Short Matters

The Ministry of Education and Culture, the European Film Academy and the ARTos Foundation have the pleasure of presenting to the Cypriot audiences, for the 4th consecutive year, the best European short films for the past year.

The two-day tribute will take place (on September 16 and 17) under the fall sky, in the picturesque open space of the ARTos Foundation, during which the short film fans will dive into films that are dynamic, subversive, dense in meaning, humor and fresh breath, of a generation of film-makers that will soon be taking over the full length film scene.

The Academy was founded in 1988, and it now unites more than 2,000 European film professionals with the common aim of developing and promoting Europe's film culture. Every year, the various activities of the European Film Academy culminate in the ceremony of the European Film Awards.

The tribute will travel to Limassol on September 27th, in collaboration with the Cyprus University of Technology.

PROGRAM

Swimming Lesson (Zwemles)
Belgium, 10 min, animation

Director, scriptwriter, editor: Danny de Vent
Animation: Danny de Vent & Vincent Bierrewaerts
3-D artists: Koen Vermaanen, Bruno Hanssens
Music: Johan Derycke
Voices: Yael & Emma Sertons, Pierre Louis de Clercq

A four-year-old boy is having his first swimming lesson. He undertakes an adventurous trip to the other side of the very deep swimming pool and overcomes his fear.

EFA Short Film Nominee Ghent 2009

14
UK, 9 min, fiction

Director, scriptwriter, producer: Asitha Ameresekere
Editor: Abraham He Teweldebrhan
Director of Photography: Line Nikita Blom
Sound: Rob Thomas
Cast: Sarah Ridgeway, Tony Wadham, Susan Cummins

14 explores the cycle of abuse within a family. It presents clues to events that happened in the past, and is shot entirely from the perspectives of the characters involved.

EFA Short Film Nominee Cork 2009

Tile M for Murder (Lägg M för mord)
Sweden, 8 min, fiction

Director: Magnus Holmgren
Writers: Magnus Holmgren, Anette Brantin
Director of Photography: Ragna Jorming
Art director: Anna Paulson
Sound: Kalle Camnert
Music: Josef Tuulse
Editor: Magnus Holmgren
Cast: Gustaf Hammarsten, Rachel Mohlin

It’s a hot summer day. A married couple is playing Scrabble. Deep down they loathe each other and when the game seems to have magic powers, the man figures out a way to get rid of his wife.

EFA Short Film Nominee Valladolid 2009

What's left (Was bleibt)
Germany, 17 min, fiction

Director, scriptwriter, editor:David Nawrath
Director of Photography: Markus Koob
Sound: Sebastian Luka
Cast: Maximilian Köster, Andrej Kaminsky, Nora von Waldstätten

"Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them." (Oscar Wilde)
Mathis is 19 years old. At the day of his grandmother´s burial, Mathis and his father have to spend a day together after a long time. During that day they get to know each other again. It seems like father and son would come together for a short moment.

EFA Short Film Nominee Angers 2009

The Sufferings of Mr Karpf - The Birthday (Die leiden des herrn Karpf - Der geburtstag)
Germany, 10 min, fiction

Director: Lola Randl
Script: Lola Randl, Rainer Egger
Editor: Sabine Smit
Music: Maciej Sledziecki
Sound Mix: Karl Atteln
Graphics: Marion Wörle
Actor: Rainer Egger

It’s Mr Karpf’s birthday, but nobody calls. Probably there’s something wrong with his phone…

EFA Short Film Nominee Berlin 2009

The Glass Trap (Szklana Pulapka)
Poland, 15 min, documentary

Director, scriptwriter: Paweł Ferdek
Director of Photography: Wojciech Staroń
Editor: Jan Przyłuski
Music: Mikołaj Trzaska
Sound: Kamil Radziszewski

"Acquiring food, reproduction, defence and attack are the main reasons of fish behaviour. Fish in the shoal struggle for domination. Menacing appearance may be enough for victory," reads the narrator. It sounds like a nature documentary. But don’t be fooled. The dense atmosphere of the aquarium fish fights can trigger primordial instincts in people.

