OFFICAL SELECTION OF SHORT FILMS 14 PFF

Day 1 (123′)

[9.6 / 18:00] MONTANEA

[9.6 / 18:00] MONTANEA

[9.6 / 18:00] QUARTER OF AN HOUR

[9.6 / 18:00] QUARTER OF AN HOUR

[9.6 / 18:00] THE SHIFT

[9.6 / 18:00] THE SHIFT

[9.6 / 18:00] THE BEADS

[9.6 / 18:00] THE BEADS

[9.6 / 18:00] MADDEN

[9.6 / 18:00] MADDEN

[9.6 / 18:00] SILHOUETTE

[9.6 / 18:00] SILHOUETTE

[9.6 / 18:00] HIGHWAY OF A BROKEN HEART

[9.6 / 18:00] HIGHWAY OF A BROKEN HEART

[9.6 / 18:00] BIG BANG

[9.6 / 18:00] BIG BANG

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[9.6 / 18:00] MONTANEA
9.6 (Sunday) 18.00 Cinematheque (free screening)
MONTANEA [2023]
dir. Charlotte Louis, FR, 15’

The debut short film "Montanea" by the young French director Charlotte Louis is a film-philosophical essay that touches on essential philosophical topics: life and death. The impressive acting of Denis Lavant and Phénix Brossard, the refined visual poetics, and the evocative musical illustration of the talented Jean-Benoît Dunckel create a deeply metaphorical setting upon which Louis skillfully shapes his own existential reflections on the essence of human temporal existence, on the eternal cycle of elusive changes, and on the terrifying certainty of death.
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[9.6 / 18:00] QUARTER OF AN HOUR
9.6 (Sunday) 18.00 Cinematheque (free screening)
QUARTER OF AN HOUR [Cuarto de Hora, 2023]
dir. Sebastián Nemo Arancibia, CL / FR, 15’

The short film "Quarter of an Hour" tells the story of Alex, a young man from Haiti who lives in Chile without documents and does not speak Spanish. One night, while delivering newspapers with his car, he had a terrible accident. Daniela, a French-speaking bystander, agrees to help rescue crews transport Alex to the nearest clinic. Soon, in the ambulance, a heartbreaking immigrant story begins to unfold.

The film premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival as part of the Official Short Film Selection.
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[9.6 / 18:00] THE SHIFT
9.6 (Sunday) 18.00 Cinematheque (free screening)
THE SHIFT [Sværddrage, 2022]
dir. Amalie Maria Nielsen, DK, 19’

Milo is placed in a home for young, angry, and maladjusted girls. While other girls struggle with their own problematic behavior, she fights a much bigger battle: her body. The only one who supports her quiet gender transition is her caregiver, Nicky, to whom she is strongly attached. One day, after Milo hears that he has resigned, her anger erupts, and since the hugs are now insufficient and useless, she presses the alarm button.

Milo's story is a story of growing up and vulnerability. About the absence of support in those moments when the perception of who we actually are begins to change. facing the system that often repeats and deepens the very problems it was supposed to solve.

The film premiered at the 2023 Berlinale.
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[9.6 / 18:00] THE BEADS

9.6 (Sunday) 18.00 Cinematheque (free screening)
THE BEADS [As Miçangas, 2023]
dir. Rafaela Camelo, Emanuel Lavor, BR, 18’

Two sisters, Pamela and Tisia, retreat to a lonely house immersed in a wild environment and quietly prepare for an abortion. As Pamela receives the necessary medication and lies on her sister's lap, Tissia weaves a beaded necklace for her. Around them, silently and unnoticed, a giant snake crawls along the floor of the house.

A warm and powerful allegorical story imbued with deep and ambivalent symbolism. An evocative dive into the essence of femininity and the eternal cycles of life, which also leads to an emphatic reflection on the reproductive rights of women in Brazil and in many other parts of the world.

