The already notable Silver Lynx are present in four categories, that are for sure going to keep you on the edge of your seat this year.

The Silver Lynx Fiction, with a prize of 500€, brings us films like The Summer of the Electric Lion, winner of the Cinefoundation Award in Cannes, and that tells us the story about the illegitimate domain that a charismatic man practices on his devoted followers, particularly a child. The short I’m Sorry My Love is the most recent work from Spanish director Eduardo Casanova. As one of the most talked about filmmakers of the moment, having taken Berlin by storm last year with his first feature-film Skins, he now returns to the spotlight with his most recent film, that presents an alternative view of the Kennedy assassination. Also worthy of mention is Bonobo, the short-film that won the audience award at Clermont-Ferrand, and that tells the tale of a broken elevator and the three lives that were left upside down because of it.

SILVER LYNX FICTION SELECTION

Session #1

• At Dawn - Julien Trauman – FRA (22’)
• Bonobo - Zoel Aeschbacher – CHE (18’)
• Mouth of Truth - Barbara Vekarić - HVR (18’)
• Fucking Cola - Sophie van de Pol – NDL (10’)
• Happiness - Maciej Buchwald – POL (24’)

Session #2

• Girlfriends - Marie Davignon – CAN (19’)
• Videotape - Sandra Concepción Reynoso Estranda – MEX (23’)
• The Shepherd - Brwa Vahabpour – NOR (17’)
• The Handover - Leonhard Hofmann – DEU(13’)
• November - Kasper Møller Jensen – DNK (20’)

Session #3

• Flour - Joanna Nelson – VEN (14’)
• The Summer of the Electric Lion - Diego Céspedes – CHL (20’)
• Are you Listening Mother - Tuna Kaptan – DEU (20’)
• How it Feels to Be Hungover - Viktor Hertz – SWE (10’)
• Daughter - Mara Tamkovich – POL (29’)

Session #4

• O mistério da carne - Rafaela Camelo – BRA (19’)
• I'm sorry my love - Eduardo Casanova -  ESP (8’)
• Romy - Marie Mc Court, Ilya Jacob – BEL (19’)
• Lovebox - Ivan Turković Krnjak – HVR (14’)
• Ashmina - Dekel Berenson – NPL (15’)
• Without Love - Dina Duma – MKD (11’)
• 023_GRETA_S - Annika Birgel – DEU (12’)

I’m Sorry My Love – Eduardo Casanova

The Silver Lynx Documentary this year, divided in two sessions and with a monetary prize of 400€, showcases huge successes of the international film festival circuit. Our Song to War was internationally acclaimed in Cannes and Clermont-Ferrand. The film takes us into the Colombian jungle, where war and myths are often mixed together. We also stand out the story of Liminaali & Communitas, that bring to light a man and a community that find their sustenance in ran-over animals at the side of the road. Entre Parentes, from Brazilian director Tiago de Aragão, also pops out in the competition, by bringing to light the fight of indigenous Brazilian people for their rights, during the electoral campaign of the current president, Jair Bolsonaro.

SILVER LYNX DOCUMENTARY SELECTION

Session #1

• Our Song to War – Juanita Onzaga – BEL (14’)
• Operation Jane Walk - Robin Klengel, Leonhard Müllner - AUT (16')
• The Traffic Separating Device - Johan Palmgren – CAN (15')
• In a Lion - Karol Lindholm – POL (12')
• The Dam - Natalia Koniarz – POL (23')
• A Voice above Nature - Annie Moir - GBR (13')

Session #2

• Where We Are Heading - Jela Hasler – CHE (10')
• Liminaali & Communitas - Laura Rantanen – FIN (10')
• Insectopedia - Antoine Fontaine - BEL, PRT (23')
• Entre Parentes - Tiago de Aragão – BRA (28')
• Eastward Go - Yimeng Zhang - BEL (12')

Our Song to War - Juanita Onzaga

The Silver Lynx Experimental lets the imagination loose once again, with films coming from various points of Europe and the US. We highlight the film The Fear of Dying in Transit, an abstract short that leans over some ideas and feelings regarding underground tunnels and their developers. Also worthy of attention if the film T.E.U vol. 1, a visually amazing work concerning the wonderful and complex world of maritime transport containers. The prize is 300€.

