European Short Film Candidates 2023

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  • 27

    Alice is 27 years old today. Even though she is suffocating a bit, she still lives with her parents and tends to live in her dreams to escape her dreary everyday life. After a psychedelic party on a factory roof, she has a serious drunken bike accident. Will this give her the courage to become an...

  • A FREE RUN

    Lina and Inès do not know each other. From roof to roof, from low wall to fence, the two
    teenagers observe each other from a distance, enjoy each other, try to get closer. But,
    because they do not wish to be seen, they are constantly interrupted.

    Directed by: Lauriane Lagarde

    Written by: Lauria...

  • AIRHOSTESS-737

    A troublesome new set of orthodontics is just one of the factors that provoke a midair crisis for a flight attendant.

    Directed by: Thanasis Neofotistos

    Written by: Thanasis Neofotistos, Grigoris Skarakis

    Produced by: Ioanna Bolomyti, Dimitris Tsakaleas

    Cinematography: Giannis Fotou

    Editing: ...

  • AQUERONTE

    On board a ferry, a series of passengers cross a river from one riverbank to the other.
    Some of the travelers wrap themselves in silence and observe the unfamiliar fellow travelers or contemplate the scenery. Some others chat, perhaps to liven up the voyage and speed up time.
    The journey on the...

  • ASTERIÓN

    Under the burning sun, a solitary bull awaits tireless, whilst a man jumps deep into the darkest waters of his persona, in their common attempt to defeat death.

    In this silent visual poem, the massive body of a bull appears on the table of a meticulous taxidermist, having died in the hot sun in ...

  • CHORDS

    Rita belongs to a women's choir which is in danger of breaking up because they’ve lost the municipal subsidy that allowed them renting their rehearsal room. Now the group has to decide whether or not to accept sponsorship by one of the companies causing the most pollution in the valley.

    Directed...

  • DAYDREAMING SO VIVIDLY ABOUT OUR SPANISH HOLIDAYS

    Driven by their desire for light and warmth, British teenagers take a trip to the Balearic Islands. They must absorb the sun and store it in their bodies to take it back to their cloud-covered kingdom.

    Directed by: Christian Avilés

    Written by: Christian Avilés

    Produced by: Nica Fazio

    Cinemato...

  • FLORES DEL OTRO PATIO

    In the Colombian Caribbean, a group of queer activists practice a militancy that challenges heteropatriarchal norms while engaging in other causes to collectively fight against the various social injustices that plague the region. When the management of the country's largest coal mine announces a...

  • HARDLY WORKING

    HARDLY WORKING sheds a limelight on the very characters that normally remain in the background of video games: NPCs. They are non-player characters that populate the digital world as extras to create the appearance of normality. A laundress, a stable boy, a street sweeper and a carpenter are obse...

  • HEADSPACE

    As the tensions and frustrations of life in a community house start to close in on him, a young man with Down Syndrome realises he may have to cross a line to end a nightly disturbance.

    Directed by: Aisling Byrne

    Written by: Aisling Byrne

    Produced by: Killian Coyle

    Cinematography: Kilian Wate...

  • HOW I LEARNED TO HANG LAUNDRY

    The ambiguous relationship between Oli and Miha acts as a lens through which we examine the intricate and often complex fibers that form the fabric of human connections, particularly among younger generations. The film deliberately avoids offering clear-cut answers, choosing instead to celebrate ...

  • I CAN SEE THE SUN BUT I CANT FEEL IT YET

    A nightmare in reverie: five young queer people are admitted into a clinic to undergo conversion therapy. Enduring several different and harrowing methods to change their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, the sterile space of abject trauma struggles to suppress the abundance and beauty o...

  • I THINK OF SILENCES WHEN I THINK OF YOU

    I THINK OF SILENCES WHEN I THINK OF YOU is a lyrical portrait of a woman’s engagement in Ghana and her impending migration in the late 1990s. The film depicts a woman's navigation through the world in relation to silence, set against her desires and dreams of Europe.

    Directed by: Jonelle Twum

    P...

  • LA PERRA

    Being a daughter, being a mother, becoming a woman.

    Directed by: Carla Melo Gampert

    Written by: Carla Melo Gampert

    Produced by: Julie Billy, Capucine Mahé, Franco Lolli, Naomi Denamur

    Editing: Juan Sebastián Quebrada

    Animation: Carla Melo Gampert, Andrea Muñoz Álvarez

    Sound: Juanma López, D...

  • LES CHENILLES

    Asma and Sarah, two women originally from the Levant, find themselves working in the same restaurant in the city of Lyon in France. Both bear the weight of a home they were forced to leave behind. Initially wary of each other, they gradually discover a common thread that binds them - one that dat...

  • PAPA – NOTES ON LIFE AND DEATH

    A touching and heartbreaking story about filmmakers Andreas and Lea's love for each other and the child they have together. About volatility, loss and the belief that love will prevail, even when life is at its most difficult.

    Directed by: Andreas Bøggild Monies

    Written by: Andreas Bøggild Moni...

  • RED EARS

    13 years after his civil service in a hospital in Thiès, Senegal, Paul challanges his memories and traumas. With old video footage, interviews and animations he questions his role as a volunteer within the German system of development aid.

    Directed by: Paul Drey

    Written by: Christoph Hans, Paul...

  • REMEMBER HOW I USED TO RIDE A WHITE HORSE

    A waitress goes about her daily routine serving coffee whilst having thoughts of escaping her reality. A costumer is constantly recording and listening back to the surrounding sounds of the café and is completely fixated by this task. Apathy is a condition that leads consciousness into stagnation...

  • THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

    December 1999. I remember that, amidst the Millennium Bug anxiety, I went to the birthday of Enrico, a kid who lived with his family in an old and isolated farmhouse.

    Directed by: Francesco Sossai

    Written by: Francesco Sossai

    Produced by: Cecilia Trautvetter, François-Pierre Clavel

    Cinematogr...

  • THE DEBUTANTE

    A spirited young woman persuades a hyena from London Zoo to take her place at a dreaded dinner dance being held in her honour. Their plan requires a surprising amount of artistry and violence.

    THE DEBUTANTE is based on a short story written by the artist Leonora Carrington, who was presented at...

  • THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE FOREST

    A lonely man limps down the road. A truck drives up to him. Several armed men jump out of it. They capture the limping man and transport him to the forest. The only witnesses of the scene are people from a nearby village. Since 2021, situations like these are commonplace on the Polish-Belarusian ...

  • THINGS UNHEARD OF

    A little Kurdish girl tries to put a smile back on her grandmother’s face after the disappearance of her television, her only window into the world.

    Directed by: Ramazan Kılıç

    Written by: Ramazan Kılıç

    Produced by: Ekin Koç

    Cinematography: Sebastian Weber

    Editing: Abdullah Enes Ünal

    Product...

  • WOMEN VISITING A CITY

    Three retired women travel by bus on their way to discover Europe. They’ve recently lost their husbands and now it’s time to start living. They’ve heard people talk about the wonders of tourism all their lives and are dying to experience them firsthand.

    Directed by: Enrique Buelo

    Written by: En...

  • ZOON

    Small shimmering animals are in heat. A two-legged forest dweller encounters the lustful group. He and his companions snack on the little creatures and soon a feast begins.

    Directed by: Jonatan Schwenk

    Written by: Jonatan Schwenk, Merlin Flügel

    Produced by: Jonatan Schwenk

    Cinematography: Fer...