The film had its world premiere at the Berlinale in 2023.
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[9.6 / 18:00] MADDEN
9.6 (Sunday) 18.00 Cinematheque (free screening)
MADDEN [2023]
dir. Malin Ingrid Johansson, SW, 13’

The debut short film of the young Swedish director Malin Ingrid Johansson tells the story of a teenage girl named Madden who lives on her parents' farm in the county of Västgöt, far from the nearest town and the usual habits of her peers.

When she's not taking care of the animals and her little sister behind her parents' barn, Madden practices walking in high heels and longs for new experiences and horizons. Finally, one quiet evening, she mounts her bike and races down a muddy forest road toward the city and all it promises. But in the depths of the forest and the night, this individualistic urge is unexpectedly overcome by Madden's mystical encounter with the meek sight of a few cows that have escaped from her parents' property, by the force of the responsibility she suddenly feels towards the world in which she lives, by the landscape in which, it seems, has always secretly belonged to him.

The film had its international premiere at the Berlinale in 2023 and was awarded Best Swedish Short Film at the Gothenburg International Film Festival.
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[9.6 / 18:00] SILHOUETTE
9.6 (Sunday) 18.00 Cinematheque (free screening)
SILHOUETTE [Silueta, 2023]
dir. Savva Dolomanov, CZ, 18’

A chance meeting on a train and a few furtive glances exchanged with the girl sitting opposite will arouse, in a young passenger, a momentary romantic fascination. Carried away by her, he soon witnesses an unpleasant scene in which the girl is abused by two strangers, but he is not brave enough to help her.

At the very next stop, what at first glance seems like a game, like an unreal hypnotic journey towards some unattainable but powerful love connection, will lead the boy into the dark and empty world in which the girl lives—and will force him to face some of his greatest and most hidden fears.

The film was selected for the official competition program of the Kustendorf Festival in 2024.
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[9.6 / 18:00] HIGHWAY OF A BROKEN HEART
9.6 (Sunday) 18.00 Cinematheque (free screening)
HIGHWAY OF A BROKEN HEART
[Ethniki odos mias ragismenis kardias, 2023]
dir. Nikos Kyritsis, GR, 11’

In the middle of a wasteland, on a dimly lit stretch of endless highway, Maria stumbles upon the empty car of the man who just broke her heart. What follows is a series of desperate attempts by Maria to convince her former lover to return to her. But a small surprise drastically changes the course of the evening—and perhaps life itself.

This tragicomic film study by Nikos Kyritsis offers a vivid portrait of a middle-aged, emotionally broken woman, superbly performed by Elena Topalidou, and, in a fun and shocking way, challenges stereotypes about the innocent and naïve nature of romance, debunking her hidden self-centered motives.

The film had its world premiere at the International Film Festival in Tirana, where it won the award for the best Balkan short film for 2023.
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[9.6 / 18:00] BIG BANG
9.6 (Sunday) 18.00 Cinematheque (free screening)
BIG BANG [2022]
dir. Carlos Segundo, BR/FR, 14’

Somewhere in Brazil's Uberlandia, Chico makes a living repairing furnaces, the interior of which he can easily slip through thanks to his short stature. Unable to bear the scorn of a system that persistently marginalizes him, he gradually begins to fight back. At one point, his revolt finally explodes—and explodes in sweet revenge against the elites who exploit and oppress him.

A warm political satire with a clear allegorical message, steeped in a lot of understanding of the little man and his struggles to survive the bitter everyday life of Brazilian society.

The film premiered at the 75th Locarno International Film Festival in 2022, where it won the Golden Leopard for Best Original Short Film, followed by its presentation at numerous renowned festivals around the world.

Day 2 (131′)

[10.6 / 18:00] TSUTSUE / THE OLDEN DAYS...

[10.6 / 18:00] TSUTSUE / THE OLDEN DAYS...

