Saturday 5 October 2024
12:42 PM |

Cinema Salvation: Fajr Announces Short Movies in Competition

Cinema Salvation: Fajr Announces Short Movies in Competition

The 2018 Fajr International Film Festival has announced the names of short films playing in its Cinema Salvation (International Competition) section.

According to the Secretariat of the annual event, 15 movies from France, Canada, Estonia, Poland, Germany, Slovenia, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, Egypt, Greece, Czech and Iran are competing. Two Iranian directors living abroad are also competing with two joint productions from Estonia, Portugal, Scotland and Mexico. The names of Three Iranian short films competing in the Cinema Salvation category will be announced later.

The lineup:

Les Miserables

Writer & Director: Ladj Ly

DOP: Julien Verron

Editor: Flora Voltepeliere

Sound: Robin Bouet

Cast: Damien Bonnard, Djibril Zonga, Alexis Manenti, Amara Ly, Boris Gamthety, Nizar Ben Fatma

Producer: Christophe Barral

Language: French

Country, Year, Runtime: France | 2017 | 16 min

Synopsis:

In modern-day Parisian neighborhood of Victor Hugo’s novel, a new transfer cop learns abusive policing practices of two veterans. When a young boy records them going too far, the community threatens to explode.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Almería International Short Film Festival, Best Art Direction, Brooklyn Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, Cortogenia Award

2018: Palm Springs International Film Festival

About Director:

Ladj Ly is a director and actor, known for Les Misérables (2017), Sheitan (2006), and Our Day Will Come (2010).

Deyzangeroo

Writer & Director: Ehsan Gharib

Music: Habib Meftah Boushehri

Sound: Olivier Calvert

Producer: Maral Mohammadian

Production Co: National Film Board of Canada

Language: No Dialogue

Country, Year, Runtime: Canada | 2017 | 5 min

Synopsis:

Deyzangeroo is a ritual performed in the Iranian port city of Bushehr. Influenced by the city’s colonial rule by the British and Portuguese, and the African slaves that followed, it is imbued with the terror and magic of the lunar eclipse. The ritual is believed to ward off evil spirits and take back the moon. It works every time.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: DOK Leipzig – International Festival for Documentary and Animated Film, Golden Dove (International Competition Short Animation Film) , Germany

About Director:

Born in Arak, Iran, in 1983, Ehsan Gharib is a designer and photographer who studied at the Soroush Film School in Tehran and Concordia University in Montreal. He describes himself as a cineaste because his work combines photography, animation and filmmaking. Gharib has worked as 3D artist, character animator, compositor and motion graphics artist on several award-winning animated shorts, including Oscar, directed by Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre. Deyzangeroo is his first film produced by the National Film Board of Canada.

Roof Knocking

Director: Sina Salimi

Writer: Lucas Abrahão

DOP: Francesco Crivaro

Editor: Ahmed Abdelrazek

Music: Indrek Soe

Sound: Indrek Soe

Cast: Sameera Asir, Ahmed Abdelrazek, Alaa Zubaydi, Leila Ziyad

Producer: Sergio Salazar

Language: Arabic

Country, Year, Runtime: Estonia, Portugal, Scotland, Mexico | 2017 | 12 min

Synopsis:

In Gaza, mid-Ramadan, a mother has to abandon her home after she receives a phone threat, giving her 10 minutes to leave.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: International Short Film, Youssef Chahine, Best Short Film, Egypt

About Director:

Sina Salimi was born in Iran. He worked on several short films and commercial projects before moving to Europe to continue his studies in film directing. He currently resides in Lisbon, where he works on his first feature film project.

Bogdan and Rose

Writer & Director: Milena Dutkowska

DOP: Igor Potaniewicz

Editor: Patrik Eriksson

Music: Adam Sypka

Cast: Maria Ciunelis, Jerzy Rogalski

Producer: Milena Dutkowska

Language: Polish

Country, Year, Runtime: Poland | 2017 | 15 min

Synopsis:

Bogdan and Rose have been living together and working at the same schools canteen for years, but they don’t speak to each other.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Krakow Film Festival, Poland

2018: 10th Go Short – International Short Film Festival Nijmegen, The Netherlands, Trieste FF, Italy

About Director:

Milena Dutkowska graduated from the Department of Stage Design at the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow (Faculty of Painting). She has directed three short films and is currently in her third year of directing at the Katowice Film School.

