Cinema

TiSFF / Day 5

Thessaloniki International Short Film Festival

09 Oct - 15 Oct 17:00

Seats

UNLIMITED

Torii

Martin Gerigk, Germany
12’30”

Torii 鳥居 is a short film in the form of an audiovisual composition about the traditional Shinto gates of the same name in Japan. The film uses these gates which symbolically mark the transition from the mundane to the sacred as representatives of a personal synaesthetic and spiritual journey through five levels of consciousness, traveling from existentialism to metaphysics, abstraction, and the Shinto deities called Kami, culminating in a final transition that weaves together these diverse philosophical threads.

Director Biography

Martin Gerigk (*1972) is a composer of contemporary music. His repertoire includes compositions for orchestra and chamber music, as well as several solo concertos. His compositions are performed nationally and internationally including in Korea, Japan, USA, England, Finland, Austria and Switzerland. In this context he works together with renowned international soloists and ensembles.

In addition to his compositional work he is known for his remarkable audiovisual art and experimental films which focus on inherent synesthetic connections of sound and visual perceptions. Besides creating interwoven aural and visual landscapes of music, nature sounds and video sequences one important aspect of his art is the illustration of the hidden poetry of nature phenomena and sciences.

His experimental films won several international prizes and were screened at noted festivals like Asolo Art Film Festival, International Digital Arts Festival Videoformes, Girona Film Festival, Salento International Film Festival, Columbus International Film & Animation Festival, USA Film Festival, New Jersey Film Festival, Sidney International Film Festival, Fargo Film Festival, Sherman Oaks Film Festival, Canberra Short Film Festival, Film and Video Poetry Symposium Los Angeles, Syracuse Film Festival or ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival.

Director Statement

Torii 鳥居 is a short film in the form of an audiovisual composition about the traditional Shinto gates of the same name in Japan. The film uses these gates which symbolically mark the transition from the mundane to the sacred as representatives of a personal synaesthetic and spiritual journey through five levels of consciousness, traveling from existentialism to metaphysics, abstraction, and the Shinto deities called Kami, culminating in a final transition that weaves together these diverse philosophical threads. It was filmed during three visits to Japan and marks the third and final part of my Japanese film trilogy.

Existentialism, the first level shown, with its emphasis on individual freedom and the creation of personal essence, serves as the starting point. It prompts an introspective exploration of one’s existence and wrestles with people’s inherent restlessness in shaping meaning. As in the rest of the film, images of circles stand here for the inherent unity between the mundane and the spiritual.

Moving beyond existentialism, the film enters the realm of Metaphysics, the second level. Here, the focus broadens from the individual to the universal, delving into the fundamental nature of reality. Metaphysics seeks to uncover the underlying principles that govern existence, providing a broader context for understanding the intricacies of being, represented here visually in a minimalistic way.

The ascent continues into the realm of Abstraction, the third level, where consciousness reaches new heights of conceptualization. Abstraction involves distancing oneself from concrete particulars, enabling the contemplation of overarching patterns and ideas. This ethereal mode of thinking goes beyond the tangible, allowing the mind to explore the boundaries of human understanding and consider the abstract nature of reality.

Integrating Kami, the Japanese deities of Shintoism, into this philosophical journey introduces a cultural and spiritual dimension, the fourth level. Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan, has a rich pantheon of Kami. These divine entities are intertwined with nature, embodying various aspects of the natural world. In the film, the Kami are primarily represented by various forms of paper alongside typical natural phenomena. In Japanese, the word Kami also means paper.

The fifth level, the Final Transition, represents the culmination of this multidimensional exploration. It is a synthesis of existential introspection, metaphysical inquiry, abstract contemplation, and the infusion of spiritual elements from Japanese mythology. This transition signifies a comprehensive understanding that transcends individual, cultural, and metaphysical boundaries. It marks the evolution of consciousness towards a holistic perspective that embraces the intricate tapestry of existence. The stilling of thought, symbolized by passing through a Torii.

~

The Revenge Of Female Statues

Vanessa Ferle, Greece
5′ 12”

African-American writer and activist June Jordan and her “Poem About My Rights”; Ancient Greece and the emblematic statues of Winged Victory of Samothrace, Venus de Milo and Small Herculaneum Woman; Japanese Traditions and the men-only Noh theater; are merged together to talk -from a feminine point of view- about universal and transgenerational inequalities, abuse, violations, of women and all the vulnerable.

