CINEUROPA TOP FIVE EUROPEAN SHORTS OF 2017

Every year, Cineuropa Shorts have polled some of the most important people working with short film to discover their picks for the best short film of the year. In 2017, a diverse range of people - from festivals such as London, Venice, Oberhausen, Encounters amongst many others - have made their selection.

The rules for selection are straightforward – each participant is given the opportunity to select five shorts from Europe. The shorts are presented in particular order. We also give everyone a chance to choose one short that does not originate in Europe. With release dates for short films being somewhat fluid, we also give no hard and fast rule about the date the film was made. Instead we ask participants to choose shorts that have ‘risen to prominence in 2017’. What that actually entails is within the purview of the respondent.

We try and avoid this begin a definitive showcase of what constitutes 'the best' - those who know the short film world will appreciate it's diversity and it would be reductive to turn this into a top ten list. Yet there are those that have obviously struck a chord with our correspondents. Niki Lindroth von Bahr The Burden garnered praise for being a complex and brilliantly realised animation (and a great musical to boot) while Flores, the sci-fi tinged work from Jorge Jacome is also a popular choice. 

With more than 100 films selected - with films across the spectrum of the short film world, from experimental to animation to live action - the list is yet again an example of the sheer breadth of talent of those across the short film world

Cineuropa Shorts would like to thank all the participants for their time and all their support for Cineuropa Shorts, for which the Top Shorts 2017 represents the last story going up at the site.

Insa Wiese (Artistic Director – International Short Film Week Regensburg)

After School Knife Fight (Dir. Jonathan Vinel, Caroline Poggi, 2017, France)
Great atmosphere and great music.
Eighth Continent (Dir. Zois Yorgos, 2017, Greece)
Beautiful shots without any comments.
Trahere (Dir. Atila Urbančič, Juš Jeraj, 2017, Slovenia)
Fun watching men enjoing their tractor: men fantasies - but this film has also a deeper story about heritage and tradition.
Keep that Dream Burning (Dir. Rainer Kohlberger, 2017, Austria/Germany)
Enjoying the noise and the game of searching for structures. Kohlberger's work fascinates me.
Islands [Les îles] (Dir. Yann Gonzales, 2017, France)
Somehow strange atmosphere due to the music, the characters, the settings and the style in general.
Interiors & Exteriors (Dir. Ashique Mostafam, 2017, Bangladesh)
I like this very simple way of film making, which is showing us an everyday life situation in another country, without any comment or pathos.

Szymon Stemplewski & Emilia Mazik (Festival Director and Programmer at Short Waves Festival)

Astrometal (Dir. Efthimis Kosemund Sanidis, 2017, Greece)
After School Knife Fight (Dir. Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel, 2017, France)
Flores (Dir. Jorge Jacome, 2017, Portugal)
Min Börda [The Burden] (Dir. Niki Lindroth von Bahr, 2017, Sweden)
The Mouth [La Bouche] (Dir. Camillo Restrepo, 2017, France)
Rabbit Hunt (Dir. Patrick Bresnan, 2017, USA)

Wouter Jansen (Some Shorts and head of the competition programs at Go Short - International Short Film Festival Nijmegen)

Martin Cries [Martin Pleure] (Dir. Jonathan Vinel, 2017, France)
I love the way Jonathan combines these scenes from a popular videogame with a narrative that’s poetic, humorous and full of love.
The Burden [Min Börda] (Dir. Niki Lindroth von Bahr, 2017, Sweden)
I have already re-watched this film so often. No idea that a musical with sardines could touch me so much. And I’m just a sucker for auto-tune.
As We’re Told (Dir. Erik Holmström, Fredrik Wenze, 2017, Sweden)
My surprise from this year’s IDFA selection. Will be at a lot of festivals this year I expect. Such good puppeteering in this documentary that you have the feeling you’re looking at real people.
Rubber Coated Steel (Dir. Lawrence Abu Hamdan, 2017, Lebanon/Germany)
Blew me away the first time I saw it. Very strong visual style that makes no concessions while at the same time telling a very political message.
Black Line [Ligne Noire] (Dir. Francesca Scalisi, Mark Olexa, 2017, Switzerland)
This film is why I love short film.

