DANCING IN MY SADNESS (FRANCE) BY CASUAL AFFAIRS

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Trailer

Synopsis: A dark hip-hop song and its animated music video that tells the common story of a traffic stop going downhill, involving a young Black man and a White police officer. Running time: 00:04:05.

Selections/awards: Miami Independent FF, Montreal International Black FF, Aphrodite Film Awards (Best Under 5 Minute Short Film), Urban Mediamaker FF (Best International Music Video), Sabira Cole Film Festival (Best Short Film), Toronto Independant FF of Cift (Best Social Justice Short), and more.

About the director: Casual Affairs is a French electronic music duo formed in 2018 by two friends with backgrounds in arts, design and cinema. For their first single, they joined forces with Sacramento rapper Chuuwee on this dark animated short.

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MAMMA (NORWAY) BY ASLAK DANBOLT

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Synopsis: It’s Christmas Eve, and Synnøve is searching for her drug-addicted daughter Michelle in an almost desolated city. (Synnøve and Michelle are mother and daughter in real life and play versions of themselves in a story that is very close to their own lives.) Running time: 00:15:00.

Selections/awards: Aesthetica Short FF, Brussels Independent FF, Norwegian Short FF, Ankara Accessible FF (Best Film Award, Best Director Award), Bergen IFF, Hong Kong Arthouse FF, and more.

About the director: Aslak Danbolt is a Norwegian filmmaker who lives and works out of Oslo, Norway. He studied Documentary Directing at Lillehammer University College and later attended The London Film School. His grad film 'Last Base', was selected for more than 120 festivals (including Tribeca, Chicago & Slamdance) and won numerous awards. He directed the documentary series 'Petter Uteligger – 52 dager på gata i Oslo' (2015), which was nominated for 5 Norwegian Golden Screen Awards 2016, winning Documentary Series and Audience Award.

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SNAKE DICK (USA) BY DAVID MAHMOUDIEH

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Synopsis: Jill's got the snake. Julia's got the flute. Alone, they have nothing. But together, they have a secret weapon to fight the darkness... Running time: 00:07:47.

Selections/awards: South London International FF (Winner Best International Short Film), Salem Horror Fest (Winner Audience Award), Venice Film Week, British Horror FF, Brussels Independent FF, and more.

About the director: David is half-Iranian and half-British-French-Canadian. He began his career as a trainee AD on productions including 'X-Files', 'The Outer Limits' and 'Batman Begins'. He won the ECU Screenwriting Contest with his spec script, 'Rain', now in active development as an 8-part mini-series with Neve Campbell attached to star and produce. He was recently hired by creators of Star Trek to write and direct the adaptation of their graphic novel, 'Worth'.

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THE PSYCHLIST (NORWAY) BY MARTIN A. WALTHER

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Trailer

Synopsis: When his daughter died under tragic events just 11 months old, the bicycle became the only rescue for Per. Running time: 00:08:00.

Selections/awards: Brussels Independent FF, Sydney World FF (Best Documentary Short), Viewpoint Documentary FF, Hong Kong Arthouse FF, and more.

About the director: Martin A. Walther (1986) comes from Trondheim, Norway. He has a BA in film science from the University of Trondheim and a BA in documentary directing from University of Lillehammer. After finishing his education he worked as a teacher for three years before returning to directing film. The documentary short “Train Robbers” was his directorial debut. The film was an international success at film festival, winning several prices, and was selected for the international competition at Clermont Ferrand. 'The Psychlist' is his second film.

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FRANK & EMMET (USA) BY CARLOS F. PUERTOLAS

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Trailer

Synopsis: 'Frank & Emmet' tells the story of two life-long friends and show-business partners who, after weeks of drifting apart, sit together to have a much-needed conversation. Their friendly dialogue takes a turn when they address head-on the one thing they’ve never talked about: one of them is a puppet. Starring Paul Eiding (Ben 10, The Incredibles 2), Brian Michael Jones (Mank, Muppets Most Wanted), and Arabella Grant (Fuller House, Timeless). Running time: 00:12:07.