Circular Madness (Original Title: Folie Circulaire)

Writer & Director: Charlotte McGowan-Griffin

DOP: Leah Striker

Editor: Carolina Hellsgard

Music: Cecile Schott

Sound: Christoph Stahlhauer

Cast: Anne Tismer, Alexandra Stewart

Producer: Charlotte McGowan-Griffin

Language:  English, German

Country, Year, Runtime: Germany | 2017 | 15 min

Synopsis:

Heidelberg 1894. Using bed sheets, Marie Lieb makes enigmatic figures and patterns on the floor of her psychiatric cell – and the result is mesmerizing. Over a century later, an artist stumbles across photographs of these floor drawings. She wants to know more about Marie Lieb, but her medical records are missing.

About Director:

Charlotte McGowan-Griffin studied fine art in Goldsmiths College & 16mm filmmaking at AFECT (founding patron Mike Leigh). She participated in international fellowships and exhibitions with sculpture and installation works.

The Domestic Fly

Director: Áron Horváth

Writers: Áron Horváth, Darko Sintic

DOP: Darko Sintic

Editor: Andrej Avanzo

Music: Tibor Szloboda

Sound: Martin Rajster, Miha Rudolf

Cast: Sandi Lopatec, Mara Vilar

Producers: Jure Kreft, Darko Sintic

Language:  Slovenian

Country, Year, Runtime: Slovenia | 2017 | 11 min

Synopsis:

An everyday routine of a lonely old lady is interrupted by an irritating fly. An initial conflict between the two is soon replaced by a newly found friendship and grandma’s days become filled with life and joy.

About Director:

Aron Horvath was born in 1991 in Slovenia. He studied fine arts in Ljubljana. He has also studied film directing.

Faith (Original Title: Vera)

Writer & Director: Tatiana Fedorovskaya

DOP: Vladimir Egorov

Editor: Leonid Davydov

Music: Second Waltz by D Shostakovich N.F.O.R., Conductor Vladimir Spivakov

Sound: Rustam Medov

Cast: Viktor Kruglyak

Producer: Andrey Konchalovsky

Production Co: Andrey Konchalovsky Production Center

Language:  Russian

Country, Year, Runtime: Russia | 2017 | 15 min

Synopsis:

An old man, a former radio operator, sees a flashing bulb as his late wife’s messages. The love of his life never dies, even when the light goes off.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Wildrose Festival, De Moines, Best Screenplay, Best Student Screenplay, US, FLICKERS’ Rhode Island IFF, Providence, Best Short, Best DOP Work, US, Golden Eagle Cinema Award, Best Short, Nomination, Russia

About Director

Tatiana Fedorovskaya was born in 1979 in Magnitogorsk, Russia. After graduating from university in 2004, she moved to Moscow to start her acting career. She played in films and TV series. In 2017, she finished her studies in screenplay writing and film directing.

A Handful of Stones (Original Title: Kamen U Ruci)

Director: Stefan Ivancic

Writers: Stefan Djordjevic, Andrijana Stojkovic

DOP: Stefan Djordjevic

Editors: Dragan Von Petrovic, Milena Z. Petrovic

Music: Nikola Jovanovic, Boris Mladenovic

Sound: Jakov Munizaba

Cast: Ognjen Zlatic, Igor Bencina, Nikola Stanulovic, Dubravka Kovjanic

Producer: Mina Djukic

Language: Serbian

Country, Year, Runtime: Serbia | 2017 | 14 min

Synopsis:

Ivica is an 11-year-old kid who spends his time with friends, roaming around unexplored grounds of an industrial Serbian town. Bitter and disquieted, he is about to find out his parents are divorcing.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Belgrade Documentary and Short FF, Best Director, Serbia, Fekk Ljubljana, Grand Prix, Slovenia, Film Front Novi Sad, Special Mention, Serbia, Basta Fest, Best Cinematography, Serbia

About Director:

Stefan Ivancic (Yugoslavia, 1985) studied film directing at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Belgrade. His short film Soles de Primavera (2013) had its international premiere at FID Marseille and was selected in Rotterdam, Torino, San Sebastian and Sevill. His film 1973 (2014) had its premiere at Visions du Réel and Moonless Summer (2014). It was selected for the Festival de Cannes, Cinéfondation. His films have received national and international awards.