Marcin Łuczaj (sales agent - New Europe Film Sales and programmer at ZUBROFFKA Short Film Festival)

The Burden [Min Börda] (Dir. Niki Lindroth von Bahr, 2017, Sweden)
Flores (Dir. Jorge Jácome, 2017, Portugal)
Invisibly [Láthatatlanul] (Dir. Aron Szentpeteri, 2017, Hungary)
Copa-Loca (Dir. Christos Massalas, 2017, Greece)
The Best Fireworks Ever [Najlepsze Fajerwerki Ever] (Dir. Aleksandra Terpińska, 2017, Poland)
A Gentle Night [Xiao Cheng Er Yue] (Dir. Qiu Yang, 2017, China/France)

Gaia Meucci (Programmer Encounters Short Film Festival)

The Ceiling [Katto] (Dir. Teppo Airaksinen, 2017, Finland)
A study of male vulnerability using a surreal touch to talk about depression, middle-age fears and how embracing life’s (quite literally) low points can go a long way.
Exercise One (Dir. Victoria Verseau, 2017, Sweden)
A most precious, eye-opening and honest insight into the struggle faced by a transperson after a gender re-assignment surgery.
We Love Moses (Dir. Dionne Edwards, 2016, UK)
One of the most vibrant coming-of-age stories I had seen in a while. Dionne Edwards injects the journey of a black girl approaching puberty and discovering sex with fresh, stylised and bold storytelling.
Signature (Dir. Kei Chikaura, 2017, Japan)
A brilliant exercise in minimal storytelling which, in its deceptive simplicity, resonates with poignant notions of displacement, personal identity, isolation and the cultural barriers created by communication.
Diagnosis  (Dir. Eva Riley, 2017, UK)
A woman’s secretive evening job as an actor in medical role-play blurs the lines between the real and the made-up as she becomes more and more unable to keep the perfect façade of her life intact. Eva Riley’s here chooses a highly original backdrop and a controlled, clinical aesthetic to channel the all-too feminine pressure to hide behind an impeccable image.
Real Gods Require Blood (Dir. Moin Hussain, 2017, UK)
Atmospheric, beautifully shot and truly scary, this is a high-quality horror short film in which every aspect is constructed with great care, building up fear and suspense in the viewer with its very confident storytelling and visual style.

Enrico Vannucci (Short Film Advisor Venice Film Festival / Short Film Programmer Torino Short Film Market)

Aria (Dir. Myrsini Aristidou, 2017, Cyprus/France)
Gros Chagrin (You’ll be fine) (Dir. Céline Devaux, 2017, France)
Tresnje [Cherries] (Dir. Dubravka Turić, 2017, Croatia)
Ambi (Dir. Marija Apcevska, 2017, Macedonia)
A perfect day for swimming (Dir. Shira Porat, 2017, Israel)
Negah [Gaze] (Dir. Farnoosh Samadi, 2017, Iran)

Lydia Beilby (Short Film Programmer, Edinburgh International Film Festival) 

Monument Part One. (Dir. Tom Chick. 2017. UK)
Reflections upon the wonder and surprise inspired by early cinematic innovations are juxtaposed with images documenting small fragments and moments both preceding and following the birth of an infant.
The Colour of His Hair (Dir. Sam Ashby. 2017. UK)
A powerful meditation upon queer identity and defiance, examined through a patchwork of re-appropriated archival materials. Re-staging excepts from an unmade film script, the work asks how we can commemorate queer voices lost or obscured by (heteronormative) history?
The Sea is History (Dir. Louis Henderson. 2016. UK/ France)
Engaging the camera as an active participant, Henderson forensically interrogates the contemporary reflections of colonialism, both evident and obscured, etched into the very fabric of the landscape.
Registers (Dir. Tris Vonna-Mitchell. 2017. Sweden.)
Images as a transcription of a journey, with Japan seen through the lens of a malfunctioning camera. The resulting photographs are playfully manipulated and distorted, thus reflecting on the very process of seeing, collecting and archiving.
The Tale of Antonia [Le Conte d'Antonia] (Dir. Jorge Cadena. 2016. Switzerland)
An intoxicating combination of the earthly and the spiritual emerges as the course is navigated between childhood and maturity, summoned through a potent unfolding of ritual and transfiguration.
Dog in the Shade (Dir. Ei Toshinari. Japan/ USA. 2016)
Meandering through slippery facsimiles of memory, where fragmentary episodes and conversations almost forgotten, are excavated in an attempt to make the absent, tangible.

