STUDENT COMPETITION PROGRAM 1
Dodo
Germany, 2023, 12:36
Director: Yi Luo
School: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Dodo‘s father is a big blue bird. One day he flies away from the window, and hasn‘t come back. From then on, Dodo stops growing up.
The last man on Earth / Ostatni Człowiek na Ziemi
Poland, 2023, 04:04
Director: Joanna Żybul
School: National Filmschool in Lodz
Left alone in the world, the last survivor walks around an empty city, wondering what there is to come.
A Bone to pick with
Slovenia, 2022, 03:38
Director: Nika Karner
School: University of Nova Gorica School of Arts
What will Lan do while his world is slowly falling apart?
It’s snowing. / Il neige.
France, 2022, 04:50
Director: Lisa Elyakoubi
School: Atelier de Sèvre
Paris. Red alert: unprecedented snowfalls threaten to trap the city and disrupt everyday life. Estelle, sales demonstrator in a supermarket, has other ideas in mind.
Clotilde
Portugal, 2023, 04:00
Director: Maria João Lourenço
School: Central Saint Martins
On a planet where reproduction is mandatory in the daily life of its inhabitants, there is an alien who just wishes to pleasure herself.
The Nightlight
Serbia, 2022, 03:00
Director: Milica Ivanović
School: Faculty of Applied Arts
Two cubs sneak out of their den to explore the outside world on their own.
Under Cover
Croatia, 2023, 06:22
Director: Darian Bakliža
School: Academy of Fine Arts Zagreb
Set in school days, it is a story about boys who physically show their lack of understanding of someone who is different, and forcing such behavior to the limit.
Headprickles
Poland, 2022, 08:00
Director: Katarzyna Miechowicz
School: Polish National Film School in Łódź
If you are being bothered by intrusive thoughts, such as: How many plastic bags are optimal for packing one banana? What ensures victory in the skeleton competition? Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? Or Should I shower with my socks on? Will I face any consequences?, then - that's great!
“Headprickles” will give you an answer to at least one of these questions. The film consists of over a dozen animated engrams connected by the motif of being trapped in a loop of absurdity. In visually colorful labyrinth of observations, the protagonists try to make sense of nonsense - or they stay mindlessly in it. "Headprickles" probably won’t change the world, will not cause a shock or a revolution, but - maybe – it will make audience’s heads a little itchy during the projection?
Beauty
Spain, 2023, 03:22
Director: Aitana Belda Camós, Aroa Celdrán López
School: Universidad La Salle - Ramón Llull
A deer runs for its life in a forest awash with death.
DISLEKSIJA / Dyslexia
Serbia, 2023, 04:56
Director: Nataša Glišović
School: Faculty of Applied Arts
The girl's confrontation with her problem of reading and writing is manifested in a flock of letters that attack her.
Clinical Lycanthropy
Italy, 2022, 06:06
Director: Emilio Giacomelli, Francesco Pesiri
School: IED Milano
Ava suffers from a mental disorder that makes her perceive loved ones as menacing bears and herself as a goldfish. Her mind spirals out of control as her girlfriend Emma tries to take care of her.
Snail Away
Netherlands, 2023, 03:15
Director: Juliet Campfens
School: Aardman Academy
A city dweller is kept awake at night by a blinking sign. A snail in the window sill inspires a bold move. Snail Away is a stop motion animation short about an insomniac's solution for getting away from the busy city and back to nature, touching on themes of escapism, consumerism and environmentalism.
The Night / La Notte
Italy, 2023, 06:30
Director: Martina Generali, Simone Pratola, Francesca Sofia Rosso
School: Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, sede Piemonte - Dipartimento Animazione
Based on the concert RV 439 “La Notte” by A. Vivaldi. Carnival in Venice: Pulcinella attempts to slip into a VIP party, without too much success. Amidst lavish masks, food triumphs, dancing and sensual women, his dream of the rich and famous turns into a nightmare, revealing to him the priceless value of his simple but authentic life.
STUDENT COMPETITION PROGRAM 2
Friendly Fire
Israel, 2022, 06:20
Director:Tom Koryto Blumen
School: Department of Screen Based Arts Bezalel Academy of Arts Design
Next to the West Bank barrier, a soccer game between an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian boy deteriorates into an unequal battle.
