4th - 17th November 2019
3 Sleeps
Short
9-year-old Casey lives on a tough London estate with her mother and two young sisters. Casey is sworn to secrecy when her mother leaves the girls home alone for the weekend, but navigating an adult world without mum won’t be easy.
73 Cows
Documentary
A vegetarian beef farmer struggles with his conscience every time he takes his cattle to slaughter, and must decide what to do with his 73 cows when he makes a big career change. This film won Best British Short Film at BAFTA 2019.
A Disappearance
Short
Over the course of one night, in a dingy small-town psychic fayre, ‘Dame Alvera’ attempts to claw back the fame she once enjoyed as a celebrity psychic by intervening in a recent tragedy which has devastated the local community.
A Family Affair
Short
When Annabelle wakes up in a stranger’s bedroom on her 30th birthday, she thinks the day cannot possibly get any worse. She’s painfully hungover, and struggling with the complexities of life and love. And then, Bernard walks in…
A Son Like Others
Student
Dinis, a teenager with schizophrenia, desperately wants to go to university like the rest of his peers. His mother and younger sister want him to lead a normal life, but both struggle against their instincts to protect him at all costs.
A Song Can’t Burn
Documentary
Professor and musician Nigel Osborne has developed techniques to use music as therapy for children suffering the effects of trauma, and travels to Lebanon to participate in a programme for Syrian refugees who have fled there.
Almost There
Student
On a train journey unlike any other, an observer goes to extreme lengths to avoid other passengers, a giant baby escapes his parents, and a romantic woman starts a relationship with a cuckoo. This train never stops and has no destination.
An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Sussex
Documentary
A day in the life of a little café by the sea with a special atmosphere, which attracts and indulges visitors of all kinds – from those who are just passing through, to those who choose to congregate there almost every single day.
Ashmina
Short
In an impoverished country, a 13-year-old girl working for small change on a landing field for paragliders finds herself torn between her financial obligation to her family and the influence of the foreign visitors she comes across.
Asparagus Tips
Short
A dinner party kicks off when the last guest arrives – the oddly named Asparagus Tips. The other guests stomach the reality that as her name suggests, she has asparagi for fingers. When the starter is overcooked, she steps up to the plate.
Blieschow
Animation
Tom, a sensitive little boy, experiences an overwhelming summer at Blieschow – his Grandfather’s farm. The constant competition Tom faces with his cousin for the love and recognition he desperately craves drives him to his limits.
Bound to Print
East Anglian
The John Jarrold Printing Museum, which exists to celebrate Norwich’s rich printing history, faces closure as the city council approves plans to demolish its existing site. The museum’s volunteers share their stories and concerns.
Carlotta’s Face
Animation
As a child, Carlotta could not recognise faces – including her own. Instead, she used art to recognise and identify herself and those around her. Years later, she learns about the rare brain deficit that causes her unusual condition.
Cows Come Home
OMM
A desperate farmer does everything in his power to save his last cow, who seems intended for a bigger purpose. This film offers sci-fi, comedy, action, and a mix of 2d computer animation with hand-built sets – and all in one minute!
Daughter
Animation
A young girl struggles with feeling unloved by her father, and compensates by losing herself in her imagination. As an adult, devastating circumstances force the daughter to try to understand and forgive him before it is too late.
Dios Nunca Muere (God Never Dies)
Student
A mother struggles to raise her two children on a farmworkers camp of undocumented migrant workers in upstate New York. When a mobile home arrives at the farm, she allows herself and her children to believe that the home is their own.
Dulce
Documentary
On Colombia’s Pacific Coast, a mother helps her daughter to overcome her fear of the water and learn how to swim, as rising tides caused by climate change threaten people’s safety and livelihoods in the remote region they call home.
E.N.S.
East Anglian
Jenny Taylor and Mike Litoris suffer from E.N.S (Embarrassing Name Syndrome), and run a support group for fellow sufferers. A documentary filmmaker observes the group and the quirky healing techniques used by those afflicted.
Early Birds
Short
Three hard-up pensioners, who live together as subtenants, are desperate to experience one last thrill in the twilight of their lives to escape the loneliness and sadness of poverty in old-age. So, they set about planning an epic heist.