Cord Dueppe (Programmer and Sales Agent, interfilm Berlin)

Arr. for a Scene (Dir. Jonna Kina, 2017, Finland)
Shadow Animals [Skuggdjur] (Dir. Jerry Carlsson, 2017, Sweden)
Meryem (Dir. Reber Dosky, 2017, The Netherlands)
Rabbit Hunt (Dir. Patrick Bresnan, 2017, USA/Hungary)
Ugly (Dir. Nikita Diakur, 2017, Germany)
DeKalb Elementary (Dir. Reed Van Dyk, 2017, USA)

Christoffer Olofsson (Programme Director, Uppsala International Short Film Festival)

Somehow, in the midst of frantic holiday preparations, it seems wrong to me to intellectualise my choices - 'tis the season for unadulterated pulling at the heart strings, after all. So here are a few films with a European production country (and one allowed exception) that broke through the hardened exterior of this seasoned professional to resonate on a profoundly emotional level, shaping the way I felt - and thought - about frailty, perseverance and #metoo. There are of course other films this year that also had me down on my knees sobbing, and shaking my fist at the heavens, but usually for completely other reasons. That list is probably best left unpublished.

What Happened to Her (Dir. Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, 2016, USA)
Au Loin, Baltimore [Dreaming of Baltimore] (Dir. Lola Quivoron, 2016, France)
Harbour (Dir. Stefanie Kolk, 2017; The Netherlands)
I Made You, I Kill You (Dir. Alexandru Petru Badelita, 2016, Romania/France)
Rubber Coated Steel (Dir. Lawrence Abu Hamdan, 2017, Lebanon/Germany)
Watchkeeping [Budéjimas] (Dir. Karolis Kaupinis, 2017, Lithuania/Belgium)

Michael Pattison, Critic (Notebook MUBI, Sight & Sound etc), Programmer (Alchemy Film & Moving Image Festival), Filmmaker (Lea River Bridges, Dead Centre), idFilm.net.

Transitions (Dir. Aurèle Ferrier, 2017, Switzerland)
Impassenger (Dir. Ben Pointeker, 2017, Austria)
Fishing Is Not Done on Tuesdays (Dir. Lukas Marxt and Marcel Odenbach, 2017, Austria)
keep that dream burning (Dir. Rainer Kohlberger, 2017, Austria/Germany)
Fuddy Duddy (Dir. Siegfried A. Fruhauf, 2017, Austria)

Sven Schwarz  (Managing Director Hamburg International Short Film Festival / Curator at A Wall is a Screen)

Ain’t got no fear (Dir. Mikhail Karakis, UK, 2016)
Really loved the rhythm of this film (and I’m not only referring to the music)
Urban Cowboys (Dir. Pawel Ziemilski Poland/Ireland 2016
Strangely enough this film feels as if the protagonists of „Ain’t got no fear“ were suddenly into horses.
My Burden (Dir. Niki Lindroth von Bahr Sweden 2017)
What’s not to like about that film!
Green Screen Gringo (Dir. Douwe Dijkstra, NL 2016)
Even though it was already on some people’s list last year, the Gringo really took off this year. And I must confess that the film grew with every time I saw it.
Museumswärter (Dir.  Alexander Gratzer, Austria 2016 )
Could have been screened at every single festival. (that’s a period Sean Spicer style)
The Hollow Coin (Dir. Frank Heath USA 2016)
One of the funniest films of the year (without trying very hard to be funny at all)

John Canciani (Artistic Director, Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur)

Satan (Carlos Tapia, 2017, Switzerland)
Rubber Coated Steel (Lawrence Abu Hamdan, 2016, Germany/Lebanon)
Ligne Noire (Francesca Scalisi & Mark Olexa, 2017, Switzerland)
House of Women (Michelle Williams Gamker, 2017, United Kingdom)
Flores (Jorge Jacome, 2017, Portugal)
Death of the Sound Man (Sorayos Prapapan, 2017, Thailand)

Penelope Bartlett (Programmer, The Criterion Channel  on FilmStruck)

I haven't gotten to see quite as many shorts this year as usual, since this was the first year in about a decade that I didn't program shorts for a festival (I previously programmed for Palm Springs Shortfest, Chicago International Film Festival, and Glasgow Short Film Festival.) But, here are six short films I saw and loved at festivals this year. (Five European, one South American)

