Shorts Competition: Block II

"Nuisance Bear"
dir. Gabriela Osio Vanden, Jack Weisman/Canada/2021/15 min.
cinematography: Jack Weisman, Sam Holling, Gabriela Osio Vanden
production: Jack Weisman / Documist
festivals and awards: 2021 – Toronto IFF; 2021 – IDFA Amsterdam

Churchill, Manitoba in Canada is a famous destination for photographing polar bears. We’ve seen the majestic images and classic wildlife TV programs – but what do these bears see of us?

'Nuisance Bear' shifts our perspective revealing an obstacle course of tourist paparazzi and wildlife officers whom bears must navigate during their annual migration.

"Wild Animal"
dir. Maria Besora/Spain/2021/24 min.
cinematography:
pictures: Núria Gascón
production: Maria Besora / ESCAC Films
festivals and awards: 2021 – IDFA Amsterdam

Janira is three years old and doesn’t speak like the other kids. She is happy surrounded by animals with whom she communicates in a special way, and she seems to prefer their world than the human one.

Growing up is unavoidable and soon she’ll have to decide between staying wild or adapting to society.

"Hanging On"
dir. Alfie Barker/UK/2021/10 min.
cinematography: Ben Brown
production: Hollie Bryan / Cosmosquare Films
festivals and awards: 2021 – Sheffield Doc Fest, 2021 – BFI London FF

Set in Oulton, Leeds, an old coal-mining community of over 60 houses still stand. Originally made as temporary council housing, but sold onto private investors, they now sit with the threat of demolition, displacing a large number of residents, some who have lived there all of their lives.

Featuring a combination of audio interviews and artistic visuals we discover the stories of a close community of residents, their sentimental memories and the stress and uncertainty of an ongoing campaign to save their homes.

This documentary reminds us about the struggles of people slipping through the cracks of society and explores what it actually means to have a home.

"The Brother"
dir. Jérémie Battaglia/France, Canada/2020/28 min.
cinematography: Jérémie Battaglia
production: Amélie Lambert Bouchard / Les Films Extérieur Jour
festivals and awards: 2021 – Palm Springs IFF

Living with an illness that is causing him to lose the use of his body, Kaïs is awoken every morning by a different member of his loving family.

On top of his health problems, the family is undergoing a financial crisis which forces them to emigrate from their native Morocco to France . Though paralyzed, Kaïs dreams he is the hero of his favorite manga, along with his dear brothers: Fehd, the bodybuilder and Zaïd, the ninja.

"Tempo Home"
dir. Kamil Bembnista/Poland/2022/20 min.
cinematography: Jasper Granderath, Joanna Piechotta
production: Ewa Jastrzębska, Jerzy Kapuściński, Wiola Łabędź / Munk Studio – Polish Filmmakers Association, No Drama Production
festivals and awards: 2022 – Millennium Docs Against Gravity – world premiere

Is it possible to feel at home in a place which is meant to be temporary?

Leila, Amir and Baqir are three of over 1,000 residents of a refugee camp – made of containers – located at the former Berlin-Tempelhof Airport. Its temporality, which is in the veins of the materiality of the houses, seems to dictate the atmosphere of this maze. The protagonists are challenging the situation in the waiting room by the desire of stability and hope - hopefully not ending up in another temporary space.