El Hor
Short
El Hor takes viewers on a strange trip from the past into the future, and from life to death, by observing of the most ancient and highly honoured dog breeds – the Saluki. It pays powerful tributes to history and cosmology along the way.
Eyeshadow
Student
Two deteriorating lives build a friendship from their reflections on identity and loneliness in Chile during the 1990s. This film explores HIV/AIDS and its social stigma, inspired by the chronicles of Pedro Lemebel – an openly gay Chilean activist.
Finding Lines
OMM
This experimental micro-documentary sheds light on the geometrical patterns that make cities around the world run smoothly. A skateboarder explores the many man-made shapes he passes as he weaves his way through a metropolis.
Forget Me Not
Short
A young girl, lost and alone in London, forms an unlikely alliance with a lonely homeless man as she struggles to get a message to her family. The film offers a tender, complex and compassionate exploration of the power and nature of hope, encompassing themes of homelessness, peace and the importance of helping others. Starring James Cosmo, John Heffernan and introducing Ruby Royle.
Framing Agnes
Documentary
In the late 1950s, a woman named Agnes approached the UCLA Medical Centre seeking sex reassignment surgery. Her story was long considered to be exceptional, until case files of other patients were discovered in 2017.
Fuse
Animation
A group of men in a marketplace heatedly discuss how they should kill an animal caught in a mousetrap. Each man seems desperate to trump the others’ sadistic fantasies, and this macabre game soon begins to spiral out of control.
Gone
Short
It’s been 5 months since the women left, but have the men learnt anything in that time? While three bemused young men attend a support group to try to make sense of the situation, a young mother makes the hardest decision of her life.
Good Luck
Short
Tom is an ambitious young man, who is determined to pursue business and leave his orphanage upbringing far behind. It will take a huge lottery win, and some costly prices to pay, to make Tom recognise the important things in life.
Grace
Short
A young woman of colour is evicted from her home. Her subsequent encounters reveal the many injustices that pervade in the callous society that surrounds her, which has been built to exploit the precariousness of people like herself.
Granbad
Short
A young boy with dyslexia is struggling with low self-confidence, but makes great strides with the gentle encouragement of his Grandad. He inadvertently shows a lonely bully everything you can gain from loving your Grandparents.
Grandad Was A Romantic
Animation
A child documents the love life of her Grandad – a passionate romantic. She describes the moment that he first came across a picture of her Granny, and decided that she was the love of his life. And his romantic gestures didn’t stop there.
Great Expectations
East Anglian
In the space of three days, Pip has lost her job, boyfriend and flat. Craving a new start, she returns home to the Brexit British countryside. This film offers a re-telling of the classic Dickens novel, with a modern and darkly comedic female voice.
Grounding
Short
Kane’s severe anxiety is taking a heavy toll on his relationship with his girlfriend, who has slowly become his full-time carer. The young couple must find better balance, or risk losing each other at a time when they need each other most.
Guaxuma
Animation
Film director Nara Normande reflects on her personal connection to Guaxuma – the beach in north-east Brazil where she grew up. She uses a mix of animation styles, all connected to sand, to illustrate the childhood events that shaped her.
Have We Met Before?
Short
This docudrama captures the history of dating in the homosexual community since the 1970s, and explores how the internet revolutionised the way that gay men meet. These slices of social history highlight the timeless need for intimacy.
Holy Cannelloni
Short
13-year-old Maria mistakes her coming-of-age ceremony for an actual wedding. She discovers who she’s destined to marry, and what ‘sexed’ really means, and she decides to show her family what a strong Italian woman is made of.
Home Girl
Short
Roya, a British-Muslim woman, grieves after her mother’s death. After the funeral, she returns to a home which feels emptier than it once was, and discovers that her relationship with another woman wasn’t as concealed as she thought it was.
Hook Up 2.0
Short
The college hook-up is a popular light-night ritual, but it can involve plenty of risk if precautions aren’t taken. A sorority girl devises a way to eliminate all risk from the activity, and now, all she needs to do is to find a guy to test out her idea on – and with…
Hymm of Hate
Short
During the Spring of 1916, two British soldiers creep across ‘No Man’s Land’ at the Somme. They discover common ground with a wounded German lying in the field, which – temporarily – will render the tensions that divide their nations meaningless.
