A collection of documentary Shorts that look at people, and the space around them. While these adventures and people may normally be seen as being in the background, these Shorts aim to bring them to the forefront of our view.
Dildotectonics
Nominated for Best Documentary Short
Original Title: Dildotectónica | Director: Tomás Paula Marques | Portugal | 2023 | 16 Minutes
Content warning: Sexual content
In this day and age, Rebeca attempts to create a collection of non-phallic ceramic dildos. During the Inquisition, Josefa finds a dildo that is used in their forbidden love relationship with Maria. Although in different timelines, the paths of Rebeca and Josefa end up crossing each other.
Cast: Rebeca Letras, Inês Pinheiro Torres, Maria João Calisto, João Abreu
Writer: Rebeca Letras, Tomás Paula Marques | Producer: Tomás Paula Marques | Director of Photography: Tomás Paula Marques | Editor: Jorge Jácome | Music: Maria Inês Gonçalves, Rodrigo Vaiapraia
The Poem We Sang
Nominated for Best Documentary Short
Original Title: غنينا قصيدة | Director: Annie Sakkab | Canada/Palestine/Jordan | 2024 | 20 Minutes
An experimental documentary that meditates on love and longing – the love of one’s family and the longing for one’s home, contemplated through overcoming the trauma of loss of family home and of forced migration, transforming lifelong regrets into a healing journey of creative catharsis and bearing witness.
Cast: Celina Sakkab, Hanna Sakkab
Writer: Annie Sakkab, Paul Lee | Producer: Annie Sakkab, Paul Lee | Director of Photography: Annie Sakkab | Editor: Annie Sakkab | Music: Tareq Jundi
A Body Called Life
Nominated for Best Documentary Short
Director: Spencer MacDonald | United States/Switzerland/Poland | 2023 | 15 Minutes | International Premiere
A self-isolated human delves into the hidden world of microscopic organisms, forging a tender connection with these nearly invisible creatures and developing a massive online following, as he seeks to understand his own place in the cosmos and accept the scars of his past.
Cast: James Weiss
Writer: Spencer MacDonald, James Weiss | Producer: Pascal Duschletta | Director of Photography: Fabian Kimoto | Editor: Spencer MacDonald | Music: Dan Deacon
Nominated for Best Documentary Short
Rakhne
Director: Emilija Škarnulytė | Lithuania | 2023 | 7 Minutes | World Premiere
Data is not an abstract concept. It is an object on Earth. As the limitations of data retention in normal environments become more apparent, given the exponential growth of data created, entities that control cloud servers seek more and more novel means of storage. The deep oceanic environment is paradoxical. It offers temperature control, predictable patterns, and insulation from human error and the seasonal vicissitudes of climate above mean sea level. It is also a black box. Without close human contact, subject to unknown risks, ranging from marine fouling by invertebrate lifeforms and chemical reactions to unpredictable seismic events, new vulnerabilities emerge.
Writer: Emilija Škarnulytė | Producer: Emilija Škarnulytė | Director of Photography: Emilija Škarnulytė | Editor: Vytautas Tinteris | Music: Jokūbas Čižikas
Notes From a Sea Voyage
Original Title: Σημειώσεις από ένα Θαλάσσιο Ταξίδι | Director: Argyris Germanidis | Greece/Germany | 2023 | 11 Minutes | UK Premiere
The passenger regularly consults the name written on his ticket. He wants to make sure he is not travelling in somebody else’s place.The scenery remains unchanged. The same chain of islets, the same shores, the same mountains of the mainland. The ship is drifting around in circles.
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Writer: Argyris Germanidis | Producer: Argyris Germanidis, Katerina Strauch | Director of Photography: Argyris Germanidis | Editor: Argyris Germanidis | Music: Argyris Germanidis
for here am i sitting in a tin can far above the world
Nominated for Best Documentary Short
Director: Gala Hernandez Lopez | France | 2024 | 19 Minutes | European Premiere
A woman dreams of the American cryptographer Hal Finney. A major economic crisis affects the cryptocurrency market, tens of thousands of people are cryogenized awaiting better times. Are they suspended or falling into the void? What strange relationship do we have with the future?
Cast: Olivia Delcán, Joseph Grossi
Writer: Gala Hernandez Lopez | Producer: Quentin Brayer, Yannick Beauquis | Director of Photography: Gala Hernandez Lopez | Editor: Gala Hernandez Lopez | Music: Diego Delgado
Anyuka
Director: Maya Erdelyi | USA | 2023 | 20 Minutes
Interweaving super 8 family films, archival material and experimental animation; a granddaughter takes a deep dive into the remarkable life of her indomitable grandmother—a writer, WWII refugee and Holocaust survivor. Anyuka (Hungarian for mother) explores the story of a tragic and marvellous life across continents.
Cast: Veronica Foldes Frame, John Frame, Matthew Erdelyi, Maya Erdelyi, & various family members
Writer: Maya Erdelyi, Veronica Foldes Frame, Matthew Erdelyi | Producer: Marga Varea (Impact Producer) | Director of Photography: Veronica Foldes Frame, John Frame, & Maya Erdelyi | Editor: Monica Cohen, Daniel Rowe, Maya Erdelyi | Music: Colleen, Laraaji, Odeya Nini, TitleCard
