OFFICIAL SELECTION 2009

Feature Films

Las Meninas (99m, Ukraine)
Dir. by Ihor Podolchak
 

A family of four live in the suburbs in a strange villa that appears, through a complex game of mirrors, to be more like a piece of installation art than a real house. The son, a man in his thirties. suffering from asthma and eczema since childhood, uses his condition to manipulate his parents and his sister. Thus the existence of the terrorized family turns into an endless ritual of attempting to satisfy his whims, and always on the alert for yet another one of his “health crises”.

The Rat Thing (99m, U S A)
Dir. by Kevin Keresey
 

Two down and out friends living in Venice, California, struggle in social and economic deprivation. They reach the point where they can’t go on. Escalating pressures force them to hatch a wild, get-rich-quick scheme in a last ditch attempt to solve “all of their problems”. The far-fetched scheme involves one of them being bitten by a rat in a major supermarket with the fantastical hopes of winning an outrageously huge settlement. What transpires is a perfect example of “the best laid plans of mice and men” where reality trumps delusion and, in one comic turn after another, depravity gives way to humanity.


The Vicious Kind (92m, U S A)
Dir. by Lee Krieger
 

Meet Caleb Sinclaire, a wry malcontent of a construction worker who uses his world-weary wit as a protective shield. Estranged from his family and living alone after his girlfriend cheated on him, Caleb's droll contempt of others is tested when he meets Emma, his younger brother Peter’s new girlfriend who comes home for Thanksgiving. Drawn to her but distrustful of women, Caleb warns Peter that Emma will end up hurting him. Over the next few days, however, Caleb and Emma keeping running into each other in his small hometown, and despite his best attempts, Caleb's attraction to Emma grows, as does his desire to see her. Eventually seduced by Emma's effect on him, Caleb’s unexpected feelings force him to confront the heartbreak he has long struggled to conceal.

The Burial (91m, France)
Dir. by David Mills and Danielle Boucher
 

When three estranged brothers gather for their mother’s funeral the last thing they expected was a family road trip. Mother’s final wish was clear: “Take me to the river and bury me with your Father”. The reluctant sons, a girlfriend and a coffin squash into a vintage hearse, bumble their way from France to England, and realise that to bury the past there’s some digging up to do.


Seven Sisters (82m, Denmark)
Dir. by Asa Tillanger
 

A mockumentary. From over two hundred applicants, Fredde need to select seven that will become the new faces of Gambro products. Through the courses of the interviews Fredde gets to know each of them, their lives, their dreams, and fears. But at the end of the day, is it really Fredde’s life which is being laid bare?

Paul Foote (87m, Greece)
Dir. by Aristo Papadeio
 

A clash of cultures wreaks havoc when an American military man decides to establish a boot camp for overweight desk jockeys on a remote Greek Island. Sergeant Foote bumblingly attempts to head off the the anger of the local community, fired up by Aletia, an anti-globalisation activist fresh from university.

Feature Documentaries

Al Hansen - The Matchstick Traveller (55m, Germany)
Dir. by Mareike Wegener
 

Al Hansen – The Matchstick Traveller' portrays an artist who was everything at once: beat poet, pop artist, performer, Fluxus artist, author, porn editor, actor, composer, punk band manager - an axis for all post war movements, and still an outcast. The film looks back at his chaotic life, and examines the notion of failure.


Bigfoot: A Beast On The Run (54m, Switzerland, U S A)
Dir. by David Thayer
 

Late at night, deep in the woods of Washington State, Todd Limberg made an audio recording of some eerie howling. He thinks it might be Bigfoot. Is it? Let's ask the experts.

Blue Gold: World Water Wars (90m, U S A)
Dir. by Sam Bozzo
 

Wars of the future will be fought over water, as they today over oil, as the source of all life enters the global marketplace and political arena. Corporate giants, private investors, and corrupt governments vie for control of our dwindling fresh water supply, prompting protests, lawsuits, and revolutions from citizens fighting for the right to survive. Past civilizations have collapsed from poor water management. Can the human race survive?