SILVER LYNX EXPERIMENTAL SELECTION

• T.E.U vol. 1 - Lasse Næraa Smith – DNK (8’)
• The Fear of Dying in Transit - Ian Purnell – DEU (29’)
• Eve - Agathe Riedinger – FRA (7’)
• Bloom - Emmanuel Fraisse – FRA (18’)
• Emunah - Sang Hyoun Han – USA(3’)
• Skin Hunger - Elena Horgan – IRL (5’)
• Tropics - Mathilde Lavenne – FRA (14’)
• Humans - Calliopi Beku – GRC (10’)
• Queen - Marianna Perianova aka Yagama, Ilina Perianova – BUL (4’)

T.E.U vol. 1 - Lasse Næraa Smith

The Silver Lynx Animation brings us talents from various corners of the world. With 12 films competing for the 300€ prize, FEST continues to show the best of animated cinema. We highlight the movie Adventures of Candide - Fear Leader, a work from the Hungarian team Zsuzsanna Kreif and Balázs Turai, that tells the tale of an absurd dictatorship. The short film of the same category, You are Overreacting, could not miss out on our program, since it concerns a topic that is continuously beneath the spotlight, by exploring the reactions to the contemporary feminist movement, in an age already classified as the #MeToo era.

SILVER LYNX ANIMATION SELECTION

Session #1

• Colaholic - Marcin Podolec – POL (11')
• Applesauce - Alexander Gratzer – AUT (7')
• Sweet Night - Lia Bertels - BEL (14')
• Adventures of Candide - Fear Leader - Zsuzsanna Kreif, Balázs Turai – HUN (7')
• You are overreacting - Karina Paciorkowska – POL (4')
• ABEO - Brenda Lopez - CAN (7')
• Two for Two - Jelena Oroz – HVR (8')
• The Outlander - Ani Antonova - AUT (5')
• Causims - Toby Auberg (Toberg) - GBR (2')
• One after the other - Nicolas Pégon – FRA (13')
• Rules of Play - Merlin Flügel - DEU (8')
• Desire Line - Ruini Shi - GBR (7')

The Adventures of Candide – Fear Leader - Zsuzsanna Kreif, Balázs Turai

The Portuguese Grand Prix continues committed in, year after year, showcasing what best is done in Portuguese cinema. This year, FEST will see the return of many familiar filmmakers like Bernardo Lopes, Bruno Carnide, Rúben Sevivas, and Ricardo Pinto de Magalhães. We feel it is important to highlight the presence of Leonor Bettencourt Loureiro, a local filmmaker that shows great promise to become a big name in national cinema, coming from Espinho. The short films selected for this competitive section will amount to a winner that, this year, will take home a monetary prize of 1500€.

PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX SELECTION

Session #1

• Eva - Bernardo Lopes - PRT (15')
• Equinox - Bruno Carnide - PRT (3')
• Insolação - Edgar Morais - PRT, USA (9')
• Egeu - Tomás Barão da Cunha - PRT, GRC (30')
• Quando For Tarde - Matilde Calado - PRT (12’)
• Escuro - Leonor Alexandrino - PRT (13')
• A Era das Ovelhas - Eva Mendes, Sara Augusto, Joana DeRosa - PRT (6')

Session #2

• Direito à Memória - Rúben Sevivas - PRT (9')
• No Limiar do Pensamento - Antonio Sequeira - PRT (19')
• Intra, Intersubjectivo - Leonor Bettencourt Loureiro - PRT (5’)
• Sheila - Gonçalo Loureiro - PRT (15')
• A Morte de Léaud - Ricardo Pinto de Magalhães - PRT (6')
• José - João Alves Monteiro - PRT (14')
• Teus Braços, Minhas Ondas - Débora Gonçalves - PRT (10')
• Nina - Cláudia Santos - PRT (9')