[10.6 / 18:00] LEMON TREE

[10.6 / 18:00] LEMON TREE

[10.6 / 18:00] NONE OF ТHAT

[10.6 / 18:00] NONE OF ТHAT

[10.6 / 18:00] NEHEMICH / FOREVER

[10.6 / 18:00] NEHEMICH / FOREVER

[10.6 / 18:00] CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO DIE

[10.6 / 18:00] CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO DIE

[10.6 / 18:00] GROUND

[10.6 / 18:00] GROUND

[10.6 / 18:00] MEMORIES OF AN EMPTY HOUSE

[10.6 / 18:00] MEMORIES OF AN EMPTY HOUSE

[10.6 / 18:00] MY GIRL FRIEND

[10.6 / 18:00] MY GIRL FRIEND

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[10.6 / 18:00] TSUTSUE / THE OLDEN DAYS...
10.6 (Monday) 18.00 Cinematheque (free screening)
TSUTSUE / THE OLDEN DAYS [2022]
dir. Amartei Armar, GH / FR, 15’

On the outskirts of Teshi, a coastal town in Ghana—in the middle of a sprawling landfill that spills into the ocean—two boys, Soua and Okai, playfully try to cope with the loss of their oldest brother, who drowned during a recent fishing expedition. The game is interrupted by a horrifying sight: the corpse of a young man, washed up by the restless waves on the busy shore. Against the loud opposition of the environment, Okai, the younger of the brothers, is convinced that the body belongs to his brother and that his spirit must still be there somewhere, even if deep in the ocean.

A supremely moving tale of love, attachment, and grief, inspired by a mystical visual narrative, “Tsutsue” depicts both the dehumanized social context of contemporary Africa as well as the unintended consequences of centuries of European colonialism.

The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, as part of the Official Selection of Short Films.
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[10.6 / 18:00] LEMON TREE
10.6 (Monday) 18.00 Cinematheque (free screening)
LEMON TREE [2022]
dir. Rachel Walden, US, 17’

Halloween is a big holiday for children in America, so children's hopes are high in anticipation of the last day of October. During a holiday party in an upstate New York suburb, in an attempt to impress his ten-year-old son, a young father steals the carnival magician's rabbit. After the thrill of the petty theft and the accompanying car getaway, there follows a crazy and chaotic adventure on the way home.

But what initially resembles an idyllic journey, formative of a father-son relationship, begins to fall apart at the first collision with harsh reality. And just as the father slowly loses control over himself and his urges, so the son is forced to mature quickly and prematurely.

The film premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
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[10.6 / 18:00] NONE OF ТHAT
10.6 (Monday) 18.00 Cinematheque (free screening)
NONE OF ТHAT [Nada de Todo Esto, 2023]
dir. Patricio Martínez, Francisco Cantón, AR / ES / US, 17’

Reluctantly and with visible resignation, a young girl accompanies her mother, who is "not feeling well," on an unusual adventure of an obscure nature, which seems to mean everything to the older woman: looking at the beautiful houses in the rich suburbs of Buenos Aires. When their car gets stuck in a lush flower garden, the mother can't contain her fascination with someone else's home. To the astonishment of the housekeeper—and with a visible, visceral obsession—she enters the house and causes low-intensity chaos: rummaging, rearranging, and eventually stealing.

Inspired by the short story of the same name from the collection “Seven Empty Houses” [7 Casas Vacas] by renowned Argentine writer Samanta Schweblin, "None of That" offers insight into a disturbingly surreal vision of modernity, riddled with uncertainty, fear, psychological imbalance, silent menace, and unspoken resentment.

The film had its world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in 2023, as part of the Official Selection of Short Films.
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[10.6 / 18:00] NEHEMICH / FOREVER

10.6 (Monday) 18.00 Cinematheque (free screening)
NEHEMICH / FOREVER [2023]
dir. Yudhajit Basu, IN, 23’

In rural Maharashtra, India, several women are forced to spend their time together, isolated from the community, in a modest and dilapidated cottage. They are placed there because they have been declared apostates, or "crow-touched," as they say in their local idiom. In reality, what they are going through is quite common in every young woman's life: the menstrual cycle. One of the girls, a young member of a local nomadic tribe that believes that the dead return to the bodies of their loved ones, hopes to escape from this reality, somewhere far away, in the arms of her lover.