If Girlfriend Deluxe
Short
Frank, a lonely middle-aged man, is desperate to re-capture the intimacy that he once enjoyed in marriage. So, he invests in Cindy – a synthetic pleasure robot – who has been programmed to fleece her clients for as much as she can.
It Starts With
Animation
Two sensitive souls sit in a workshop, and set about painting and sculpting tiny teacups for inspection. A romantic bond soon arises between them, but it risks being prematurely shattered when their teacups are judged against each other.
Kamali
Documentary
Nine-year-old Kamali is the only female skateboarder in her fishing village in southern India. While she finds a way to express herself in a male-dominated society, her mother, Suganthi, takes a pilgrimage in a quest for self-discovery.
L’Eau Est La Vie
Documentary
On the banks of Louisiana, fierce Indigenous women are ready to fight to preserve their way of life against the corporate blacksnake. They are risking everything to protect the Earth from the fossil fuel companies that seek to poison it.
Let’s Roll
Short
Antonia, a teenager from Gloucestershire, trains in secret for her town’s dangerous annual tradition – the Cheese Roll. The men in her family have dominated the event for generations, but her mother is determined to prevent her competing.
Line
OMM
An artist takes a line for a walk, and experiments with the magic of their own creativity. This one-minute experimental animation plays with the viewer’s perceptions, and explores what happens when imagination is allowed to run free.
Listen To Me Sing
Student
A miserable hotel performer is struggling to use her voice, and finds herself desperate to re-learn how to express herself. One day, she finds a walrus in her bathtub and falls in love – and this encounter might well be the making of her.
Little Miss Sumo
Documentary
Hiyori, a young female sumo wrestling champion, fights inside and outside the ring to change Japan’s national sport forever. She must balance her challenge against the discriminating status quo with preparations for the biggest tournament of her life.
Losing It
Short
Becca’s drunken hook-up with Chris goes wildly off the rails when she reveals a rather unusual fetish. This dark comedy makes light of sex and one-night-stands, and exposes just how weird they can be when differing sexual tastes combine.
Love Have I Known
East Anglian
A romantic bond blossoms between two friends: English schoolboy James, and his German counterpart Otto. The pair realise their love for each other at the break of war, and must now prepare to face each other across the battlefield.
Lowland Kids
Documentary
As climate change erases the Louisiana coast, the last two teenagers remaining on Isle de Jean Charles fight to stay on the island which has been their family’s home for generations. This is the story of America’s first climate refugees.
Maybe Tomorrow
OMM
A 23-year-old woman tries on different clothes in her room. Her fear of being harassed or assaulted when she leaves her house stops her in her tracks. Between each outfit, she struggles to banish her thoughts of nightmarish scenarios.
MJ
Short
As she attempts to find acceptance and purpose in an alienating post-millennial world, an unhinged young woman develops a violent addiction to social media. To preserve her image and pull herself out of obscurity, she feels she must kill.
Moon Rabbit
Short
During a visit to her grandparents in Japan, everything changes for 7-year-old Rio, who finds herself captivated by a Japanese folk story – Moon Rabbit. She uses it to navigate the distance between her American and Japanese relatives.
Muzzle
Short
11-year-old Kayla can evade her volatile father, but can’t stay hidden from the scary-looking dog that lives in their neighbours’ backyard. Fuelled by curiosity, she befriends the neglected pooch and must eventually prove his innocence.
My Boy
Short
Daniel is desperately looking for his son. He sets about contacting family and friends, indulging himself in nostalgic stories and gentle jokes to ease his pain, before we realise that a heartbreaking reality lies at the root of his search.
My Mother’s Eyes
Animation
Depicted in an abstracted world of childhood memory, this story concerns motherhood, loss, and the process of letting go of those you love most. This film won the Best Animated Short Film award at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.
Nefta Football Club
Short
In the south of Tunisia, two football fan brothers bump into a donkey lost in the middle of the desert on the border of Algeria. Strangely, the animal wears headphones over its ears, and carries bags full of curious white powder on its back.