Garbage Dreams (79m, Egypt)
Dir. by Mai Iskander
 

Garbage Dreams follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world's largest garbage village, on the outskirts of Cairo. It is the home to 60,000 Zaballeen, Arabic for 'garbage people.' Far ahead of any modern 'Green' initiatives, the Zaballeen survive by recycling 80 percent of the garbage they collect. When their community is suddenly faced with the globalization of its trade, each of the teenage boys is forced to make choices that will impact his future and the survival of his community.



The Day After Peace (81m, United Kingdom)
Dir. by Jeremy Gilley
 

The Day After Peace charts the remarkable 10-year journey taken by award winning filmmaker Jeremy Gilley to establish a day of Peace on September 21st. During the course of his mission the camera follows Gilley as he galvanizes the countries of the world to recognize this as an official day of ceasefire and non-violence.



The Last Days Of Shishmaref (93m, Netherlands)
Dir. by Jan Louter
 

Shishmaref is a community of about 600 Inupiat Eskimo's, located on an island just off the west coast of Alaska. The effects of global warming threaten the very existence of these people- so much that the entire population needs to be relocated off the island within 10 years. They have become the first tangible victims of the worldwide climate changes.



Short Films
Drumhead (4m, UK)
Dir by Alan Coltman
An anti-war poem using archived footage from WWII

Larry And Roz (4m, Italy)
Dir. by Kristen Palana
Larry, a 93 year-old widower confined to a Nursing Home, remembers a time when he had more spring in his step. Based on real audio recordings from 2002, animator Kristen Palana uses individually painted digital images to imagine and recreate her grandfather's first attempts to woo his beloved Roz.

Milbe (6m, Germany)
Dir. by Karl Tebbe
A short animation film about a grandmother, Oma Grete, and gigantic house dust mites that threaten to destroy the world.

Shuttle T-42 (3m, U S A)
Dir. by Joon Hyung Kim
Shuttle T42 crash lands on an unknown planet leaving young Jay and his mother stranded. While trying to help his mother, Jay?s good intentions turn bad and throw the two into further irreversible danger. A danger that could only be resolved by heroic actions and sacrifice.

Skylight (5m, Canada)
Dir. by David Baas
An animated mock documentary about the ecological plight of penguins in the Antarctic, possibly foretelling cataclysmic results for the rest of the world.

Hot Afternoons Have Been In Montana (15m, U S A)
Dir. by Ken Kimmelman
Based on the Prize-winning poem by Eli Siegel. Recorded by the poet, 'Hot Afternoons' is a dramatic and colorful montage combining photographs, computer art, and live-action to show how a hot afternoon in Montana is related to the whole world. It so deeply honors the earth--its land, its history, its people, as it takes us on a wonderfully, meaningful odyssey through the world of time and space.

Tom of Nevada (5m, USA)
Dir. by Jesse Filkon
Tom lives a very different sort of life.

Ikwe (5m, Canada)
Dir. by Caroline Monnet
KWE is an experimental film that weaves the narritive of one woman`s IKWE, intimate thoughts with the teachings of her grandmother, the Moon, creating a surreal narrtive experience that communicates the power of thoughts and personal reflection.

Severing The Soul (18m, U S A)
Dir. by Barbara Klutinis
Found footage interweaves an account of Rosemary Kennedy’s lobotomy procedure in 1941 with an overview of the psychosurgery movement of the 1930’s-1960’s in the US.

Homoworld (17m, United Kingdom)
Dir. by Max Barber
In a 'flip-side' gay world, a straight couple struggle with their relationship and their life in the closet.

James (17m, Ireland, United Kingdom)
Dir. by Connor Clements
When James, played by realises long buried secrets can lead to poor family relations, he feels it's time to confide with his only friend a secret of his own.

Bijna Blind (6m, Netherlands)
Dir. by Willem Baptist
A man collects images in his head for the day he needs them.

Crossing Midnight (29m, U S A)
Dir. by Kim Snyder
The story of an unparalleled health care crisis in the jungles of Eastern Burma and a community of refugees from Burma that united against all odds to help their own when few others could.

Finding Home (26m, Belgium)
Dir. by Christopher Daley
A 1st Sergeant in the US Marine Corps, is nearing retirement after 19 years of active duty, which included three tours in Iraq. He returns to the town where he was born, stopping to visit family and reflecting upon his troubled youth and his broken marriage along the way. Slowly, the effects of the war come to the surface.

