Projects in genres: Experimental

Synopsis

On December 1st 1990, watched by the world’s media, construction worker Graham Fagg of Dover climbed through a hole in a chalk wall 40 metres below the seabed of the English Channel, shook the hand of Philippe Cozette of Calais and shouted, “Vive la France!”. On June 23rd 2016 Britain voted to leave the European Union. Inspired by a message for motorists on Eurotunnel trains, 'Song for Europe' is an underwater celebration of Britain’s connection to mainland Europe. (John Smith) Official Selection Berlinale 2018 - Forum Expanded - World premiere

Synopsis

A man prays in the Muslim tradition while his children try to distract him by climbing on his back. This is a recurring scenario that many try to film at home and upload to YouTube. The film reenacts this script to show the tender side of a father praying. Official Selection Berlinale 2019 - Forum Expanded - Group Exhibition at Betonhalle

Synopsis

Featuring a district in Yerevan, Armenia, where the legacy of the Soviet Union still occupies the minds and daily lives of the residents living in these huge unfinished monolithic structures, which were originally planned and positioned to spell out the letters CCCP. The film highlights the community's everyday issues and concerns, linking the past and present with all its changes and difficulties of the people once living in a superpower that has now become a decaying empire. Official Selection Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2019 - International Competition

Synopsis

Inspired by Derek Jarman’s 1978 queer punk film 'Jubilee', 'Contra-Internet: Jubilee 2033' follows author Ayn Rand and members of her Collective, including economist Alan Greenspan, on an acid trip in 1955. Guided by an artificial intelligence named Azuma, they are transported to a dystopian future Silicon Valley. As Apple, Facebook, and Google campuses burn, Azuma reveals that Ayn has become a celebrity philosopher to tech executives, as her writings foster their entrepreneurial spirit. Amidst the wreckage, Rand and The Collective are introduced to the internet and observe techies being captured by anti-campus groupies. Once inside an occupied office park, the group encounters Nootropix, a contra-sexual, contra-internet prophet, who lectures on the end of the internet as we know it. Seeking respite, Rand and The Collective find themselves at Silicon Beach, where chunks of polycrystalline silicon mix with sand and ocean. Official Selection Berlinale 2018 - Forum Expanded

Synopsis

A surrealist tale about the all-encompassing nature of living with guilt.

Synopsis

Set against the backdrop of Chelyabinsk, one of Russia's most industrially brutal and polluted cities, 'Harmony' explores social and gender dynamics of Russian youth through the paradigms and preconceptions of the country’s most prominent sports: ice hockey and rhythmic gymnastics. The two respectively embody Russia’s nationalistic interpretation of hyper-masculine and feminine ideals and are examined through straddling the boundaries of documentary verite and visual art. Here, sport gathers broader meaning —reflecting the traits and obsessions of society as a whole. Official Selection CPH:DOX 2018 - World premiere

Synopsis

What cures women of sexual promiscuity? Eating lettuce, of course. Fragments of Forough Farokhzad’s poem, Sin, are read out against Islamic clergies advising women on how to control their lust. Official Selection International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2018

Synopsis

A reflection on the nature of time and memory based on the true story of the director’s family escaping the build up to what became known as "The Slansky Trials": the first explicitly anti-Semitic show trial in Eastern Europe.

Synopsis

An architect and filmmaker from Europe visit a town in the highlands of Liberia, once a thriving mining community, now decaying and desolate. These researchers discover through its buildings a story of the promise of prosperity and forgotten injustices. A film about architecture, and the spiritual cost of industrial mining. Official Selection Cinéma du réel 2018 - World premiere

Synopsis

Tentative gestures of hands and body become symbolic of opposing emotions involved in closeness to one person, trust – the need to escape. (LUX) Official Selection Rotterdam International Film Festival 2018

Synopsis

In a world where drones take on the role of spirits and co-exist with living species, Thai artist Korakrit Arunanondchai tackles the subject of death. Official Selection Rotterdam International Film Festival 2018

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A kaleidoscopic compilation film about biogenetics, 3D printers and new models of artificial intelligence, which raises questions about new forms of virtual life. When virtual, non-living objects become self-aware beings, capable of touching humans both emotionally and physically, AI will have come of age. Official Selection Rotterdam International Film Festival 2018