The second of our Pardi di domani screenings presents an intimate insight on experiences and relationships that are different to our own, exploring grief, loss, disappointment, confession, friendship and love in all it’s absurd forms.
Satire is a familiar subject for Thai filmmaker, Sorayos Prapapan, and as seen in his award winning 2017 film, Death of the Sound Man, he has a track record of giving volume to the unheard voices of an industry that leaves so many behind, yet he does this with a playful and humorous approach. With his new film, Dossier of the Dossier, he turns the camera on himself, or at least a version of himself. The struggle is real for short filmmakers, Prapapan exposes the callous disregard for a young creative as he navigates his journey into the disheartening and judgemental world of filmmaking.
We remain with the concept of shining a spotlight on those unrepresented with Fakhri El Ghezal’s Ahlou al Kahef (Companions of the Cave), a lyrical and poetic artistic document recounting the journey of two Tunisian rappers, their solitude, memories and reunited companionship. Shot on 8mm as part of the Rosa Luxemburg Siftung’s ’10 views on Migration’, designed to encourage alternative viewpoints on African migration in an attempt to look beyond the stereotypes and at the realities of refugees and migrants.
US animator Danski Tang presents an honest and intimate exposé. Umbilical is a contrast of surreal, morphing forms against a voiceover of mother and daughter discussing abusive relationships, Chinese taboos regarding abortion and trying to protect those you love by keeping our innermost thoughts and experiences to ourselves.
Grief impacts us in ways for which we can never prepare. After losing his father and needing all he earns to pay for the funeral, the protagonist in Anton Sazonov’s Otpusk (Leave of Absence), reaches the depths of despair which drive him to the unthinkable. Sazonov creates a sense of helplessness, where responsibility and commitment are all too unbearable.
Short films often present a fraction of time, a moment that passes briefly, leaving a mark in the sand. In Un matin d'été (A Summer Morning), Patrick Muroni captures just that using tight framing and lack of focus to create a hedonistic party atmosphere, in contrast to the loaded silence between two companions on a slow, reluctant dawn walk back to reality.
Man (or woman’s) love of cats bemuses me at the best of times but the world created in Lasse Linder’s fascinating Nachts sind alle Katzen Grau (All Cats are Grey in the Dark), which seems to straddle between documentary and fiction, is to be admired. With a style similar to Roy Anderson, Linder captures a unique experience between man and cat as they prepare to become a family. This relationship is a spectacle to behold, leaving the audience uplifted, emotional and slightly envious.