Each frame was physically painted on the wall.
EASY BUSY
Russian Federation, 2022, 03:37
Director: Ekaterina Ganakh
School: SMF animation studio directing courses (workshop of M. Aldashin, A. Alekseev, I. Kovalev)
A story about how important it is to stay calm and not panic, even if you know that a fiery meteorite will fall on you in a minute.
Metamorphosis
Serbia, 2022, 04:00
Director: Katarina Kovjanić
School:Faculty of Technical Sciences
A short movie inspired by Franz Kafka's novel, telling the life story of Gregor Samsa, who suddenly woke up transformed into a cockroach.
Glass Fingers / Degete de sticlă
Romania, 2022, 06:58
Director: Alina Gheorghe
Škola/School: National University of Theatre and Film "I.L. Caragiale" in Bucharest
A woman gives shape to octopuses out of her own flesh. When she runs out of material she has to face what she has created.
Holes / Luknje
Slovenia, 2022, 06:35
Director: Sofiya Kruglikova
School: University of Ljubljana
Loneliness. Strong wind and aurora. What do you feel when you listen to the ocean or when an aurora takes you towards the storm? Fear? Are you losing yourself in this crazy environment? Can you eventually become a part of the whole universe and leave everything behind?
Stinky in the Dark Forest
Croatia, 2022, 10:52
Director: Sunčana Brkulj
School: Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb
Stinky is born from a flower into the Dark Forest. He explores it, growing in the process. When he takes on the responsibility of caring for another creature, he must come to terms with the fact that there is more to the forest than just fun and whimsy.
Merciful Angel
Serbia, 2023, 09:39
Director: Bettina Sremko
School: MOME
“Merciful Angel” is a short 9-minute animated documentary about the NATO airstrikes which occurred in 1999 in the former republic of Yugoslavia. We are able to get a glimpse of the events through the eyes of two young boys and their family. Through the combination of 3D animation and 2D rotoscopy, we are able to observe almost lifelike characters in a documentary manner, and dream sequences that are able to convey the fear that came with the war situation unfolding. The movie was inspired by interviews, in which the subjects participating were able to tell their own stories. These stories were then put together, building up to a visual narrative that's understandable even for those who never experienced a similar situation.
Out
Russian Federation, 2023, 01:58
Director: Sofia Perova
School: HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL
When the sound of the city merges and the fast rhythm starts to get on your nerves, it's time to turn the tide and go to a quiet place. "OUT" is a short animation about a man, tired of the hustle and bustle of city life, who is given a chance to escape from annoying car horns to the sea, where he finds peace.
Lights / Světla
Czech Republic, 2023, 08:26
Director: Jitka Nemikinsová
School: Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU)
Lightbulbs are throwing a party for growing up flames to welcome them in the system that will let them shine and protect them. But one flame likes to play with fire and rebels against the system.
Lucky's plan(e)t
Serbia, 2023, 04:53
Director: Marko Vasić
School: Faculty of Applied Arts
Dragan the dwarf goes to the meadow every morning where he ritually waters the flower, for years. But one day Dragan finds out that the dwarf Ljubomir took the flower in an unknown direction.
Groundskeeper
Turkey, 2023, 02:22
Director: Maya Ipekci
School: Ringling College of Art and Design
Groundskeeper is a story about a loving garden gnome couple who are set on a new journey when something unexpected happens to them.
Following The Soup / Sequitur pulmenti
Ukraine, 2023, 01:47
Director: Viktoria Sazonova
School: Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Karyi University of Theatre, Cinema and Television
The everyday life of people, including Anastasia, changes due to the sudden onset of active hostilities throughout the country. The story portrays the chronology of emotions experienced by the heroine and the people around her during the wartime events.
Matapacos
Germany, 2022, 06:56
Director: Karla Riebartsch, Lion Durst
School: Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
Based on the famous Chilean "Riot Dog" Negro Matapacos.
A stray dog gets to know María, a young protester. Together they radicalize. One day both go a step too far. They're being separated and María goes to jail. When she gets out her courage and will has left. But when she finds out that the dog kept going to protests until he died and furthermore got famous for it she takes new courage.