Selections/awards: Flickers' Rhode Island IFF, LA Latino IFF, Short to the Point Int Short FF (Best Drama), Roving Eye IFF, Phoenix FF, Borrego Springs FF (Best Short Film), Providence Children's FF, Chicago Int Children's FF, and more.

About the director: Spanish Director and Animator Carlos Puertolas launched his animation career at the age of 18 and got his big breakthrough when he was offered a position at Dreamworks Animation. He worked as an animator on movies such as “Shrek,” “Madagascar,” “Megamind”. Carlos was Head of Animation on the Oscar-nominated film “The Boss Baby” and most recently on the critically acclaimed franchise “Trolls”.

SCARS (CANADA) BY ALEX ANNA

Trailer

Synopsis: Alex Anna’s body is a canvas : her scars come to life to tell a new story of self-harming. Live action and animation intertwine in this short and poetic documentary, both intimate and universal. Running time: 00:10:00.

Selections/awards: Brussels Independent FF, Hong Kong Arthouse FF, Toronto Arthouse FF (Best Documentary Short Film), Ghent Viewpoint Documentary FF, and more.

About the director: Alex Anna is a director and script supervisor in love with cinematographic language and words in all their beauty. As a queer and feminist filmmaker, she signed her first short film “The Fruit of Our Womb” in 2017 (as Laurie Mannessier), and uses art as a way to fight for a better world.

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BEFORE THE EARTHQUAKE (SWEDEN) BY GUSTAV HUGO OLSSON

Synopsis: A man at a restaurant tells his girlfriend a weird story about that he once in his life have had exactly the same feeling as now. That time the whole world started to shake. The girlfriend gets uncomfortable about his behaviour and the story that really doesn't make much sense. They continue their conversation and the table starts to rattle... Running time: 00:06:51.

About the director: Gustav Hugo Olsson is a Swedish award-winning director, producer, screenwriter, filmmaker and editor with over 10 years of experience in film productions in various sizes and genres.

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BEFORE WE COLLIDE (UK) BY GUY GOOCH, GREGOR PETRIKOVIC

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Synopsis: Before We Collide is a short film shot on a Nishika N8000 analog lenticular camera consisting of over 800 photographs pieced together. In a haunting encounter, the film captures our fragmented perception of time during the pandemic while exploring the dynamics of mutual support. The film does not give the impression that it is made for me, you, or anyone for that matter. It simply exists as an artifact that can be witnessed, like found footage of a ghostly apparition. Running time: 00:01:10.

Selections/awards: Super Shorts London FF, Brussels Independent FF, Hong Kong Arthouse FF, and more.

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CABIN BAN (NORWAY) BY FINN WALTHER

Synopsis: To battle the Covid-19 outbreak the Norwegian government bans people from traveling to their countryside cabins. This gives a burglar the perfect opportunity. Running time: 00:01:09.

Selections/awards: South London FF (Winner Covid-19-inspired Short), Night of Comedy Shorts (Best Comedy).

About the director: Documentary filmmaker born and bred in Norway. Finn has made several award winning shorts and in 2019 started the production company Walther Bros with his filmmaker brother, Martin Walther.

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NEIGHBOUR (GEORGIA) BY DAVID BORCHKHADZE

Synopsis: The quiet life of Beso and his daughter is suddenly disrupted when neighbouring workers damage the wall of their house. Running time: 00:30:00.

Selections/awards: Brussels Independent FF, Sydney World FF, Hong Kong Arthouse FF, Super Shorts NY&LA, and more.

About the director: David Borchkhadze has been working around sets since the age of 16. He worked as editor at almost all TV channels in Georgia, and later directed episodes on several TV shows, including one of the first reality shows in Georgia. He also has been independently shooting the biggest commercials in Georgia, totaling over 300 commercials. He directed an episode of the film “Tbilisi Love Story” and soon after shot his first independent feature film ,“Seazone” in 2010. In 2019, he shot the first interactive 3-hour commercial film in Georgia, “Arena”.

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