International Shorts 1

We present four magnificent shorts whose strong visual aesthetics and bold presentation of their themes will make for an impactful screening. Mast-del’s haunting found footage assemblage taken from Iranian films explores forbidden desires in that country. Like her previous short, Counterfeit Kunkoo (CIFF2018), Reema Maya’s brilliantly composed Nocturnal Burger plays out against a patriarchal Indian bureaucratic background. Here, a seedy Mumbai police station is the setting for her delicately told and complex drama. 

Having screened a number of Sylvia Schedelbauer’s experimental films, Oh, Butterfly!, which is rooted in her German and Japanese heritage, is her most sensuous and perhaps most beautiful yet. A visual and aural treat. We end with a high octane mix of live action and animation in Czech animation scene’s rising star Daria Kashcheeva’s latest offering. A winner at Toronto International Film Festival, Electra takes a sardonic look at the Electra Complex. 

MAST-DEL [D]

Maryam Tafakory | 2023 | 17 mins | Iran 

A love song that would never pass through the censors, Mast-del is about forbidden bodies and desires, both inside and outside post-revolution Iranian cinema.

NOCTURNAL BURGER 

Reema Maya | 2023 | 27 mins | India, USA | Subtitled

When a 13-year-old girl and a 30-something man are brought into a dysfunctional Mumbai police station, the promise of a burger morphs into a mordant investigation of child abuse.

OH, BUTTERFLY!

Sylvia Schedelbauer | 2022 | 20 mins | Germany | Subtitled

An imaginary cassette tape repeats a famous piece of music in self-referential loops.

ELECTRA

Daria Kashcheeva | 2023 | 26 mins | Czech Republic | Subtitled

Electra rethinks her 10th birthday, mixing memories with dreams and hidden fantasies. Is our memory just fiction? Or a myth?

[D] denotes eligible for Grand Prix Documentary Short Award.

All films are eligible for the Grand Prix International Short Award.