WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER – CLOSE-UP CINEMA, SHOREDITCH
7:30 pm to 10:30 pm OPENING NIGHT – “ADVENTURES IN SHORTS 1” and NETWORKING DRINKS
Q&A with some of the filmmakers followed by networking in the Close-Up Bar.
AIRHOSTESS – 737 – by Thanasis Neofotistos (Greece)
On a plane, an amusingly tense flight attendant complains to a colleague about her late mother’s neglect. Ironically the mother’s dead body is onboard. Is a violent storm their last chance to reconcile?
LIVE – by Mara Tamkovich (Poland)
A true story of two female journalists from a Belarusian TV station who are reporting live on a peaceful demonstration in Minsk. When it is brutally shut down by the police, they realise they’re next.
MEETING WITH MR SAMUEL – by Rob Leggatt (United Kingdom)
After a life-changing incident in a pub toilet, loveable rogue and absent father, Christian Stoner wakes to find himself in God only knows where.
WUSS – by Nadine Wilson (United Kingdom)
When his cherished cat goes missing, a young boy embarks on a relentless journey to find his beloved pet and heal from the hurt of an absent father.
THE BRAVE LOCOMOTIVE – by Andrew Pierce Chesworth (United States)
An Old West musical tale with 1940s flair about a mighty little train facing harrowing disaster.
MOTHER OF MINE – by Jesse Lewis-Reece (United Kingdom)
In the midst of a tragedy, David is faced with a burden he can’t quite grasp.
CULICIDAE – by Greg Moran (Australia)
A late-night intrusion leads to a life and death struggle.
GRANDPA’S YARD – by Chenxu Zhang (China)
Several reincarnations in the yard where the love of the family becomes an eternal inheritance across time.
TALKING HEAD – by Paul Blake (United Kingdom)
After stumbling onto a film news interview set, ‘Tony’ is forced to pretend he’s the actor they’re expecting. Will the interviewer even notice?
THURSDAY 23 NOVEMBER – CLOSE-UP CINEMA, SHOREDITCH
8 pm – 10:30 pm MUSIC SHORTS, DOCUMENTARIES and NETWORKING
A short collection of visually stunning music shorts, followed by two eye-opening documentaries, and concluding with networking in the Close-Up Bar.
DREAMS – by Samantha Scafiddi (United States)
A visual journey of tongue-in-cheek commentary about humanity’s route to self-destruction through the eyes of the moon.
CREMANTIQUE – by Remy Powell Lamont (United Kingdom)
A supernatural exploration of isolation, sleep paralysis, and that haunting carnival of late-night anxious thoughts.
MAD FOX – CINERAMA – by Matt (Mad Fox) Fulks (United States)
A clever recreation of 30 of cinema’s most memorable moments. How many can you count?
OLD FLAMES – by Fugitives (Canada)
A haunting portrayal of a recovering addict learning to live with her demons.
SIDUS TAURUS – ZEITGEIST – by Viktoria Udina and Alexander Perkov (Norway, Russia)
We tend to forget about important and eternal things in times of hostility and manmade horror.
iCARE – by Bruno Urzi (United Kingdom)
A light-hearted, poignant look at bereavement, robots and A.I.
TRAPPED – by Mohamed Maged (Kuwait and United States)
When we are trapped in a present where the past looks like the future, we wonder if it’s karma. Can we ever be totally redeemed?
GRAVE HUNTER (Documentary) – by Lena Murganova (Russian Federation)
Military pensioner Vitaliy Votanovskiy has found and recorded 45% more graves of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine, than there are deaths recorded in official publications. He has had to leave Russia.
MY BROTHER BOB (Documentary) – by Will Norman (United Kingdom)
A family learn ways of deriving great pleasure from small moments in their journey caring for Bob whose severe seizures have left him unable to walk or talk.
FRIDAY 24 NOVEMBER – THE SOHO HOTEL CINEMA
8 pm – 10 pm SHORT FILM COMPETITION “Adventures in Shorts 2”
The Best Collection of Short Films available this year. Part of the highly prestigious UK Film Festival Shorts Competition.
PERSPECTIVES – by Neer Shelter (Australia)
Based on a true story, a young soldier suspects a man on an Israeli bus of being a suicide bomber. She must choose between the other passengers’ lives and a potentially innocent man.
WILL MY PARENTS COME TO SEE ME – by Mo Harawe (Austria, Germany and Somalia)
An experienced Somali policewoman accompanies a young inmate through the procedures of the Somali justice system.
CIRCLE OF TRUST – by Victor Nyaker (Sweden)
Having connected on the internet, two people meet in a gym for a different sort of date. Funny, offbeat and life affirming.
SKELETONS – by Richard Hunter (United Kingdom)
An ageing sex line worker attempts to escape a loveless marriage after she falls head over heels with ‘something’ totally unexpected and inappropriate.
OUR MALES AND FEMALES – by Ahmad Alyaseer (Jordan)
A father and mother are faced with the painful task of washing their deceased transgender daughter.
COCK – by Robin Jensen (Norway)
Two sweaty men end up at odds with each other in a crowded sauna. A short film about prejudice, politics and cock.
PAPA – NOTES ON LIFE AND DEATH – by Andreas Boggild Monies (Denmark)
In this world, there are two ultimate states. One is when we’re born. The other is when we die. And sometimes the two meet.
SATURDAY 25 NOVEMBER – THE SOHO HOTEL CINEMA
7 to 10 pm – UK Premiere of the Feature Film “DAMAGE” followed by AWARDS CEREMONY and AFTER PARTY
DAMAGE – by Madeleine Blackwell. Produced by Peter Thurmer, Sharon Cleary and Shaun Miller (Australia)
Ali is not a citizen. He drives a taxi using another man’s license and relies on the GPS to negotiate his way around a city he doesn’t know. His passenger, Esther is an old woman who can’t remember where she is going. What they have in common is their damage – she can’t remember, and he can’t forget.
SHORTS AND DOCS AWARDS CEREMONY
9:15 pm AFTER PARTY – Venue TBA
SUNDAY 26 NOVEMBER – THE SOHO CINEMA
7:30 – 9:30 pm Sneak Preview – Cast and Crew screening of “A RARE GRAND ALIGNMENT” followed by a Q&A.
Q&A to follow with director Cinqué Lee, Producer Ann Carli and four stars of the film, Roman Griffin Davis, Felix Jamieson, Charlie Price and Samuel Small.
A RARE GRAND ALIGNMENT – directer / writer Cinqué Lee (USA) Producers Ann Carli, Mikko Kodisoja, John Einar Hagen. Executive Producer – Spike Lee.
In the winter of 1982 three American boys find themselves stranded in a cable car with a dead body mid-air in the mountains of Norway, during a rare celestial event. What they are about to discover will affect their lives forever.