Diagonal | Anne Thorens | 6' | CHE
A young couple is already in the heat of the moment when she asks him for a condom. He doesn't have one, but that doesn't seem to curb his enthusiasm. Picking up on a recurring event in the life of many young women, Swiss director Anne Thorens poses a pertinent question that invites many of its male viewers to reconsider some of their actions. A truly vital film for our current moment.
Sticker | Georgi M. Unkovski | 19' | MKD
After an unsuccessful attempt to renew his car registration, Dejan falls into a tangled bureaucratic web that tests his determination to be a responsible father. This satirical comedy directed by Georgi M. Unkovski is a triumph of comedic timing as well as providing sharp social commentary spearheaded by an impressive performance by lead actor Sashko Kocev. An ironic take on the agony of bureaucracy.
Silent as Murderers | Lauri-Matti Parppei | 16' | FIN
Ina and Minna are spending their last summer together. During the night, they break into houses while the residents are sleeping. Silent as Murderers imposes an unsettling atmosphere on the audience with the same ease and discreet, elegant methods as the partners in crime. This short by Lauri-Matti Parppei is genre cinema at its best.
Stay Awake, Be Ready | Pham Thien An | 14' | VNM
A motorbike crash, a boy who eats flames, three young men conversing by market stalls. Fragments of an evening are interwoven and embedded into this mysterious tale. The apparently ordinary setting of a street corner is the beginning of one of the most successful and impressive short films of the last year. Premiered at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, and with an incredible path through the international film festival circuit, including stops at events such as Locarno and Busan, Stay Awake, Be Ready is an essential experience which has placed the Vietnamese director Pham Thien An on the world stage.
Gusts of wildlife | Jorge Cantos | 24' | ESP
It is said that he has someone imprisoned. People have seen him looking over from the other side of the fence. A kid will disappear any day. Gusts of Wild Life is a cinematic triumph and a work of immense inventiveness. Jorge Cantos’ announces himself on the world stage as a unique and revolutionary voice, with a film that won the Grand Prix at the Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival Lab and is now surprising audiences all across the world.
Involuntary Activist | Mikael Bundsen | 19' | SWE
A married, openly gay teacher in Wales faces the choice of betraying his family or his core values when his older sister asks him to step back into the closet for her wedding in Turkey. Mikael Bundsen, who was selected at FEST in the past with the brilliant Mother Knows Best, once again deals with the theme of homophobia by taking a common situation and turning it into an epic ethical battle. Involuntary Activist is a brave and intense experience that should not be missed.