EFA Short Film Nominee Tampere 2009

Poste Restante
Poland, 14 min, documentary

Director, scriptwriter: Marcel Łoziński
Producer: Dorota Roszkowska
Director of Photography: Jacek Petrycki
Editor: Rafał Listopad
Sound: Tomasz Wieczorek

Letters whose addressees are impossible to find end up at the department for undeliverable letters of the post office in Koluszki. There are around a million of them in Poland each year, among them those addressed to God. The film tells a story of one of those letters.

European Film Academy Short Film 2009
EFA Short Film Nominee Cracow 2009

Between Dreams
France/Russia/Finland, 11 min, documentary

Director: Iris Olsson
Screenwriter: Iris Olsson
Cinematographer: Natasha Pavlovskaya
Music: Florian Krebs

With a rattling Trans-Siberian night train serving as the visual and aural backdrop, the passengers in the third class sleeping car recount their dreams - and share their stories.

EFA Short Film Nominee Grimstad 2009

Peter in Radioland
UK, 10 min, documentary

Director, Director of Photography: Johanna Wagner
Editor: Mark Jenkins
Sound Recordist: Ayla Irebring
Sound Design: Matt Hulse
Animators: Owen Rixon, David Ross
Producer: Rebecca Day

Peter is on sick leave and spends most of his time alone in his house, contemplating his past. Little makes sense to him anymore in a world made up of zeros and ones. Comforted by his analogue radios, his memories and his loving wife, Peter is left yearning for the old days. This film shares with us a common fear of change portrayed through Peter’s struggle to find his place in the modern world.

EFA Short Film Nominee Edinburgh 2009

Renovare
Germany/Romania, 24 min, fiction

Director, scriptwriter: Paul Negoescu
Co-writer: Simona Ghita Διεύθυνση
Director of Photography: Andrei Butica
Editor: Elisabeth Raßbach, Dragos Apetri
Sound Design: Friedrich Wohlfarth
Cast: Simona Bondoc, Clara Voda, Andrei Runcanu

The events of Renovare revolve around three personal stories:
Besides her daily work, mother Doina tries to manage the renovation of the family’s apartment. Her son Alex can hardly find any time for both the renovation and his girlfriend as the deadline for his Master’s thesis comes close. His grandmother Flori insists to help the family although her support is not always welcome.

EFA Short Film Nominee Vila do Conde 2009

The Herd
Ireland, 4 min, documentary

Director, scriptwriter, editor: Ken Wardrop
Music: Denis Clohessy

A chronicle of a new addition to the cow herd on a family farm.

EFA Short Film Nominee Sarajevo 2009

Sinner
Israel, 28 min, fiction

Director, scriptwriter, editor: Meni Philip
Cinematographer: Addie Reiss
Sound designer: Gadi Raz
Cast: Lior Shabtai, Yuval Berger, Omri Aisha, Ami Weinberg

Yotam, a 13-year-old boy studying at an ultra-Orthodox Jewish boarding school, tries to battle the awakening of his sexual desires. Confused and guilt-ridden, he consults with his rabbi who abuses his position and Yotam’s innocence. With no one to trust and nowhere to go, Yotam finds himself trapped by the enforced silence in his community.

EFA Short Film Nominee Venice 2009

Good Night (Bonne Nuit)
Belgium, France, 18 min, fiction

Director, screenwriter: Valéry Rosier
Cinematographer: Hichame Alaouié
Editor: Damien Keyeux
Sound: Arnaud Calvar
Music: Cyrille de Haes
Cast: Alain Eloy, Martin Combes, Clémentine Lefeuvre

40-year-old Philippe, who works in a demolition company, visits his two children. He picks them up from his ex-wife’s house. But Philippe is hiding something from his children, he is not reacting as usual - tonight, his children will not go to sleep at home.

EFA Short Film Nominee Drama 2009