Flores (Dir. Jorge Jácome, 2017, Portugal)
The Burden [Min Börda] (Dir. Niki Lindroth von Bahr, 2017, Sweden)
Blue Christmas (Dir. Charlotte Wells, 2017, United Kingdom
Copa-Loca (Dir. Christos Massalas, 2017, Greece
The Committee [Kommittén] (Dir. Gunhild Enger, Jenni Toivoniemi, 2016, Sweden/Finland/Norway)
And the Whole Sky Fit in the Dead Cow's Eye (Dir. Francisca Alegría, 2016, Chile / USA)

Miguel Dias (Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival)

After School Knife Fight (Dirs. Caroline Poggi / Jonathan Vinel, 2017, France) or Martin Cries [Martin pleure] (Dir.Jonathan Vinel, 2017, France)
Artificial Humours [Humores Artificiais] (Dir. Gabriel Abrantes, 2017, Portugal/Brazil)
Everything (Dir. David O’Reilly, 2017, USA/Ireland)
Les Iles [Islands] (Dir.Yann Gonzalez, 2017, France)
The Burden [Min Börda] (Dir. Niki Lindroth von Bahr, 2017, Sweden)
Edge Of Alchemy (Dir. Stacey Steers, 2017, USA)

Matt Lloyd (Director, Glasgow Short Film Festival)

The Burden [Min Börda] (Dir. Niki Lindroth von Bahr, 2017, Sweden)
Deadpan humour thinly veils a colossal ambition; an elegy of night time loneliness, a whole world portrayed in a single city block hurtling through space, and a brilliantly orchestrated and choreographed musical to boot.
Everything (Dir. David OReilly, 2017, Ireland/USA
It’s debatable whether this even counts as a short film, but it’s a sublime meditation on the interconnectedness of all things.
Final Stage [The Time For All But Sunset - BGYOR] (Dir. Nicolaas Schmidt, 2017, Germany)
Self-indulgent, pompous, kitsch, joyous, cynical, melodramatic and yet meditative. This 32 minute film about lost love, designed around a tracking shot through Europe’s largest mall, really shouldn’t work - but on the big screen it sparkles.
Flores (Dir. Jorge Jácome, 2017, Portugal)
The Azores re-imagined as the site of a natural disaster. It presents its central fiction with such level-headedness that it had me Googling “Azores + hydrangeas + evacuation” against my better judgement.
Rubber Coated Steel (Dir. Lawrence Abu Hamdan, 2017, Lebanon/Germany
Calm, clinical analysis of acts of barbarity. A film about gunshots without a single shot heard. Stark and shocking.<
Kaiju Bunraku (Dirs. Jillian Mayer & Lucas Leyva, 2017, USA)
It’s anyone’s guess why no one has previously thought of wedding the disparate Japanese traditions of Bunraku puppetry and monster movies. Mayer and Leyva do so not just for postmodern LOLZ but to explore the futility of self-expression under the shadow of greater forces, and to reflect on the collateral damage wreaked by warring titans.

Wim Vanacker (Head of the Script Department - NISI MASA - European Network of Young Cinema)

Copa-Loca (Dir. Christos Massalas, 2017, Greece)
Flores (Dir. Jorge Jácome, 2017, Portugal)
Gros Chagrin (Dir. Céline Devaux, 2017, France)
Lupus (Dir. Carlos Gomez Salamanca, 2016, France/Colombia)
The Best Fireworks Ever [Najpiekniejsze fajerwerki ever] (Dir. Aleksandra Terpinska, 2017, Poland)
Möbius (Dir. Sam Kuhn, 2017, Canada/USA

Phil Ilson (Director, London Short Film Festival / Programmer, BFI London Film Festival)