STUDENT COMPETITION PROGRAM 3
Vulvine the queen of ecstasy / Vulvine Reine d'Extase
France, 2022, 07:35
Director: Clémence Andre, Nawel Bahamou, Ming Chieh Chang, Théo Guyot, Mary Yanko
School: Gobelins
A Queen languishing in a desert kingdom falls in love with Death with whom she begins a carnal relationship. This morbid union becomes an obsession for her; an obsession that will lead the Queen to her end…
Hades
France, 2022, 05:32
Director: Théo Desharbes, Léa Monnot
School: Atelier de Sèvre
Hades, master of hell, is awakened by his hunger. He goes to the earth’s surface in search of his food ; the souls of the dead.
Tug of War Within
Serbia, 2023, 04:24
Director: Aleksa Pašić
School: Faculty of Applied Arts
The black and blue entities that represent our destructive and creative sides, doubts, insecurities, self-belief and self-confidence clash within us.
Chopping Wood Chips
United Kingdom, 2022, 03:23
Director: Rita Ataide Novais, Alize Sotelo
School: University of the Arts London, London College of Communication
What’s an IKEA table breaking point at the weight of a crumbling friendship? A cubist short about two friends, a lost table and its replacement.
Rotten Child / Rotkind
Netherlands, 2022, 07:42
Director: Anej Golčar
School: Willem de Kooning Academy
Sixty-something Harold still lives with his aged mother Hendrina and it is far from snug: the embittered mother puts her passion for vases above the love of her son and is very reproachful. This has made Harold believe he depends on her and is unable to make autonomous decisions. But then he hears another sound coming through the wall: the neighbors’ rebellious, recalcitrant adolescent son and this awakens Harold's desire to express himself too. Shortly after, his mother dies. What does this do to Harold?
Under The Endless Sky
Ukraine, 2022, 04:00
Director: Alexandra Dzhiganskaya
School: University of Applied Arts Vienna
“Our memories play an important role in the construction of identity and self-awareness. My childhood memories have acquired a special value for me since the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine, my home country. For many children, this time will become a formative memory. My childhood in Ukraine was different and I want to share it with the audience in the form of an animated short. In the film I tell a personal story about my childhood memories and explore how memories are preserved and why they have a special meaning for people.”
HEARTSICK RAVING
Serbia, 2023, 00:48
Director: Katarina Kovjanić
School: Akademija umetnosti Novi Sad
Visually represents how it feels living with heart arrhythmia, like an endless self-destructive rave. Looped, colors change in the rhythm of music, creating a psychedelic atmosphere on a pulsating heart. Heart and brain never stop suffering.
Martyr
France, 2022, 07:57
Director: Raoul FAURE
School: Atelier de Sèvre
The first years of Marcel’s life are very happy. He lives in maternal love, until Sophie’s birth. There, Marcel plunges into a spiral of loneliness and sadness.
A close shave / O mały włos
Poland, 2023, 01:17
Director: Zuzanna Zofia Heller
School: Łódź Film School
While shaving their legs, a certain person discovers a world about which they had no idea before.
RIM
Germany, 2022, 06:47
Director: Hagar Faibish
School: Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF
The isolation of a character from his dystopian world and a fusion with a virtual world of television. While trying to purchase a key that promises escape from his dreary outside world and free his mind, the character loses touch with his outer world bit by bit and diffuses with a TV program.
The long rain / La longue pluie
France, 2023, 05:08
Director: Cassandre Léonard
School: Émile Cohl
A continual rain falls on the jungle of mold in which Mérove has crashed. In search of a shelter, waterspouts and increasingly intrusive mushrooms will put the endurance of the astronaut to the test.
Oliver the Giant / Oliver, az óriás
Hungary, 2023, 08:14
Director: Júlia Lantos
School: Budapest Metropolitan University
Oliver, the giant, lives on a little planet. In his perception, the whole world is his playground,
where he can do what he wants. While he is living his trivial life, the little humans become
preoccupied with another matter of greatest importance: building a sun clock so they can
connect with the universe. This fully disturbs Oliver's life. Starting with the growling sound of
the universe, the appearance of a big shadow, he recognize his own pettiness, feels doomed,
and throws himself into space.
