All Films in Competition

A short observational film about an evening spent in the woods in Brandenburg, Germany. A train passes, a curious dog says hello, and the crickets begin to chirp as the night draws in. Filmed whilst staying at the KuBa (Kulturbahnhof) artist residency.

During quarantine, the director has been invited to make a film about her lockdown experience.
To face this challenge, she draws images from her memory —and archive—, to remind herself which way to move.
“How to shoot flowers” is a personal essay film where artistic creation and personal expression become the medium to think and process life.
The result is an essay film about filmmaking and life as a creative act.

“I am Hydra” is a hydrofeminist spell to end the petrocapitalist age. The film is shot in Norway and Denmark, its opening scene is from Skagen where two oceans meet (the Northern Sea and the Baltic Sea), and the film juxtaposes footage from the Norwegian oil industry with the forever self-regenerating Hydra species while referencing the mythological multi-headed Hydra-creature. The soundscape is by cello musician Einar Halle in collaboration with Gunnar Halle.

Motionless awakening in a hammock sets the scene for a journey into the deepest parts of the immense forest, equally leading into the depths of human condition. Our innermost desires, fears and abysses are juxtaposed with the richness of plants and creatures. Who wants to enter the thicket will first be thrown back on their own guts.

The film was shot on a regular 8mm camera and is presented in unslit form as 16mm, a screening format commonly referred to as double 8mm.

When I first came into contact with this medium, I was deeply attracted by its miniature size. Eight millimetres is a very small space on which to store images. It reminds me of all kinds of things from childhood: ephemeral, wonderful, changeable. Recalling that as a child I spent most of my time with my nanny, I decided to zoom in on daily life, especially trivial household chores. At the same time, the particles and dust of the childhood world are magnified.

A mix of in-camera-edited Super-8 cartridges, in-camera-edited 35mm film used in a LomoKino, and some digital shots.

A nightmare. Being trapped. When the outside world becomes an absurd and aggressive hum. When you retreat in a deceivingly comfortable coccoon, not really knowing who you are anymore. Alone… facing the inside. We’ve all been struggling with such feelings during the past two years… a period that feels like an eerie dream. This short movie was shot in isolation, during the second French lockdown.

Written and directed by François Theurel
With Laura Barlow

A staccato study of street level action and inter-action. People and vehicles on everyday journeys are atomised into coursing fragments of light, shadow, angle and inertia, reiterating and disassembling the creation of motion out of still frames at the heart of cinema. Filmed in ten cities on four continents.

When people look at my film I hope they think of it like a ride at the amusement park or see it the same way you might view fireworks or abstract painting. After seeing it I hope people are entertained, energized, have fun and feel like that they have had color thrown at them or paint splattered on them. This film is 100% hand made by me and Norman McLaren, Len Ley and Steve Woloshen were all great influences and inspiration for this work.