Film Library 2013
The third year of ASFF offered a rich selection of films from across the globe, and introduced Family Friendly programming as well as special guest appearances from BAFTA. Posing questions about the human experience, a presentation of exciting films listed below offer a glimpse into the festival’s core themes.
Animation
Dir. Iria Lopez
Kapitän Hu
Dir. Basil Vogt
After a bad storm Captain Hu finds himself in the Alps. An alpine farmer finds new uses for his nautical equipment. Hu draws the line at that.
Lost Senses
Dir. Marcin Wasilewski
A stylised encounter in an abstract world: a man on his way to meet a woman finds that one unguarded moment is enough to make him lose his senses.
Oh Willy…
Dir. Emma De Swaef and Marc James Roels
Willy returns to the naturist community where he spent his youth to visit his dying mother. In confused sadness, he flees to the forest.
Tengri
Dir. Alisi Telengut
A story based on the Mongolian burial custom known as “Wind Burial”, where a cart carries a body until it falls and finds its final resting place.
The Event
Dir. Julia Pott
Tom Chivers’ poem The Event is brought to life in this unique animation, where a world plummets into chaos after an unknown event.
The Hour Glass
Dir. Joscha Thelosen
A tale about death: living alone in a small house in no man’s land, death finds an abandoned baby on his doorstep that will turn his life upside down.
The Scarecrow
Dir. Kylie Boon
A stop-motion film about a shunned, lonely scarecrow, who wakes up one morning to discover the love of his life over in the next field.
Artists’ Film
//KIDS//
Dir. Nadja Verena Marcin
//KIDS// narrates, through a revision of the film Kids, the interaction of young adults, the smooth transition between rituals and its adaptions.
Acoustic Memory
Dir. Henry Butcher
Personal tragedy sends a man to his childhood: a journey with a dead end, where he struggles to find an explanation to a human sacrifice.
Dust to Dust
Dir. Becky Weston
A musician without music in a state of accelerated decay, his movements paint a ghost-like trail, which lingers like the presence of loss.
Erosion of Suffering
Dir. Ceallaigh Norman
Gunkanjima, Nagasaki harbour. The elements transform technological progress to rubble, eroding our creations, ourselves, our suffering.
Malaise
Dir. Christian Schmeer
An atmospheric non-narrative documentary short film exploring Beelitz-Heilstatten, an abandoned hospital complex with an intricate past.
Nature House Inc
Dir. Nick Jordan
Nature House Inc is a film which depicts the proliferation of bird houses, erected to attract the migratory bird, the Purple Martin.
Sonotoki
Dir. Amanda Belantara
Shot on a static camera in Aomori City, Japan, in the depths of winter, Sonotoki explores the ephemeral yet recurring movements of human life.
The Making of ‘Hero’
Dir. Miguel Endara
The Making of Hero is a short film that visually documents the meticulous process of drawing a portrait composed entirely of 3.2 million ink dots.
Comedy
A Lovely Treat
Dir. Mitch Yapko
A woman with expectations for her love life finds herself on a blind date with a man who is not her type. Can she learn to embrace the unexpected?
Our Name is Michael Morgan
Dir. Maurice Caldera
It’s the end of the month, and a salesman with one final sale to make finds a strange figure pitching on his turf. Who is he? And what on earth is he selling?
Shakespeare’s Wart
Dir. Jonathan Kydd
An actor desperate for work endures two directors and a useless stage manager when he auditions for a small part in Shakespeare’s classic play.
Star Struck
Dir. Cheese Whiskers
A teenage outcast is given both a gift and a curse when a freak accident leaves a meteorite lodged in his skull, awakening super-human intelligence.
The Knowledge
Dir. Adam Jenkins
A cab driver who dreams of being in London’s famous black cabs prepares to take a test. However, the revision starts to take its toll.
The Pledge For Mr Bunny
Dir. Kevin Lim
A boy’s fascination with machines leads him down a road of deceit involving an ill plush toy, a black market kidney and bunnies sold into slavery.
Documentary
Danger Overhead Powerlines
Dir. Mia Mullarkey
A modern-day David and Goliath tale, Danger Overhead Powerlines follows a 65-year-old who is imprisoned when she tries to protect many trees.
Nirvana
Dir. Jack Bradley
Set against the beautiful backdrop of Burma, Dr. Dhammasami reveals that to achieve Nirvana, we must be physically and mentally free.
The Other Side of the Road
Dir. Pippa Riddick
40 years after that band took that photo, the realities of living on Abbey Road are uncovered. A one-off portrait that highlights a ridiculous legacy..
The Port
Dir. Rory Alexander Stewart
As an intimate study of The Port O’Leith, Edinburgh’s infamous pub, The Port examines its history and tradition, fuelled by many stories.
Treasure
Dir. Oliver Murray
40 years and many objects later, a man pauses to reflect on how treasure hunting moved from a hobby to an obsession that took over his life.
