Short Film Competition announced for 31st Warsaw Film Festival

The Warsaw Film Festival have announced Shorts Competition line-up. 23 short films will compete for the Shorts Grand Prix and awards for the best live action, animated, documentary short film at 31st Warsaw Film Festival. The winner will have the privilege to compete for the Oscar in the Best Short Film category.

The programme consists of 10 World Premieres, 7 International Premieres, 5 European and 1 Polish premiere.

 A Wide Gaze  (Dir. Guido Pappadà, Italy 2015)

The story of Francesco Cito, a Neapolitan photographer who left Italy soon after his twentieth birthday to conquer the world of photo reportages. His very successful career has lasted more than thirty years.

Auto Copa Park (Dir. João Atala, Brazil 2015)
During the night, somewhere in Copacabana, something supernatural happens to Marcos.

Coup de Grâce  (Dir. Pascal Glatz, Switzerland 2015)
At a remote mountain lake a bound man with cement shoes is being dragged to the water. His request for a coup de grâce escalates into an absurd clash.

Didochok (Dir. Volodymyr Tykhyy, Ukraine 2015). p[ictured above
Anti-archetypical grandparents are the main characters who step by step travel through film clichés, culminating in a grotesque unnatural finale that no longer seems absurd.

The Dog Catcher  (Dir. Daria Woszek, Poland 2015)
A black comedy telling a story of a man who kidnaps dogs for ransom, however, returns them in glory of a saviour. One day he kidnaps a German shepherd that turns out to be a stray dog.

The Foreigner  (Dir. Jonathan Sutak, USA 2015).
In 2011, a computer game tournament in Columbus, Ohio, became a battle of two nations. The film takes us behind the scenes as four elite South Korean pro gamers annihilate the competition, and one brash American fights back.

Fulfilament  (Dir. Rhiannon Evans, United Kingdom 2015)
Travel around the brain with a little, lost thought and discover what it takes to make a great idea.

Go to City Ele (Dir. Wenyu Li, China 2015)
In a civilized society, discrimination has not disappeared. A story about a little pig who comes from P Town and goes to the metropolis City Ele where the elephants live.

Goodbye  (Dir. Yordan Petkov, Bulgaria 2015)
A German couple, together with their teenage daughter, are having a second honeymoon at Sunny Beach, Bulgaria. When the husband goes missing, his wife and daughter begin suspecting he's having an affair.

Group B (Dir. Nick Rowland, United Kingom 2015)
Rally driver Shane Hunter is facing his comeback to Group B competition after a long and troubled absence.

In Between (Dir. Rolf Steinmann, Germany 2015).
Once there was an ice age but it is disappearing. This is a lyrical and thought-provoking short film about the death of an era.

It (Dir. Genadzi Buto, Belarus,/Russia 2015)
A creature settles in a young man's room and feeds him but at the same time kills him. The man's life is falling apart, and he has no choice but to struggle to the death against this dependence.

The Latino Ladies’ Club (Dir. Boris Misirkov & Georgi Bogdanov, Bulgaria/USA 2015)
Nine honourable ladies gathered at a round table talk about their life and Sephardic traditions in Ladino - the language spoken by Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1492.

Lebanon Wins the World Cup (Dir. Tony ElKhoury & Anthony Lappé, Lebanon/USA 2015)
On the eve of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, two former enemies from the Lebanese civil war prepare to support their favourite team, Brazil. Can the tournament unite them despite all that's gone wrong?

The Offering (Dir. Javier Gutiérrez & Greg Slagle, Colombia 2015)
Ramiro and Maicol travel to a remote region of the Colombian Andes in search of a family to deliver a sombre message. They soon find, however, that they each must face an unexpected challenge.

Ogasavara (Dir. Tato Kotetishvili, Georgia 2015)
Murad and Masha decide to get married, but before they achieve this goal, life has some unbelievable and sad stories in store for them.

Outsider (Dir. Ivan D. Gaona, Colombia 2015)
Leonidas Pinzon used to have a restaurant but now spends his time playing billiards. One day the police ask him to receive an outsider in his house. Soon several murders in neighbouring towns warn Leonidas about his visitor.

Periphery (Dir. David Coquard-Dassault, France 2015)
A journey into the heart of a large and abandoned estate. The film portrays an urban environment becoming wild.

The Teacup (Dir. Elif Boyacioglu, Irleand 2015)
Once there was a man who was afraid to go out…

The Tenants (Dir. Klara Kochańska, Poland 2015)
A single woman buys an apartment on a bailiffs auction. When she moves to her new home the keys don't match and she can't open the door.

Thursday (Dir. Bruno Brejt, Poland 2015)
Early morning. Police negotiator picks up the phone. It looks like another typical case. Just the beginning of another day...

Toonocalypse (Dir. Owen Rixon, United Kingdom 2015)
Two students living in Edinburgh document the arrival on Earth of a species of small, cute, cartoon aliens, known as "Toons". Over time the Toons become integrated into society, but after a year on Earth, without warning, some of the Toons start to change into something far larger and scarier.

Woods (Dir. Ignas Meilūnas, Lithuania 2015)
An old hermit scientist tries to catch a mythical creature which lives in the forest and glows in the dark, in order to complete his exclusive collection. He constructs a trap but soon gets into an uncomfortable situation himself.

28 September 2015, by Laurence Boyce