New Devonia
Student
It’s been years since the catastrophic ‘Great Wave’ flooded the world. A city lies half-submerged in water, and a new kind of life is prospering. As prehistoric life forms re-emerge from the deep, humans live symbiotically with nature.
Nine Coo Five
Student
In a city square, an artist struggles to make a living through his chalk drawings. With no money coming in, his motivation to pursue his passion begins to dwindle, until he forms a friendship with a pigeon who appears inspired by his work.
Norwich Love Letter
East Anglian
An animated tribute to Norfolk’s capital through the eyes of its creators, inspired by their experience of attending university in the centre of the city. This film paints a candid picture of the characters and little corners that make Norwich so special.
Now or Never
Student
Building works are set to rip through the heart of Batang Toru – the unexplored rainforest in Indonesia occupied by the most endangered great ape species in the world. If work goes ahead, their future existence will be thrown into question.
Nurtured
Short
Struggling with a troubled home life, Alex puts all of her trust in her older brother, Jacob. But when she follows him into Soho one night on the back of a stolen rickshaw, their relationship will face challenges that neither could foresee.
Obon
Animation
Akiko Takakura is one of the last survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. During Obon, a Buddhist event devoted to commemorating one’s lost ancestors, Akiko receives the spirits of her parents and is haunted by her memories.
Off Fleek
East Anglian
Emma, an insecure teenager, suffers horrendous cyber bullying from her peers from school. Inexplicably, the body shaming abuse she receives online begins to transform her physical appearance, and her worst nightmares come true.
One Liner
Student
Ian Plinth, a has-been comedian, attempts to make his comeback on board a cruise liner. Overcome with nerves, Ian journeys into his subconcious and discovers the root of his insecurity, but re-finding his feet on choppy seas won’t be easy.
Paul is Dead
Student
It’s 1967, and deep in The Lake District, John, George and Ringo must convince a sheepish rural lookalike to join The Beatles after Paul dies during a disasterous musical retreat. This comedy-drama is inspired by the famous conspiracy theory.
Pleased to Eat You!
Short
Three men find themselves stranded at sea. When one of them dies, the two who remain face a big dilemma. There are only two ways to survive their situation – they can either eat their friend, or just sing about what it would be like if they did!
Quiet Carriage
Short
A quiet, passive individual must decide whether to intervene and stop a rule breaker on his daily commute from work, or live with a lifetime of regret. This is the story of a man’s struggle against his ridiculously overactive imagination.
Red Hill
Short
Jim, an isolated ex-miner, finishes his last day at work as a night-shift security guard before retirement. After a lifetime of hard labour, Jim’s purpose in life has gone – he must now shoulder the heavy burden of finding a new one.
Roadkill
Student
This stop-motion animated thriller takes place in a world where deer are the predators, and humans are their prey. One alpha-male deer goes for an evening car ride and after an unfortunate accident, he decides to brings some roadkill home.
Roadside Oddities
East Anglian
A woman recounts her encounter with some strange hooded figures on a night-time drive, who block her way ahead and have no whites to their eyes. She tries to pass them, but puzzlingly, she cannot remember ever making it back home.
Robot Will Protect You
Animation
It’s 2062, and cyberspace has made romatic love obsolete. To ensure people keep procreating, free childcare robots are offered to all parents. Nine-year-old Nina’s guardian, SAM-53, tries to help her find meaning in an emotionless world.
Sequins
Short
Paul Bigsby, 17, wakes up early every morning to practice his somewhat haphazard drag act. A chance encounter with jaded Blackpool queen Mimi Le Purr sets him on a collision course with his parents, bullies and the school talent show.
Seven
Short
Yohana, a teenage girl from a remote community in the Norwegian Arctic, must decide the fate of the oil worker who has killed her father. In seven seconds, she must make a life/death decision which could determine the future of her people.
Snapshots
Short
This film tells three unique stories through the voyeuristic lens of a photo booth camera. Although their circumstances and motivations are very different, each character shares a desperation which has led them to their booth.
Solar Plexus
Student
Noah is struggling to overcome grief and accept the recent death of his mother, who was once an astronaut. To move on, he must break the umbilical-like cord that connects them, and commence a journey from his flat to beyond the stars.
