Film Library 2017

The 2017 edition offers conceptually captivating shorts from a number of different and varying perspectives. Access a selection from the festival and become part of a network of filmmakers representing the complexity and entirety of human emotion.

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New Neighbours

Dir. Constanze Klaue
A young girl watches her new neighbours secretly through the letter slot of her doorstep and tries to use all the learned things her Mommy told her in dealing with “new neighbours.”

The Nordic Sound

Dir. Christian Holm-Glad
This is a film about the vibes of long summer nights, freedom, desperation and the rough and gritty surroundings that shapes the personalities of Scandinavian people.

Animation

Die Brücke Über Den Fluss

Dir. Jadwiga Kowalska
A man stands on a bridge, separated from the love of his life. Wanting to be with her one last time, he makes the decision to go and seek her in the hereafter.

Life Cycles

Dir. Ross Hogg
An observational exploration of routine, monotony, attention and distraction. Will we continue to let events pass by us uncontested, or will we decide to break the cycle?

Nachthexen

Dir. Julie Herdichek Baltzer
In 1941, Katja makes a dramatic decision to go against the norm and joins the first all-female night-bombing squad of the Soviet Air Force, in order to protect her country.

The Sunshine Boy

Dir. Naaman Azhar
This film is inspired by the real events surrounding the tragic 1999 Columbine high school shooting. It is about a mother discovering the truth about her son’s mental state.

Tough

Dir. Jennifer Zheng
Some things can only be understood with maturity. New light is shed on cultural misunderstandings when a Chinese mother and her British-born daughter speak as adults for the first time.

Whale Heart

Dir. Robert Allen
In an isolated whaling community, a man has developed an unnatural way of preparing himself to kill, and now he must initiate his son into their harsh and bloody trade.

Artists’ Film

Annabelle, Barbra, Becky…

Dir. Marloes ten Bhömer & Noam Toran
Referencing cinematic moments where a woman’s mobility is compromised and whether to create suspense or to silence her.

Comet Perfume

Dir. Jack Friswell
Filmed within the subterranean sulphur networks of a volcano, the narrator draws on similarities between the odour of space and that found beneath the Earth’s crust.

Dust on Paper

Dir. Emilie Flower
Dust on Paper is a film based on the verbatim poem of a female LGBT human rights defender from Columbia. The film is a magi-real expression of the experience of surviving oppression.

Comedy

Belle and Bamber

Dir. Alex Forbes
When Belle’s mother tires of Bamber’s influence, she pressures her to forget him. Unfortunately, he isn’t planning on going anywhere. A dark comedy about a child afraid of growing up.

Polly, Ig & Me

Dir. Ben Mallaby
Whilst societal perspectives are changing around relationships, gender, identity and sexuality, Polly IG and Me is a candid snapshot of a successful marriage between three people.

Pregnant Pause

Dir. Alice Seabright
Pee. Wait. Panic. Steph is in a happy, long-term relationship, but now she might be pregnant she has no idea what she wants. Starring Sally Elizabeth Phillips.

Roger

Dir. Brendan Cleaves
Stephen (Seann Walsh) arrives home after six months in Mongolia to discover his best friend Roy (John Bradley) has replaced him with a ventriloquist’s dummy called Roger.

Varken

Dir. Rory Bentley
Varken is a psychological surreal short film about the human nature of being an animal. It follows a girl in the trough of 21st century unemployment, who starts to believe she is a pig.

Dance

Dark Matter

Dir. Amy Watson & Dennis Keighron Foster
Dark Matter explores the political and social meaning of Vogue as a dance form in the UK today. A deeply resonant message acts as a platform for resistance.

Lil Buck with Icons of Modern Art

Dir. Andrew Margetson
Wearing a pair of Air Jordans, Lil Buck takes us on a jookin’ tour of the Fondation Louis Vuitton, gliding through the light-filled halls of the Frank Gehry-designed building.

Thought Loops

Dir. Samuel Laubscher
A collaboration between contemporary dancer Erin Murray and modern-classical drone composer Hot Air Henry. Shot on 35mm film and performed in one take

Documentary

A Million Waves

Dir. Daniel Ali & Louis Leeson
Kadiatu Kamara is the only female surfer in Sierra Leone. When her father died two years ago, KK was left to face the Ebola epidemic alone, but she found escape and hope.

Agents of Change

Dir. Alice Russell
“Sometimes there are times to bomb a bank, or kidnap an autocrat, or have a peaceful demonstration. But sometimes, you party.” Ritual and metaphor on the streets of London.

Flight

Dir. Laura Wadha
Two young sisters who arrive in Sweden, having fled the war in Syria, are becoming teenagers in a new world. They try to hold onto the memories of their home.

Ins Holz

Dir. Thomas Horat & Corina Schwingruber
Snow, sweat, testosterone and the sound of chainsaws. Every four years, wood is cut on a steep mountain high above Lake Ägeri and prepared for log rafting.