The Dog’s Leash / La Bride
Belgium, 2022, 03:48
Director: Nicolas Piret
School: ENSAV La Cambre
The bell tower rings and the birds fly away.
In the countryside on the outskirts of a small village, a dog tied to a very long rope, watches them disappear in the horizon.
It’s time for him to go;
Prance across fields;
How far will his rope allow him to go?
Above the clouds / Felhők felett
Hungary, 2022 13:32
Director: Vivien Hárshegyi
School: Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design
A young girl suddenly finds herself in love again. When she comes to realize this, she has to run away. A vortex takes her down to her past, where she has the opportunity to free her heart if she reinterprets the hell of her first love experience.
STUDENT COMPETITION PROGRAM 4
PATOPISTOU!
France, 2022, 06:18
Director: Célia Sebbane
School: Atelier de Sèvres
Patopistou is a jester who dreams of becoming a famous and respected sculptor.
Runner
Norway, 2022, 04:00
Director: Alicia Frøy Johnsen
School: University for the Creative Arts
Follow a runner through a stressfully average shift as she waits for not so average news that could lead her away from a life of dirty tables, shellfish platters and noisy patrons.
Breaking the ice
Croatia, 2023, 03:28
Director: Tara Klepac
School: Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb
Two seemingly different characters meet in an unusual way in a snowy desert. The destined meeting changes the lonely character’s life completely – he is alone no more. By working together, they conquer many obstacles and finally live together in the snowy desert which doesn’t look as empty as before.
Beyond Visible
Serbia, 2023, 10:15
Director: Dana Vukajlović
School: Faculty of Applied Arts
Four people are making a traditional print. They are working on different phases and techniques in printmaking and are so immersed in the process that they are each in their own imaginary place, overcoming different obstacles in order to make an artwork.
The Beating Sead / A Semente Que Palpita
Portugal, 2022, 04:34
Director: asa ( Marta Ribeiro ), Alice do Carmo, Laura Pires, Tiago Pimenta
School: Universidade do Algarve
Two energies that exchange glances, yield to a passion that vibrates in harmony. Both are transmuted, revealing themselves as witnesses that with a gesture of love it is possible to deserve the world.
Shadow
Serbia, 2023, 06:00
Director: Lidija Zeljić
School: Faculty of Applied Arts
A story about two rabbits in which one spoils the peace of the other, but who is really to blame?
Eyes
United Kingdom, 2021, 06:40
Director: Hwanyi Kim
School: Royal College of Art
The film is about a girl who has social anxiety. She suffers from a mental disorder called “Scopophobia” - the fear of making eye contact with others.
She is trying to overcome fear from the past and, in that way, figure out the trigger point. Her symptom is unusual but the events that cause her to feel fear could happen to all of us at any time.
The film conveys a message to people who are suffering from social anxiety as well as people around them that social anxiety is common and it could happen to anyone. It is important to get to know the unheard.
The Loop / Brimkata
Bulgaria, 2022, 06:00
Director: Elena Delcheva
School: New Bulgarian University
A young woman who always strives to be perfect at everything, finds a little loop in her sweater and her day goes to hell.
The Current
Germany, 2023, 04:15
Director: Julia Alena Schneider
School: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
THE CURRENT metaphorically portrays how a perfectionist with low self-esteem can experience criticism of his creative work: While various points of criticism are enumerated during a feedback session, a small rabbit sinks deeper and deeper into a self-destructive thought vortex of self-doubt and misinterpretation.
Delirium
Serbia, 2023, 04:25
Director: Darija Lazić
School: Faculty of Applied Arts
Two drunks are sitting at the bar in a tavern. The waitress serves them drinks. While drinking, they start competing to see who can drink more. Their competition becomes chaotic.
The Juggler’s Guide
Estonia, 2023, 03:26
Director: Rebeka Kruus
School: Estonian Academy of Arts
A talented juggler's life takes a sudden twist when his treasured juggling balls are stolen. Determined to retrieve his cherished possessions, he embarks on an adventure, aided by acrobatic rabbits, dancing frogs and some shocking truths about his own existence.
This will not be a festival film
Poland, 2022, 08:00
Director: Julia Orlik
School: Polish National Film School in Łódź
A tale of a girl who studied animation and spent four years without a day of vacation.
An animated short about a film school student who is working on her graduation film.