Solastalgia
OMM
As the film’s name suggests, Solastalgia focuses on the feeling of distress caused by environmental change. It offers a one-minute animated visual narrative, which reflects the escalating impact of human pollution on the environment.
Special Delivery
Short
On Valentine’s Day, a weary postman trudges through the February snow. He’s out delivering brightly coloured envelopes decorated with hearts and cupids, addressed to all of the doors in his neighbourhood – apart from one.
Stalker
East Anglian
In the remote forests of the Scottish Highlands, an ageing stalker puts his grit and wits to the test against a young poacher, who is taking the heads of his best stags. This film was made by a Norwich-based director, Christopher Andrews.
Stitch
Student
Harry attends an interview, optimistic that he will continue to receive the benefits that help him to live a sustainable life with his disability. But the cold bureaucracy, and the unsympathetic officials behind it, prove impossible to navigate.
Storm
Short
In the near future, citizens are forced to use a government dating app and algorithm to find their ‘perfect match’. An unsuspecting user is sent through a turbulent series of splash portals when his dating app malfunctions in the bathtub.
Swiped
Short
Alarmed by the effect that smartphones are having on those around them, three friends launch an initiative called ‘Swiped’. This involves stealing people’s phones from their mopeds – all for the noble purpose of making them more ‘present’.
That Makes Two of Us
Animation
A bitter aristocrat finds himself with unwanted company when he unexpectedly vomits up his own doppelganger. By remaining selfish, and dismissing his new counterpart’s offer of friendship, he dooms himself to a cycle of self-loathing.
The Apricot Tree
Student
In suburban south-east London, a bigoted widower struggles to maintain his late wife’s precious apricot tree. After his attempts are interrupted by a Syrian refugee, who he finds sleeping in his garden shed, he finally learns how to find closure.
The Beach House
Short
James and Mike travel to a beach house, which they judge to be the perfect setting to put their ‘double-proposal’ plans into motion. However, their plan swiftly changes when they discover that their girlfriends have a proposal of their own.
The Bicycle Thief
East Anglian
A little girl embarks on an innocent adventure, riding through a wonderland of ice cream parlours and amusement parks. But when her bicycle disappears, she sets off on a more daring journey – in pursuit of the man who has taken it.
The Bind
Short
A hostage situation unfolds when Jamie turns up to his family’s remote farm in the middle of the night with his nine-year-old daughter, and threatens to kill his parents if they refuse to give him his share of the property – owned by his older brother.
The Bird & the Whale
Animation
A young whale becomes separated from his family after he swims off to explore a shipwreck. He soon comes across a caged songbird – the shipwreck’s sole survivor – who helps him to survive his frightening situation and to find his voice.
The Cunning Man
Short
The Cunning Man is a dark, enchanted tale of compassion in the face of callous greed. The story is inspired by a real-life Cunning Man – John Harries (c.1785 – 1839) – who claimed to be able to heal the sick using ancient folklore magic.
The Dead Ones
East Anglian
In the world of The Dead Ones, those whose lives are cut short by violence do not disappear. Instead, they live to haunt the person who killed them. Jono, the victim of Alex’s drink-driving, drives his killer to find a way to redeem herself.
The Ferryman
East Anglian
The Ferryman explores the time before death, and in particular, the transition from life to death. Shot in the beautiful Southwold landscape, the film exposes the turbulence, stillness and profound beauty that this significant time of life holds.
The Gap
Animation
Manikin is a cubic-shaped figure who lives in a very straight, desolate world. He feels compelled to keep his world as flat and pure as he possibly can. So, when he discovers an enormous gap, he tackles the impossible task of filling it up.
The Machine
OMM
The first day on any job can be tough, but this job is something else. This film is a one-minute comedy about a poor chap under crazy pressure to work for the public, who don’t even realise that he serves most of them almost every day!
The Mind of an Artist: William Kentridge
OMM
This experimental one-minute film was produced in collaboration with Tate to visualise the words of the artist William Kentridge. Using symbols from Kentridge’s work, the film represents his process of creating ideas and applying them to paper.