Intra, Intersubjectivo - Leonor Bettencourt Loureiro

Last but not least, we present the short-films that will compose this year’s NEXXT section, divided into 7 sessions. Looking for talent ‘fresh out of the oven’, FEST aims to discover the work of young students from numerous Film Schools all over the world. Being so, this year’s NEXXT program promises a tough competition, screening the best works developed in the international academic circles. We highlight Sister, by Siqi Song, an animation that competed in the prestigious Sundance Film Festival and, also, All Good, a film about sexual assault and the way we are formatted to deal with it, all from the perspective of an emotionally fervent victim. 

NEXXT SELECTION

Session #1

• Adjournment - Nina Marissiaux – BEL (24')
• The Visit - Gian Suhner - DEU (5')
• Eeny Meeny - Raphaela Schmidt – AUT (17')
• A Death In My Family - Andra Tarara - ROU (13')
• Cristian - Luís Baldaque - PRT (27')
• Sentir-me - Débora Rodrigues, Joana Flauzino, Vanessa Santos – PRT (5’)

Session #2

• Elephantfish - Meltse Van Coillie - BEL (28')
• Why So Sirius? - Karel Šindelář - CZE (15)'
• Dark Horseman - Leon Brandt, Denis Aydingül, Christian Koch - DEU (21')
• We're not that different - Brenda Yong – DEU (5')
• Death of the Filmmaker - Cornelius Koch – DEU (20')

Session #3

• Incomum - João Marques – PRT (18')
• Off Piste -Jules Pourchet - CHE, FRA (15’)
• Good Intentions - Anna Mantzaris - GBR (9')
• A fine stew - Marie Glichitch – BEL (20')
• 10x10ft - Dhruv Tripathi - GBR (18’)
• Música em Mim - Marcelo Maia - PRT (11’)

Session #4

• Sister - Siqi Song - CHN, USA (8')
• Ama - Julia de Paz - ESP (19')
• Dog days of summer - Nikola Stojanovic – SRB (20')
• Isabella - Rohan Reddy - GBR (13')
• Déjà Vu - Jamie Baker - GBR (5')
• Aneta - Yuting Jiang - ARE (9')
• Homens que inventam mulheres - Pedro Gama - PRT (15’)
• Entangled – Juho – FNL (5')

Session #5

• Babylon - Sheida Sheikhha - CZE (8')
• BTS Day 1 - Isaac Ionescu - ROU (28')
• Family - Patrycja Widłak – POL (29')
• Memoriam - Andreia Pereira, Rita Manso – PRT (7')
• Dogma - Guilherme Dessa - PRT (14’)
• Contrapposto - Íris Souto - PRT (5’)

Session #6

• Continue straight ahead - Emilia Sniegoska – POL (18')
• Boy Gets Eaten - Sebastian Lagerkvist - NOR (25')
• Burbuila - María Fontán – ESP (10')
• Silent Treatment - Fredrik N. Andersson – SWE (33')
• After Silence - Henning Himmelreich - DEU (4')

Session #7

• Nascente - Bia Vilela – BRA (14’)
• The Contest - Saulė Bliuvaitė – LTU (25’)
• Recruit - Igor Tsoy - RUS (22’)
• All Good - Luisa Ricar - CHE (19’)
• Calcanhar de Aljube - Marta Salazar - PRT (15’)
• Eli – A Portrait - Lumen Nguyen – DEU (7')

Sister - Siqi Song

Join the celebration of FEST’s 15 years, from June 24^th to July 1^st, in Espinho, Portugal and make sure you don’t miss this top notch selection. Guarantee your place with a FEST accreditation.