The Ghost in the Machine

Dir. Sophie Hexter & Poppy Walker
The Ghost in the Machine is a performative drawing by Jeremy Hawkes. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, Hawkes suspends his medication, allowing the tremors to suffuse his work.

The Secret World of Foley

Dir. Daniel Jewel
The Secret World of Foley takes us on a journey into the little known world of Foley Artists, who bring films to life by adding sound effects in post-production.

Drama

Addy

Dir. Matty Crawford
Addy experiences the death of a family pet, only for her grievance to be met by an unsympathetic father, who tells her to “man up.”

Night

Dir. Joosje Duk
When Sue’s cousin Genelva visits from abroad, she hopes a night out with her friends will connect two different parts of her life. NIGHT is a short film about micro-aggressions.

Saturday

Dir. Mike Forshaw
15th April 1989: One game of football is about to affect Liam and the city of Liverpool forever. A fictional account of the Hillsborough stadium disaster.

The Nightmare On Deskteeth Street

Dir. Dylan Holmes Williams
Harold Miller wakes up one morning to discover that his exquisite blood-red boots have been taken in the night and replaced with common, household clogs.

The Waste Land

Dir. Brian Brooks II
A new kid in town shows up at the high school boys’ basketball tryouts and instantly makes an impression. Will talent and drive be enough to make the team?

Wild Horses

Dir. Rory Alexander Stewart
Joan has been housebound with M.E. for most of her teenage years, but now in slow recovery, an urge for independence is causing friction with her mother.

Experimental

Gravity’s Law

Dir. Matt McDermott
Inspired by Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem Gravity’s Law, Matt McDermott taps into themes of meditation and nature in a deliberate response to overloaded information.

Lifespan

Dir. Jessica Bishopp
Exploring the concept of ageing in the future, increasing life expectancy and life extension. Juxtaposing architecture and space against interviews with a range of people.

Lucia

Dir. Emil Kahr
One day a young, courageous girl named Lucia decides to take on an ancient and highly dangerous man-vs-beast tradition, known by everyone as “Rapa Das Bestas.”.

Reverie

Dir. Stella Scott
Reverie captures the consciousness of youth. The film explores the thoughts and feelings of young Londoners and reveals a world of fragile dreams, undefined by daily reality.

Rhythm of Being

Dir. Giada Ghiringhelli
For an instant, I am. The light touches me gently and I live, burst and shine. This constant, irreversible, rhythmic drift from being to not. This film is an ode to the notion of being.

Fashion

AAA – Fermi Paradox

Dir. Corentin Kopp & Aaron Arnoldt (Lallali)
The Fermi Paradox is the apparent contradiction between high estimates, of the probability of extraterrestrial life and the lack of contact with, or evidence for, such civilisations.

Detour

Dir. Anna Radchenko
A surreal and tender story about a girl arriving at a strange location with quirky inhabitants. Is it all happening inside her head? Will she be able to escape?

It’s Been a Long Time

Dir. Esteban & Manuel Iljitsch
An age old dichotomy between man and woman, partner and foe. It’s Been A Long Time looks at new persepctives through a stylised story that presents two lovers in conflict.

Mind(E)scape

Dir. Anna Zandman & Yulia Lebedeva
Mind(e)scape is a collaboration between two artists looking to raise awareness of the benefits of art in treating patients with dementia and alzheimer’s.

Rosegold

Dir. Jam Patel
Carmen Rose has willingly played into the hands of her lover Alexander Gold for far too long. We witness her in a moment of self-awareness and ultimate courage

Somnium

Dir. Jaïr Sfez (Players Paris)
It is dark; a street lamp passes through the curtains of the bedroom window. We discover a woman half-naked, lying in bed, when suddenly we are immersed in a psychological world.

Music Video

Addison Groove – Changa

Dir. Vector Meldrew
Lose your mind with this warped and wonderful journey through preternatural dance moves, directed by Vector Meldrew for Dazzle Ship.

Eddie Beatz – Black Bird

Dir. Haonan Wang
The journey of a man who achieves the dream of escape from the concrete jungle of the modern city he inhabits, with help from some spiritual black birds.

KEØMA – Gone

Dir. Dirk Rauscher
GONE is a full CGI low budget music video for the Berlin based band KEØMA. A graphical metaphor of sculptures and landscapes as a reflection of distorted emotional states.

Kool Keith X MF Doom – “SuperHero”

Dir. Kris Merc (Aardman Nathan Love)
A frantically paced music video. This landmark musical collaboration inspires a visual pop travesty with its hypnotic, kaleidoscopic images.

Mark Pritchard Ft Bibio – Give it Your Choir

Dir. Emmanuel Adjei
A small group of people move through the endless lane of an indoor facility containing self-storage units. We are slowly introduced to the gatherers and collectors.

U.N.K.L.E. – The Road (feat. Eska)

Dir. Norbert Schoerner
Drones navigate a desolate desert terrain lit by pools of dramatic light. A subtle narrative that tells of the ever-present conflict between landscape and traces left by humans.