A.

FABRIK

 Sverre Aune, Germany
19′

Shot entirely in Digital Infrared, FABRIK follows a lone humanoid creature, fighting for survival in a forsaken world – living off oil-spills from self-operating factories. Her quest for oil takes her across the desert and into an unknown world of steam and machines.

Director Biography – Sverre Aune

Sverre Aune was born in Trondheim, Norway, in 1994.
Growing up in the Norwegian countryside, he started experimenting with film and video by himself at an early age, and at 19 he moved to Denmark to study at European Film College. A year later he moved to Berlin to finish a BA in Practical Filmmaking at MET Film School Berlin. He joined the German Film and Television Academy Berlin in 2017, where he’s currently studying Film Directing. As well as directing, Sverre works as an Editor, co-owns a film club, co-hosts a film podcast and writes most of his own scripts himself.~

WENDIGO

Félix Bouffard-Dumas, Canada
14′

Through an exploded mosaic, the film proposes an experimental interpretation between the Wendigo’s legend and the Quebecers’ insecurities of their identity.

Director Biography – Félix Bouffard-Dumas

DEMI-GODS

Martin Gerigk, Germany
6′

What is the human experience of war, narcissism and ecological destruction? Demi-Gods addresses these three dark aspects of humanity in the form of a musical and visual essay. It shows our worship of these dark forces, which have now become normalized and fetishized. A furtive look from us mortals at the mechanics of the dark demi-gods of our time; turned into a surreal sequence of sonic and visual transformations.

Director Biography – Martin Gerigk

DEMI-GODDESSES

Martin Gerigk, Germany
7′

‘Demi-Goddesses’ is the second essay about still dominant dark aspects of our modern society. It is conceived as a surreal anti-patriarchal thought experiment and raises important questions about gender, power, and social change, prompting us to reflect on how historical patterns of discrimination and oppression might be either repeated or overcome in a reversed gendered world. It challenges the viewer to confront their own assumptions and biases, and to consider the possibilities of a more equitable society.

Overall, the intention of the film is that it will spark conversations and inspire the viewer to imagine a world where gender is not a limiting factor. At best, the audience will leave the theater with a greater awareness of the issues and a sense of possibility for a just future.

Director Biography – Martin Gerigk

NIGHT RIDE FROM L.A.

Martin Gerigk, Germany
5′

‘Night Ride from LA’ is based on a real car ride at night from downtown LA to the desert near Palm Springs a few years ago. The footage was taken from the car by continually shooting single long exposure photos to document the ride of about two hours without any break. This technique condensed the whole trip to a flickering twirl of time-stretched movements and night light graffiti causing a kind of psychedelic trance. A love letter to the energy and vibe of the Californian way of life.

Director Biography – Martin Gerigk

I KILLED YOU A DOZEN TIMES

Kris De Meester, Belgium
6′

I killed you a dozen times, but you won’t go away. Maybe it’s because you’ve killed me first. Out in the cold, on a strange new globe.

“I Killed You a Dozen Times” immerses viewers in a captivating exploration of the aftermath of a traumatic breakup. The protagonist, driven to erase the other person from their existence, finds themselves exiled to a chilling and unfamiliar realm. As they confront the relentless echoes of their pain, the boundaries between reality and imagination blur, creating a surreal and introspective experience.

“I Killed You a Dozen Times utilizes its title as a refrain, spoken by the narrator, as they bemoan a fruitless relationship. The film plays with the audience’s senses, both audibly and visually, keeping them constantly on edge. The camera voyeuristically passes over partially clothed women, lying motionless on the floor. The women, exposed and fragile, are a visualization of the emotional toll endured by the narrator. Moreover, the soundtrack emits a constant whirr, creating a palpable tension that’s never broken. Again, this mirrors the narrator’s perpetual, unanswered inquiry into why. All in all, the film exhibits an equal parts disturbing and eye-opening look at the post-breakup healing process. The combination of violent imagery, poignant narration, and acute sound design construct a unique, tangible representation of one’s incorporeal inner struggle.”
Shane McKevitt – Venice Film Week

“I Killed You a Dozen Times expertly uses the power of visual language and sound to communicate complex emotions and experiences. Through its striking imagery and sound design, together with the emotive poetry recited by the narrator, the film masterfully portrays the agony and emotional struggles stem from toxic relationships, a subject that is often challenging to express in words. The film’s ability to vividly visualize and depict such complex emotions is a testament to its remarkable use of audio-visual storytelling.”
Jane Ching – Sundance Film Festival Hong Kong, Hong Kong Arthouse Film Festival

Director Biography – Kris De Meester

A ULYSSES JOURNEY

Joyce Garvey, Ireland
10′

An eco-feminist salute to the epic book Ulysses by James Joyce ; ‘A Ulysses Journey’ is art hand crafted film using experimental projection, effects and filters: based on a fantasy backward journey from Castle to Gutter, of a Dublin prostitute called ‘The White Lady’ so called for the thick white cream she wears on her face. She was scarred in mind and body when a lit lantern was thrown into her locked room :She sees herself as an earth Goddess, if a fading one, like Mollie Bloom in Ulysses, she is a Calypso, held captive by her past and the mirrored reflection of herself.

Director Biography – Joyce Garvey

BIRDS DON’T LOOK THROUGH THE WINDOWS

Eirini Tampasouli, Greece
7′

If I was a bird, I would look through the windows of the flats all the time. But they choose not to do so. A film partly created in the Academy of Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival.

Director Biography – Eirini Tampasouli

SEARCHING FOR UTOPIA

Sotiris Petridis, Greece
5′

A woman tries to study the structure of the modern utopia offered by digital life, but her narrative hides personal traumas..

Director Biography – Sotiris Petridis

B.

THE EMPTY SPHERE

Stéphanie Roland, Federated States of Micronesia
20′

Nothing really survives here.
The bottom is so deep that no light ever reaches it.
Very few boats go through.
It is unknown when the falls will take place.

This experimental documentary portrays a space object and its fall into the darkness of a space cemetery. A woman scientist reveals her attachment to this object and the absence of images documenting this mysterious place. As a reverse sci-fi journey, this essay mixes real and fictional archives to guide us, like a stalker, to the outskirts of an invisible place.

Director Biography – Stéphanie Roland

DATÆTERNA

Axel Chemin, France
23′

In the near future, a micro-worker performs tasks that are suggested to her. Between data center maintenance and data processing, she hesitantly searches for ways to feel emotions. Devoid of social links, this world is saturated with data.

Director Biography – Axel Chemin

FOUR CHAMBERS TO THE HEART

Johan Grimonprez, Kostas Ioannidis, Belgium
9′

Palermo 1624. While in quarantine due to the plague, 94 year old master painter Sofonisba Anguissola, a worldwide renowned artist at the time but later consigned to obscurity, writes her final letters to her pupil and Flemish master-in-the-making Anton Van Dyck.

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DER TOTE

Samuel Segurado, Liz Manresa, Switzerland
24′

Not only death, but complete darkness surrounds him, time seems to have stopped. He doesn’t understand where he is. He also does not understand how he got here. But he has a guess for what reason he might be here. Music surrounds him. Melodies show him the way and lead us through the story. And then it can happen that the images disappear before our eyes and live on only in our minds.

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FENIX

Olivia Lathuillière, Canada
19′

A stuntwoman finds herself trapped in a vicious cycle of rebirths through her ashes. One evening during a routine ride in her sports car, an explosive accident changes her daily life forever. FENIX takes you to a transcendent, nocturnal, sexy rock’n roll world, where lost souls break free and unearth forgotten treasures.

Director Biography – Olivia Lathuillière

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