A Xinecóloga (10m, Spain)
Dir. by Alfonso Camarero
A gynecologist is working at her hospital. But the next patient.... is a boy!

Ciao Tesoro (11m, Italy)
Dir. by Amedeo Procopio
A nightclub with mysterious logos... a belly dancer playing with some golden veils... two acrobatic barmen...: a man, who looks very nervous, makes a proposal to a woman who’s watching the show with a girlfriend: she will go to bed with him in an hour...

Leaving (21m, United Kingdom)
Dir. by Richard Penfold
Helen fears for her life. She knows that her husband Jim will kill her if she stays. One night, following another vicious attack, she finds the courage to leave.

Most (The Bridge) (33m, Czech Republic)
Dir. by Bobby Garabedien
The story of a close relationship between a bridge operator and his young son and the fateful day when both try to head off an impending rail disaster.

Mannen Med Kulorna (15m, Sweden)
Dir. by Hans Montelius
Two thirty-something brothers play marbles for their inheritance.

O Dia M (15m, Brazil)
Dir. by Paulo Leierer
Almeida, a regular 30-year-old man, is forced to make arrangements for his death.

Pop Foul (20m, U S A)
Dir. by Moon Molson
When a young boy heading home from Little League game sees his father take a “beat down” from a local thug, the pair enters into a secretive pact designed to hide the disturbing incident from the boy's mother.

Surprise ! (18m, France)
Dir. by Fabrice Maruca
As an attentive husband, Pierre has prepared a surprise for his wife Brigitte’s birthday. But a series of harmless incidents (like a draft and a sun beam reflected off a window) brings the young next-door neighbour into his bed just as Brigitte walks through the door…

True Beauty This Night (10m, U S A)
Dir. by Peter Besson
Last night, Rhett Somers met the love of his life. Now all he has to do is convince her she's the one. Not an easy feat considering how they met..

Un Café Pour L'amérique (20m, Luxembourg)
Dir. by Jossy Mayor
Pierre is a very shy man in his sixties, with no family or friends and who just retired. What will he do now?

Voor Een Dubbeltje... (9m, Netherlands)
Dir. by Eric Wobma
Time stops for no one, or does it ? A gentleman tramp, more confused than decayed, tries to find his way through the streets of Amsterdam ... and time.

Ken: Story Of A Western Drifter (4m, U S A)
Dir. by Laura Stewart
Ken once again has to pack up his few possessions and head out into the vast western range in search of another temporary home as the police are clearing the runaways, drifters and dropouts out of the area. Drugs are a daily reprieve for Ken as he contemplates his plans for the future before winter sets in on Colorado's Front Range.

You're Outa Here (3m, U S A)
Dir. by George Griffin
A spunky descendant of Betty Boop tells her no-good boyfriend to hit the road

Music Videos

Berndsen - Supertime (3m, Iceland)
Dir. by Helgi Johannsson

City Of Noise (4m, Canada)
Dir. by Mitch Barany

Czyste Szaleństwo (3m, Poland)
Dir. by Michal Jaskulski

Disremembering Echo / Barbara De Dominicis (4m, Italy)
Dir. by Davide Lonardi

Hard To Love What You Kill (4m, U S A)
Dir. by Henry Crum

Her Morning Elegance (3m, Israel)
Sub. by Kristen Hrabcsak

Hometown Fantasy (3m, U S A)
Dir. by Leslie Sisson

Inflatable You (2m, Netherlands)
Sub. by Eric Wobma

L1fe (One Life) (4m, U S A)
Dir. by Aarin Burch

Go Go  (4m, Canada)
Dir. by Zip Taylor

Little Heart Attacks (3m, U S A)
Dir. by Rob Hauer

Michael Jackson Shining (5m, U S A)
Dir. by Trevor Parham

Mojo's Back (3m, France)
Dir. by Azra Deniz Okyay

Suzie (4m, U S A)
Dir. by Gairo Cuevas

Thaumatrope (4m, U S A)
Dir. by Nicole Triche


 

** Individual festival sites will also programme 5-10 local films each.  These films will be updated locally.