A Long Day of Shorts

Keep your eyes and ears wide open

This program will surprise both by the variety of themes and visual aesthetics but also by the richness of the sound of these six short films. Voice-over, music or sounds will accompany, guide and move the spectators in a particular way during each of these films.

Bethlehem 2001

Ibrahim Handal, the cinematographer of the Palestinian short film Ambiance, selected and awarded at the Cinéfondation last year, is this time behind the camera as director for the short movie Bethlehem 2001. Filming his country, Palestine, and more precisely the city of Bethlehem, Handal invites us to accompany the reminiscences of his character (or those of the filmmaker) during the total blockade of Bethlehem imposed by the Israeli army in 2001. If a child appears in the image, it is indeed the voice-over of a young man who has grown up since then who discusses, among other things, the relationship with his parents in this very particular context. In addition to the sensitive writing of the voice-over, spectators will have the pleasure of hearing the voice of the famous Lebanese singer Ahmad Kaabour.

Trou Noir

Trou Noir by director Tristan Aymon, a graduate of the ECAL in Switzerland, surprises with this ode to youth, friendship and the difficulty of leaving the place where one grew up to study or work elsewhere. The young actors are energetic and touching, while the music repeatedly conveys the melancholy of the characters. When the main protagonist explores a dark place, the film's famous « Trou Noir », the sound of his footsteps and the matches he uses seem to fill the space and guide him towards the light.

Burnt. Land of Fire

The documentary Burnt. Land of Fire by Swiss director Ben Donateo reveals the magnificent landscapes of Southern Italy and a village deserted by the younger generation. The old inhabitants are still there, and a voiceover guides us to meet them. The film lingers on faces but also leaves the viewer free to listen to the sounds of nature that accompany the daily life of this village and make it come alive every day. Nature and the inhabitants seem to participate together in a heritage that will be remembered. 

I ran from it and was still in it

I ran from it and was still in it, directed by American artist and filmmaker Darol Olu Kae -also known for his writing and research work with Kahlil Joseph- impresses with its original and sensitive editing as well as the beauty of the mobilized archives. The filmmaker's musical choices, particularly that of J. Cole, appear as an essential element of the film that magnifies the emotions felt during its viewing. The specific artistic, political and aesthetic power, which emerges from this short film, leads us to a single wish: to discover the next films of this director and artist.

Ta Cong An Chu Lai

After her film Lunar Dial, selected at IFFR Rotterdam festival in 2017, Chinese director Gao Yuan surprises us with her new wonderful short film Ta Cong An Chu Lai. The filmmaker develops an extremely original technique mixing animation and her acrylics on canvas. In surrealistic and phantasmagorical settings, the music and sound also amplify the dreamlike allure of this incomparable film, which can only amaze the spectators.

The End of Suffering (a Proposal)

Previous films by Greek director Jacqueline Lentzou have already met with great success at festivals, having been selected at Cannes Critics’ Week, Berlinale, TIFF and also Locarno. In her new short film, The End of Suffering (A Proposal), Lentzou offers us an experimental form as well as an aesthetic but also sonorous journey to another planet. A digital sound is transformed here into the voice of an invisible character who guides the spectators and invites them to look beyond their own universe.

Undoubtedly, the audacity of the visual, aesthetic, musical and sound choices of these films in this program will leave a sweet and sensitive memory in the spectators' minds.

Charlotte Corchète
Selection Commitee