International Shorts 4: Documentary
Some of the greatest innovations and blurring of cinematic boundaries have been occurring in the most recent years in the documentary genre. This programme contains films that present the topic of self-harm and suicide, but also capture the beauty and wonder of everyday experiences.
Modern Speed tries to separate the entangled sense of confusion and youthful bravado. Voice of the Land is the latest offering from the exciting Brazil-Irish filmmaking duo Bárbara Wagner and Benjamin de Burca, who we featured as part of our collaboration with the National Sculpture Factory in 2022. Loveboard presents a very modern found footage tale of love and loss. Calls is an equally modern trawl through the human condition in the pressure cooker environment of an emergency call centre. And Aqueronte is a pure cinematic treat, which will have the audience floating in the same liminal space as the film’s subjects.
MODERN SPEED
Mats Christian Rude Halvorsen | 2023 | 17 mins | Norway | Subtitled
Modern Speed is a film about the ghosts among us and the ghosts in our own lives.
VOICE OF THE LAND
Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca | 2023 | 20 mins | Brazil | Subtitled
A film developed around Coletivo Banzeiros, a theatre group in the north of Brazil formed by members of the Landless Workers' Movement engaged in forms of education and political militancy.
APOSTLES OF CINEMA (TENZI ZA SINEMA)
Darragh Amelia, Gertrude Malizana, Jesse Gerard Mpango, Cece Mlay / 2023 / 16 mins / 2023 / Subtitled
A journey in the company of three devoted film workers through the labyrinth of informal libraries, studios, and cinemas that exist to keep film and film culture alive in Tanzania.
CALLS
Ming-Wei Chiang | 2022 | 18 mins | Poland | Subtitled
The emergency call center 112 receives numerous phone calls every day. The operators take care of and connect with various outside situations as well as within the office, meanwhile setting boundaries and dealing with their own emotions.
AQUERONTE
Manuel Muñoz Rivas | 2023 | 26 mins | Spain | Subtitled
On board a ferry, a series of passengers cross a river from one riverbank to the other. Some of the travelers wrap themselves in silence and observe the unfamiliar fellow travelers or contemplate the scenery. Some others chat, perhaps to liven up the voyage and speed up time.
All films are eligible for the Grand Prix Documentary Short Award.