Unravel
Dir. Meghna Gupta
Unravel follows the Western world’s unwanted clothes on a journey to a sleepy town named Panipat, where women recycle the cast-offs.
Urbex
Dir. Stephen MacLean
Weaving through Sheffield’s forgotten buildings, explorers from “urbexing” share their experiences and passion for these derelict artefacts.
Drama
Ástarsaga (“Love Story”)
Dir. Ása Hjörleifsdóttir
A story of love, madness and 24-hour daylight, Ástarsaga begins with Solange’s boyfriend, Bladur, taking off to Iceland. She decides to follow and finds a mysterious surprise.
Curse of the Sunset Starlet
Dir. Lori Precious
A horror film star returns to her abandoned daughter, claiming she is dying. But is she really a drifter or a ghost come to destroy the family?
Death in a Nut
Dir. Tom Chick
Retelling of a folk story of the consequences of a son’s battle with a mysterious figure that appears one day, calling his dying mother’s name.
Palimpsest
Dir. Michael Tyburski
A successful house tuner provides clients with a unique form of therapy, which carefully examines subtle details in their living spaces.
Shower
Dir. Christian K. Norvalls
A man who decides to take a shower after his workout is side-tracked by a noise he cannot identify. He is left completely exposed.
The Love Paradox
Dir. Ian Allen Lim
After his wife’s tragic death, a well respected astrophysicist collapses into a downward spiral, obsessed with proving his theory of time travel.
Experimental
Arterial
Dir. Christopher Ian Smith
In the industrial hinterland of England, Benjamin encounters a girl. She offers escape from his lonely, repetitive life. But is she human?
Compartment Ten
Dir. Jason Tovey
On a train travelling through the night, a man is warned by a stranger about a checkpoint and the sinister indoctrination that is taking place.
Consuelo
Dir. Paul Johnson
The story of a young Peruvian dancer trying to pursue her dreams in the harsh world of the largest river city in the Amazon jungle.
Dream Bigger Dreams
Dir. Sandro Miller
A compilation from eight films created for Nick Cave. The films originally were created for an exhibition which Cave was having in Lille, France.
Elon + Emmanuelle
Dir. Natalie Galazka
This magical realism tale unravels a chance encounter between strangers, their merging imaginations and falling in love without words.
Flicker
Dir. Bouha Kazmi
A beautiful and fragmented story of loss and self- discovery following a vulnerable drifter girl as she treads desolate hollow ground.
Häromdagen / The Other Day
Dir. Sofia Wickman
What is it to know a father? Behind our given roles, there is an entire world we might never have access to. Perhaps that’s OK.
Ma Forêt
Dir. Sébastien Pins
With the view of a child, travel through the forest to discover its magic, mysteries, meetings and the unique relation that man can have with nature.
Music Video
Balduin: My Love Soon
Dir. Yves Ackermann
Coloured flower fragments and dust form rhythmic compositions over time. Flower bouquets explode in slow motion: a rework of flowers.
Bees Village: Nobody Knows
Dir. Eva Munnich
Music video for the band Bees Village: a young man bitten by a werewolf is transformed and freed for a short time before he gets shot by accident.
Gerilja: Animals
Dir. Christian Holm-Glad
Animals delves into a surreal world of strange figures, combining a glamorous yet gritty aesthetic with a high-energy intensity.
Louise Quinn & Kid Loco: oh Jackie
Dir. Uisdean
Music video for singer songwriter Louise Quinn, featuring electro artist Kid Loco. A crowd waits in anticipation as a singer prepares to take the stage.
Mt. Wolf / Shapeshift
Dir. Paul Frankl
Mt. Wolf perform their ethereal track Shapeshift, in a monochromatic montage where dark, interesting figures glisten with particles of light.
Punkture Sluts – “No Hopah”
Dir. Daniel D. Moses
Shot in a burnt-out East London location, No Hopah is an unsettling and grimy symphony for the “dark and twisted” among us.
The Gorgeous Colours: Animal
Dir. Bruno Palma
Animation to the track Animal by The Gorgeous Colours. The protagonist of this short lm is haunted by the shadows of his own personality.
Thriller
Cariño
Dir. Shaun Hughes
A lone figure travelling through rural Spain is caught up in a tragic accident, sending him spinning into a world of loss, darkness and pain.
Harder
Dir. Paul Mallison
A boy must protect his mother, battle-worn by her abusive relationship, from the brutality of her partner. However, a terrible reality awaits him.
Shackled
Dir. Nour Wazzi
Held captive by a circus, Malu is rescued from her shackles by her husband. She waits anxiously in the darkness for her chance to escape.
The Black Scholes Conspiracy
Dir. Tim Bassford
In the high-pressure world of global finance, a city trader seeking revenge for his wife’s death finds himself in one final, nightmarish confrontation.