpreted in so many ways? By means of press reports, Symbolic Threats allows the public at large to express their extreme disparity of interpretation. Inspired by the heated debate over the two “White American Flags” that suddenly appeared on the towers of New York City’s iconic Brooklyn Bridge, the film asks what kind of societal scope art has in the present day. What happens when threatened freedom reinstates art with the element of danger? Who or what makes it into a threat? Are we safe in the city? What is next?

FIELD STUDY

Cork Short Film Nominee (Ireland)

UK, fiction, 20′

Directed by: Eva Weber

Written by: Line Langebek

Produced by: Julia Godzinskaya & Sophie Vickers

Director of Photography: Chloe Thompson

Editor: Tracy Granger A.C.E

Production Design: Dorota Borkowska & Agata Trojak

Costume Design: Emilia Czartoryska

Sound Design: Harry Barnes

Original Score: Stuart Earl

Main Cast: Bradley Hall (Martin), Magdalena Rożańska (Ewa), Olaf Marchwicki (Jacek), Slawomir Holland (Landlord)

Synopsis: Martin, a shy Englishman in his early 20s, is in Poland doing a field study on river pollution when he sees a woman and her son bathe in the river, a moment of pure joy. Later, he discovers that Ewa works at the guest-house he’s staying at and he warns them not to bathe in the river due to the pollution from the nearby factories. Jacek, Ewa’s son, helps Martin with his research and he becomes something of a father figure to him. As a thank you for letting Jacek help him out Ewa invites Martin for dinner before he is to return home to England. Martin misunderstands the invitation and at the end of the night, a little tipsy, he tries to kiss her – but is rejected. The next day he speaks to a lab technician in the UK about the samples he’s sent back for testing– there is some pollution but not where Ewa and Jacek have been swimming. When Ewa doesn’t show up for work and still hurting from the rejection Martin leaves without passing on the message that the river is fine to swim in.

PICNIC (Piknik)

Drama Short Film Nominee (Greece)

Croatia, fiction, 13′

Directed by: Jure Pavlović

Written by: Džejna Avdić & Jure Pavlović

Produced by: Luka Venturin & Jure Pavlović

Director of Photography: Almmir Fakić

Editor: Dragan Von Petrovic

Production Designer: Emina Sulejmani

Costume Designer: Emina Sulejmani

Sound Designer: Vladimir Božić

Main Cast: Emir Mušić (son), Aleksandar Seksan (father), Senad Alihodžić (social worker)

Synopsis: Sarajevo, rush hour. Emir (15), accompanied by a social worker, is on his way to meet his father Safet for a weekend picnic at Igman, a semi-open penitentiary. Due to the heavy traffic they are late…

SMILE, AND THE WORLD WILL SMILE BACK

Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Nominee (France)

Israel/Palestine, documentary, 20′

Directed By: Yoav Gross, Ehab Tarabieh & The Al-Haddad Family

Produced By: Yoav Gross, Ehab Tarabieh & Helen Yanovski

Editor: Yoav Gross & Ehab Tarabieh

Sound Design: Nimrod Eldar

Synopsis: One cold December night, Israeli soldiers come up to the al-Haddad family home in a Palestinian neighbourhood of Hebron and knock on the door. They’ve come to search the house.

Diaa, the teenage son, reaches for the family’s video camera. As the search unfolds, a strange power struggle evolves, pitting gun against camera. The night grows colder, and the soldiers take Diaa outside and order him to face the wall. They won’t leave until he stops smiling.

WASHINGTONIA

Ghent Short Film Nominee (Belgium)

Greece, fiction, 24′

Written & Directed by: Konstantina Kotzamani

Produced by: Artemis Pattakou

Director of Photography: Giorgos Karvelas & Giannis Kanakis

Editor: Leonidas Papafotiou

Production Design: Nefeli Livieratou

Costume Design: Kika Karampela

Sound Design: Persefoni Miliou

Original Score: Panou Manouilidis, Drog_A_Tek

Main Cast: Mamadou Diallo, Eutychia Stefanidou

Synopsis: WASHINGTONIA starts when the giraffe’s heart can no longer be heard.

WASHINGTONIA is an alternative name for Athens, a place where people, like animals, fall into summertime sadness because of the heat. WASHINGTONIA is the only palm tree that its heart is not devoured by the red beetle. Because its heart is small and dry and no one likes small and dry hearts.