British By The Grace Of God (Dir. Sean Dunn, UK)
A dark and disturbing mix of Alan Clarke, early Lynn Ramsey and British soap opera, as we focus on a Scottish working class family with various skeletons in their closets. It's a window on our small island Brexit mentality.
Cubs (Dir. Nanna Kristin Magnusdottir, Iceland)
A lonely divorced man, the sexualisation of young girls, the horrors of social media, a sleepover, and a 'car crash' waiting to happen; I watched through my fingers when I first saw this powerful well-acted drama that plays with our expectations and suprises us with it's finale.
Martin Cries (Dir. Jonathan Vinel, France)
A masterpiece about lonliness in the 21st century, as the whole story is played out using re-approrpriated Grand Theft Auto footage, with an existentalist voiceover to boot. Funny, languid and moving in equal measure.
Work (Dir. Aneil Karia, UK)
UK director Karia ('Beat') returns with a slice of life look at a working class black schoolgirl dealing with life while taking out her anger and energy in dance classes. Shades of 'Fish Tank' (Andrea Arnold)
Written / Unwritten (Dir. Adrian Silisteanu, Romania)
This powerful Roma drama borders on observational documentary, as a family at a hospital attempt to register a new born baby. Ancient cultures clash in the modern world, with superb performances all round.
Lunch Time (Dir. Alireza Ghasemi, Iran)
A distressed teenage girl arrives at a morgue to identify her dead mother, but things aren't quite what they seem in this portrait of the underbelly of Iranian life.

Carmen Gray (Journalist / Programmer, Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur)

If Only There Were Peace (Dir. Deniz Tortum and Carmine Grimaldi, 2017, Turkey/USA)
Moonshiners [Salaviinanpolttajat] (Dir. Juho Kuosmanen, 2017, Finland)
Flores (Dir. Jorge Jácome, 2017, Portugal)
La Bouche (Dir. Camilo Restrepo, 2017, France)
Rubber Coated Steel (Dir. Lawrence Abu Hamdan, 2016, Germany/Lebanon)
On Generation and Corruption (Dir. Makino Takashi, 2017, Japan) 

Vladan Petkovic (Journalist)

Blink (Dir. Jakov Labrović, Croatia 2017)
This incredible short film is yet to hit the European festival scene. I saw it at Liburnia Film Festival, a festival of Croatian documentaries, and Blink won the main prize. Labrović is not a filmmaker, he is an artist and performer, and he made the film out of footage of his schizophrenic brother that he shot himself over the course of a year. The film only has five one-shot sequences, and the effect of a sledgehammer hitting you in the head, the stomach, and the heart.
Wednesday with Goddard (Dir, Nicolas Ménard, UK 2016)
The most thrilling and exhilarating animated short film in… well right now I can't remember something to match it. In its 4 minutes and 30 seconds it covers personal issues, philosophy, cinephilia, romance, self-pity, search for God… and ironically subverts it all at the same time.
Pussy (Dir. Renata Gąsiorowska, Poland 2016)
The most imaginative and fun take on the subject matter.
Taking the Floor (Dirs. Hannes Vartiainen & Pekka Veikkolainen, Finland 2017)
Simplicity is the hardest thing to achieve, especially in a short documentary. It probably took them months of watching and editing, but these two filmmakers take the most direct approach to the issue of democracy and show us its shortcomings in the most engaging manner.
Fight on a Swedish Beach!! (Dir. Simon Vahlne, Sweden 2016)
A cringy look at touchy ethical issues, like only Swedes do it.
It's Easier to Raise Cattle (Dir. Amanda Nell Eu, Malaysia 2017)

Lars Henrik Gass (Director International Short Film Festival Oberhausen)

Animal Year (Dir. Zhong Su, 2016, China)
Barbs, Wasteland [Farpões, baldios] (Dir. Marta Mateus, 2017, Portugal)
Comes and Goes [Vai e Vem] (Dir. Louise Botkay, 2016, Brazil)
How to reach God through proper exercising (Dir. Gabriel Herrera Torres, 2016, Poland)
Stabat Mater (Dir. Josef Dabernig, 2016, Austria)
Ubi Sunt (Dir. Salomé Lamas, 2017, Portugal)

Neil Young (freelance film-critic and curator. www.jigsawlounge.co.uk/film)

Dead Centre (Dir. Michael Pattison, 2017, UK)
The Artificial Humors [Os Humores Artificiais] (Dir. Gabriel Abrantes, 2016, Portugal)
Everything (Dir. David O’Reilly, 2017, Ireland/USA)
Phantom Ride Phantom (Dir. Siegfried A. Fruhauf, 2017, Austria)
The Shenehen Queen [Shenekhenskaya tsaritsa / Шэнэхэнская царица] (Dir. Anastasia Zverkova, 2017, Russia)

Anna Zača, curator at Short Riga / RIGA IFF, curator and head of the board at Latvian Animation Association)