The Most Magnificent Thing
Animation
A little girl with a creative spirit finds herself determined to make great things. When she receives her own tool kit, she sets out to make the most magnificent thing for her best friend – her loyal pet dog. But it won’t be as easy as she thinks!
The Rabbit’s Foot
Short
Under the influence of a mystical rabbit’s foot, the fortunes of a card sharp, a former bandit leader and a luckless prospector intertwine with fatal consequences. This pitch black comic fable is set against the backdrop of the Old West.
The Sea
Short
On a grey day, Jenny sits alone on a beach and watches for birds. In a series of seemingly random encounters, she finds herself joined by the many best friends, family members and loved ones who have defined the rich tapestry of her life.
The Traffic Separating Device
Documentary
A bizarre traffic separating device is installed in the middle of Stockholm. It’s supposed to keep cars away and only let buses pass, but inevitably, the cars will try to get round it. This comedy-doc captures the disastrous series of events that follow.
The Vasectomy Doctor
Documentary
In 1970s Ireland, Dr. Andrew Rynne became the first doctor to perform vasectomies. Over his career, he performed 35,000 vasectomies, countered the church, forced national policy change on contraception and survived a shooting.
Things That Happen in the Bathroom
Student
For Jak, a lonely young queer, the bathroom is a refuge – a place where they can exist without the mask that they present to the world. In the intimate sanctuary of the bathroom, Jak yearns for love and learns how to survive heartbreak.
This Perfect Day
Short
Jules, a wayward youth, goes into a music store while their girlfriend waits in a car outside. Once inside the shop, a curious bond can be detected between Jules and the shopkeeper. This could be the day – and encounter – that changes Jules’ life.
This Time Away
Short
Nigel, a reclusive elderly man, is haunted by his past and memory of the family he once had. He lives a solitary life full of coping mechanisms to keep himself going – until an unexpected visitor arrives and disrupts his lonely routine.
Three Sacks Full of Hats
Short
Mick has escaped his family environment by moving to London. After a long absence, he returns home witness the fast-declining health of his alcoholic brother, Sid. This reignites family tensions of shame and denial, and pokes at old wounds.
Trucker’s Atlas
Short
A working relationship between two power-line repair men is put under pressure when one returns to work after a family bereavement. This film explores emotional repression and outdated ideals of masculinity within working class men.
Tungrus
Documentary
Tungrus observes a week in the peculiar lives of a middle-class suburban Mumbai household. The eccentric patriarch brings home a chick for his cats to play with, who soon grows into a hell-raising rooster who makes everyone’s life unbearable.
Turning Ten
Short
Laima, Magdi and Nour – their (nearly) ten year old daughter – anxiously await an appointment with a doctor which will change their lives forever. During the 10 minute wait, Laima questions whether she can change her daughter’s fate.
Two Tickets, Please?
East Anglian
Set in a rundown cinema in Norfolk, this film is a film within a film within a film. It’s about the ‘The Cinema Man’ and his Box Office Assistant, and while watching, you might realise that you’ve become everything you never wanted to be.
Unexpected Item
Short
Henry struggles to find the courage to talk to a girl working on the tills. He gets more than he bargained for when his self-service check-out machine gives him free life advice – the strangest deal he’s ever received in the supermarket.
Unregistered
Short
In the not too distant future, the government has enforced a one child per home policy as a solution to overpopulation. A mysterious young couple, Ata and Rekker, question the state of society and find a way to speak out against it.
War Paint
Short
A soldier fights through the heat and hell of the Vietnam War in the early 1960s. This film examines the war through the perspective of a single individual’s face, to explore the impact of war from the start to the finish, and into the aftermath.
Water Marks
East Anglian
Using archival and contemporary materials, this heritage film takes viewers on a geographical journey around the town, harbour and coastline of Wells-Next-The-Sea, merging its events and history over the last 150 years into one day.
Wealth Not a Waste – Jib’s Story
Documentary
To highlight the environmental issues affecting rural communities in Ghana, and the negative impact of global warming and single-use plastics on their livelihoods, Jib Hagan decides to set up a charity – C.A.R.E 4 Basket. This is Jib’s story.