Annihilation (2017)

Director: Denys Kushnarov

Writers: Denys Kushnarov, Roman Orlov, Denys Kushnarov

DOP: Dmitriy Belyi, Volodymyr Bozhynskyi

Editor: Volodymyr Bozhynskyi

Music: Glen Gabriel Jansson

Sound: Arthur Bondarchuk

Cast: Denys Kushnarov

Producer: Roman Orlov

Production Co:  Para Dogs Production

Language: No Dialogue

Country, Year, Runtime: Ukraine | 2017 | 5 min

Synopsis:

Annihilation is a movie about the last refugee on earth.

About Director:

Denys Kushnarov is a Ukrainian filmmaker and journalist, born in Donetsk region. He graduated in arts from the Donetsk National University. He studied film and worked for TV channels and magazines. His documentary Rocket Man won the best Ukrainian short film award in 2015 from the National Filmmakers Union of Ukraine.

Red Velvet

Writer & Director: Mahmoud Essa, Youssef Hanafy

DOP: Marco Michel

Editor: Youssef Hanafy, Mahmoud Samir

Music: Exist Strategy

Sound: Abdel Rahman Mahmoud

Cast: Asser Hany, Rana Haridy, Nancy Attallah

Producers: Mahmoud Essa, Youssef Hanafy, Omar El Halawany

Production Co: Haifong Collective

Language: Arabic

Country, Year, Runtime: Egypt | 2017 | 15 min

Synopsis:

Nancy suffers from cardiac arrest and her only chance to survive is her five-year-old son Asser.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: 39th Cairo International Film Festival, International Short Film Competition, Egypt / 15th International Festival-Workshop of Film Schools Kinoproba, Official Competition, Russia / 11th International Children’s Film Festival Bangladesh, Official Competition, Bangladesh

About Directors:

Mahmoud Samir is a filmmaker and critic from Cairo. He is a student at the High Cinema Institute in Cairo. His first documentary short Emmanuel was selected in the 34th BUFF International Film Festival in Malmo, Sweden, and won the Special Prix at the 3rd Des Arts / Des Cinés Danse Et Cinema Festival, Saint Etienne, France.

Youssef Hanafy works as visual effects supervisor and is co-founder of the Squids Visual Arts, a post-production company in Cairo. He has worked on numerous projects including features and TV series.

Hiwa

Writer & Director: Jacqueline Lentzou

DOP: Konstantinos Koukoulios

Editor: Smart Papaevangelou

Sound: Leandros Ntounis

Cast: Melchor Lopez

Producers: Vicky Miha, Jacqueline Lentzou

Language: Tagalog

Country, Year, Runtime: Greece | 2017 | 11 min

Synopsis:

In Jay’s dreams, the sun in Athens is so weak you can look at it, without getting blind.

About Director:

Jacqueline Lentzou, born in Athens in 1989, grew up in Thessaloniki. She graduated from London Film School in 2013. She has directed short films and a music video, and is currently working on her debut picture.

The Truck

Writer & Director: Michal Balsko, Adam Mach

DOP: Adam Mach

Editor: Filip de Pina

Sound: Ivan Durkech

Cast: Peter Havasi

Producer: Ondrej Sejnoha

Production Co: FAMU

Language: Hungarian

Country, Year, Runtime: Czech Republic | 2017 | 9 min

Synopsis:

A truck has been abandoned in the forest, outside a parking lot. The license plate is foreign. The driver did all he could to start his road trip, but to no avail.

Festivals / Awards:

2017: Warsaw International Film Festival

About Directors:

Michal Balško (born 1989, Bratislava) studied film and television at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. His second year film at VSMU, Strach (Fear, 2015), premiered in the 63rd San Sebastian International Film Festival and won prizes including Best Short Film Award at the 21st International Film Festival in Vilnius. He is a writer and co-director (with Marta Prokopová) of a short animated film Wild Beasts, which was presented at the Short Film Project Lab during the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. His project Atlantis premiered at the Cinéfondation Competition of the 70th Cannes Film Festival and was also selected for the Future Frames at the 52nd Karlovy Vary IFF.

Adam Mach was born in 1999 in Prague, Czech Republic. He works as director, writer and director of photography.

For all Festival goers who are already planning their visit, check screening time and other information at www.fajriff.com, or email us at infor@fajriff.com. Presided over by Iranian film writer and director Reza Mirkarimi, the 36th edition of Fajr International Film Festival will be held in Tehran on April 19-27.

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