The Burden [Min Börda] (Dir. Niki Lindroth von Bahr, 2017, Sweden)
Man (Dir. Maija Borg, 2017, Sweden)
Budejamas [Watchkeeping] (Dir. Karolis Kaupinis, 2017, Lithuania)
Nyo Vweta Nafta [Girl Named Nafta] (Dir. Ico Costa, 2017, Portugal)
Fanny (Dir. Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel, 2017,Norway)
Everything (Dir. David O'Railly, 2017 USA/Ireland)

Per Fikse (Director - Minimalen Short Film Festival, Trondheim)

Written/Unwritten [Scris/Nescris] (Dir: Adrian Silisteanu, 2016, Romania)
The Burden [Min Börda] (Dir: Niki Lindroth von Bahr, 2017, Sweden)
In The Woods [Ins Holz] (Dir: Thomas Horat, Corina Schwingruber Ilic, 2017, Switzerland)
You Will Be Fine [Gros Chagrin] (Dir: Céline Devaux, 2017, France)
Meryem (Dir: Reber Dosky, 2017, The Netherlands)
Animal [Heyvan] (Dir: Bahram Ark, 2017, Iran)

Thomas Grimshaw (International Programmer, London Short Film Festival)

Nyo Vweta Nafta (Dir. Ico Costa, 2017, Portugal/Mozambique)
Flores (Dir. Jorge Jácome, 2017, Portugal)
The Disinherited [Los Desheredados) (Dir. Laura Ferrés, 2017, Spain)
Keep That Dream Burning (Dir. Ranier Kohlberger, 2017, Germany)
HIWA (Dir. Jacqueline Lentzou, 2017, Greece)
Ride Like Thunder, Crash Like Lightning (Dir. Fern Silva, 2017, USA)

Laurence Boyce (Head of Live Action Shorts Programme POFF Shorts / Journalist)

La Bouche (Dir. Camilo Restrepo, 2017, France)
An astonishing cinematic experience with Restrepo utilising the talents of Mohamed "Diable Rouge" Bangoura who takes part in this loose re-telling of his story of a man who learns his daughter has been brutally murdered by her husband. Part folklore, part human drama and part performance piece, the film shakes with vitality and energy. While much of this spark comes from the performative aspects of the film it remains a profoundly cinematic piece, as it comes bound with the power of both rhythm and storytelling.
Copa-Loca (Dir. Christos Massalas, 2017, Greece)
After the brilliantly subversive Flowers and Bottoms, Christos Massalas latest film is a finely tuned surreal comedy that houses a fine line of satire and a wonderful central performance from Jenny Hiloudaki. Ostensibly about an abandonded summer resort, the film has a sharp and clever eye for the heat and haze of summer ennui as well as the urgent search for humour and sex amidst a sense of nothing. But it also is a clever satire on a country turned into a theme park by circumstances and a population treated as little more than tourists.
Wave (Dirs. Benjamin Cleary and TJ Grady O'Payton, 2017, Ireland)
After winning the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short with Stutterer, Benjamin Cleary came back with Wave. The story of a man who wakes up from a coma (played with aplomb by co-director O-Payton) to discover he is speaking a language no-one recognises is a slick and accomplished affair. The more cynical would be quick to dismiss the film as a cheap sentimentality or a 'calling card' film. But this is a rich and clever affair, with some sharp wit and an ending that is is a maelstrom of genuine emotion and joy. We need shorts to be hard-hitting, to tell us about the problems with the world and the difficulties we must all face. We must also be reminded that human beings can also be good and decent and that - every so often - we can make each other's lives better.
En La Boca (Dir. Matteo Gariglio, Switzerland/Argentina, 2016)
This documentary  about a family who lives and works in the shadows of the legendary Boca Juniors stadium, who are involved with various illegal activities, carries a grim sense of inevitability as the fate of the main character is revealed in the opening credits. Yet, while tough going, it's an achingly human film about the will to survive and to constant desire to make oneself a better person. 
Nightshade (Dir. Shady El-Hamus, The Netherlands, 2017)
While the 'immigration' film is now a well known (and still vitally important) genre in the short film world, this take on it is a clever and moving piece of work that adds in elements of loss of innocence as a new generation sees the tragedy wrought by the modern day.
Technical Break (Dir. Philip Sotnychenko, Ukraine, 2018)
A stunning film of a cashier going on break and how life changes in the shortest of time. Shot in one continuous take, the film is never 'gimmicky', and is a finely tuned exploration of human fraility. It's just started it's festival life and deserves to go on to great success in 2018