In this work temporal space is ignored and various cultural elements of different times and places are retrieved to construct a storytelling on today’s issue of respect for the other; whoever or whichever this other is. A matter of power, that matters to femininities, and all other humans or animals belonging to minorities. An issue that has been present throughout history, in various forms and intensity, but is still not resolved.

Director Biography – Vanessa Ferle

“An interdisciplinary female human, born by the sea, combining arts, design and science; through experimentations, correlations, and collisions.”

Vanessa Ferle is an artist, graphic designer and neuroscientist based in Athens, Greece. She has studied biology, neuroscience, digital arts and new media arts. Her research focuses on the animal essence that automation, machines and smart technologies infuse into digital art, and the emotional response of humans to this animal-effect.

IG: vanessa_ferle

~

Revived

Uriya Hertz, Israel
16′

After a night out at a Jerusalem gay bar, Aaron finds out that his bag is missing. Unable to return home without it, he receives assistance from Sefi, the bartender. The fates of both will be linked tonight.

 

Director Biography – Uriya Hertz

Born in Jerusalem in 1990, Uriya Hertz graduated with honors from the Sam Spiegel Film School in 2016. ‘THE RABBI’, his first feature film, was selected for the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab & MIA Market Rome. Filming is set to begin shortly. His short films won prizes and participated in many film festivals worldwide, including Shanghai, Sarajevo, BFI and Raindance.

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Dyosmos

Alexandros Georgios Sotiropoulos, Greece
27’47”

A lonely spearmint unsuccessfully tries to connect with others. The plant gets picked up by a person going through a rough patch, isolating himself and dwelling οn the past.

Director Biography – Alexandros Georgios Sotiropoulos

I was born in Kozani, Greece. After finishing my doctoral studies in Evolutionary Biology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and while studying film direction, I moved to Australia for research.

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An ordinary love story

François Berthier, France
16’24”

Claire and Max are coming to the end of a long-term toxic relationship into which Cléa, a former client of Claire’s, has intruded. In the confusion of feelings and events, there is also a mixture of dilemma, fear, and doubt about closing the past.

Director Biography – François Berthier

François Berthier started photography at the age of 17 when his mother gave him her old Pentax K1. After his law studies, in 2002, he became a rock journalist. At 28, he was appointed editor-in-chief of his rock magazine. In December 2008, after interviewing rock stars for 6 years, François decided it was time to return to his first love, photographing women. He then began a career
as a fashion and celebrity photographer. Seven months later, he photographed Lady Gaga.
When he’s not photographing the most beautiful women in the world, François captures the biggest stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Mads Mikkelsen, Steven Spielberg, Lady Gaga, Tom Hanks, Ben Stiller, Hugh Jackman, Pharrell Williams, and more.
François Berthier has been published in prestigious magazines such as Variety, Vanity Fair Italy, Madame Figaro, L’Express Style, Rolling Stone Magazine, and many others… François has since started directing several fiction short films, including “An Ordinary Love Story”.

Director Statement

A breakup never occurs without difficulty, without aftermath, and without suffering. It is not the responsibility of one or the other, it’s not all black or all white. It’s an interaction with a backlog that accumulates until a point of no return. I wanted to address this theme by illustrating the drama of a separation through quirky situations wrapped in genre film and film noir codes. Hope it’ll touch a truth somewhere somehow.

~

Miss Dress

Panos Boras, Greece
9’47”

In the universe of Miss Dress, the exhibition to the public is a moment of revelation. The wounded child’s soul, continuing in the adult body, seeks acceptance and love.

 

Director Biography – Panos Boras

Actor – Director – Creator

Panos Boras was born in Athens and grew up in Nea Peramos, Attica. He studied acting at the Athens Drama School of Giorgos Theodosiadis. He continued his education with further specialization in Cinema, Digital Marketing, and Performance.

As an actor, he has starred and participated in television series and films that have been awarded both in Greece and abroad. In theater, he has performed in productions, collaborating with renowned directors.

Since 2017, he has been involved in writing screenplays, short stories, poems, and directing films. His first poetry collection, “An adage in nowhere,” was published by Metronomos Editions.

His directorial debut came through poetic films inspired by this book, followed by directing poetic recitals and musical-theatrical performances. His latest creation is the short film “Miss Dress,” which promotes the acceptance of diversity and trans visibility.

~
TiSFF / Day 5
09 Oct - 15 Oct 17:00

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