Superheroes without Superpower | Beatrice Baldacci | 13' | ITA
Someone puts a VHS in a video recorder. As soon as the videotape starts to play, images of all kinds appear on the screen. These blurred images are Beatrice Baldacci’s childhood memories. This is the beginning of the filmmaker's journey, whose goal is to process some of the most significant moments of her life, including the relationship with her mother and her sickness. Through this painful quest, the filmmaker reconstructs intimate narratives to find out what she thought was lost.
All Cats Are Grey in the Dark | Lasse Linder | 18' | CHE
Christian lives with his two cats, Marmelade and Katjuscha. The three are inseparable. Yearning to become a father, he decides to breed his beloved Marmelade with an exquisite cat from abroad. The unconventional relationship between animal and human, and the desire of a man to expand his family are driving forces of this story. All Cats Are Grey in the Dark received more than ten awards at film festivals around the globe, such as the award for Best Short Film at the Toronto International Film Festival. The portrait of the relationship between Christian and his cats is surprisingly intimate.
Black Lagoon | Felipe Esparza | 30' | PER
To their inhabitants, Peru's mountains are a sacred place full of mystery. From verdant greenery to deep mud, biting winds to gauzy mist, nature is the subject of Black Lagoon. In their midst, a healer reminds inhabitants not to allow unimportant, earthly concerns to distract them. Black Lagoon is an attempt at a more complete vision of what director Felipe Esparza calls a “reality full of mystery”. Here, as a dreamlike spectator, we witness the relationship between a group of people and the mountains. The synergy between divinity and nature is the source of devotion unknown to the Eurocentric worldview.
The Vibrant Village | Weronika Jurkiewicz | 6' | POL
In a quiet Hungarian village, men gather at the bar to drink beer. Meanwhile, the women work meticulously at the factory. In a mechanical ballet, they relentlessly channel their energy into the mass production of objects for pleasure. This film follows individuals from the region in their working day and routines whilst challenging our preconceptions about the sex toy industry and mocking traditional gender roles. The Vibrant Village is the first film of Polish director Weronika Jurkiewicz whose eccentric vision works to subtly satirize male-female relationships.
The Golden Buttons | Alex Evstigneev | 19' | RUS
In 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin created the national guard, whose legal task is to guarantee public order and fight terrorism and extremism. However, this organization is subordinate to Putin personally and is therefore responsible for the repression of those who disagree with his regime. How do we make a film about something that is not allowed to be recorded? Alex Evstigneev’s film The Golden Buttons confronts this problem by plunging into the shrouded world of students at a Russian cadet school. Disguised as photographers, the team attempts to capture not only the student’s faces but also what is happening behind closed doors.
Ascona | Julius Dommer | 15' | DEU
The protagonists of this story represent a place that seems to have frozen in time, a place unchanged since the 1950s but still in existence. Ascona examines an aging couple of mini-golf enthusiasts. This activity is not just a hobby for them - this sport is an intrinsic part of their lives. Here, a miniature golf course becomes the intermediate medium for deep social analysis. Consistently permeated by wonderfully acerbic humour, Julius Dommer’s film follows the trajectory of these two lovers. Although the couple's glory days may be behind them, their competitive spirit and staying power is certainly not.