Deep and poetic, Yudhajit Basu's graduation film is haunted by a haunting emotional atmosphere, a quietly troubled intimacy that hovers around female characters weighed down by the burden of ancient taboos, superstitions, and cruel discriminatory practices.

The film premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival as part of the Official Short Film Selection.
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[10.6 / 18:00] CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO DIE
10.6 (Monday) 18.00 Cinematheque (free screening)
CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO DIE [2023]
dir. Sam Manacsa, PH, 18’

Mila is a young woman who works in a logistics position. Overworked and underpaid, she suffocates in a cramped and messy office located in a noisy and cacophonous neighborhood of Manila. Unable to bear his painful reality any longer, he desperately searches for a way out. One day, quite unexpectedly, a series of phone calls and a mysterious voice led her into romantic escapism, hinting at an opportunity to finally achieve something deep and worthwhile.

A poignant story with an unexpected twist, Manaksa's film depicts the collective experience of working women in the Philippines, as well as their cruel labor exploitation and the price they pay for their mental health.

The film had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in 2023 as part of the Official Selection of Short Films, followed by extensive festival promotion around the world.
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[10.6 / 18:00] GROUND
10.6 (Monday) 18.00 Cinematheque (free screening)
GROUND [Solos, 2023]
dir. Pedro Vargas, BR, 13’

The short film "Ground" by the young Brazilian director and screenwriter Pedro Vargas tells the story of Leonardo, a young worker at a construction site in Sao Paulo, who one day begins to hear a strange sound coming from the ground beneath his feet. Strongly disturbed by this mysterious, chthonic message, which seems to be addressed to him, Leonardo decides to take action.

"Ground" addresses the impacts of man's systematic destruction of nature and the uncontrolled growth of the real estate market that not only ruins our landscapes but threatens to undermine our personal memories, even those that resonate in the deepest layers of the country.

The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023, as part of the Official Selection of Short Films.
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[10.6 / 18:00] MEMORIES OF AN EMPTY HOUSE
10.6 (Monday) 18.00 Cinematheque (free screening)
MEMORIES OF AN EMPTY HOUSE
[Memórias de uma Casa Vazia, 2023]
dir. Bruno Carnide, PT / ES, 11’

The experimental film "Memories of an Empty House" by the Portuguese animator and director Bruno Carnide is a melancholic symphony of images, voices, and sounds whose purpose, just like a piece of music, is not to show but to evoke. Through three consecutive letters, we follow the intimate confession of a woman, and the poetic narrative that hangs over the photograph with each scene dives deeper and deeper into the most subtle and touching fragments of personal memory.

The film premiered at the Tirana International Festival in 2023 and was awarded Best Portuguese Short Film at Cineuforia in 2024.
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[10.6 / 18:00] MY GIRL FRIEND
10.6 (Monday) 18.00 Cinematheque (free screening)
MY GIRL FRIEND [Sahbety, 2022]
dir. Kawthar Younis, EG, 17'

Sara lives in a traditional family. Desperate for intimacy, her boyfriend Ali accepts her interesting proposal and knocks on the door of her home disguised as a girl. The deception succeeds, and Sarah's room suddenly turns into a theater, on the stage of which, at first imperceptibly and then unexpectedly, the roles of Sarah and Ali begin to change.

And what starts as an innocent game gradually, during the night and the next morning, becomes a source of tension between the two lovers, but also of some experiences and discoveries that can only be felt from the other side, in other people's clothes, under someone else's skin, lipstick, and makeup.

The film had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in 2022, as part of the Official Selection of Short Films.