Official Selection 2018
21st Century Woman
East Anglian
Released 2018 · 3 minutes
Influenced by the 1960’s documentary ‘Women of the World’, Dick S.R. Summen revisits the world of women today to share his insights with those less informed.
Directed by Reeta Varpama
Country: UK
Kubrick By Candlelight
Released 2017 · 18 minutes
In 1973 Stanley Kubrick came to Ireland and brought the whole goddamn British Army. A light hearted romantic comedy set behind the scenes of the filming of Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. Narrated by Brian Cox.
Directed by David O'Reilly
Country: Ireland
A Doll Distorted
Released 2018 · 16 minutes
Jane suffers from haphephobia (the pathological fear of touch), tormented by years of loneliness and isolation she orders a synthetic love doll online to nightmarish consequences.
Directed by Niall Shukla
Country: UK
A Journey to From Love
Released 2018 · 15 minutes
Ashiq’s surreal adventure into his inner being from the loss of his love and his journey to acceptance.
Directed by Abdullah Al-Mulla
Country: Qatar
A Little Beetle
Animation1 Minute Movie
Released 2017 · 1 minutes
A Little Beetle deliberately puts all its efforts to escape from the endless space…
Directed by Elene Sebiskvradze
Country: Georgia
All That You Love Will Be Carried Away
Released · 20 minutes
Alice checks into a lonely hotel room at night and sets about making preparations to end her life, whilst obsessively re-drafting the perfect suicide note.
Directed by Tom Barbor-Might
Country: UK
All The World’s A Stage
Released 2018 · 9 minutes
All The World’s A Stage is about an actor who loses his sense of identity and feels he can no longer perform
Directed by Florence Kosky
Country: UK
Augenblicke
Animation
Released 2018 · 4 minutes
Three perceptions of only one truth – hers, his and ours.
Directed by Kiana Naghshineh
Country: Germany
Being Keegan
Released 2018 · 22 minutes
Growing up in Liverpool Football Club’s 1970’s heyday, 10-year-old Jay and his best friend Sean spend their days playing football in the backstreets of marginalised Liverpool, gripped by the rise of celebrity footballer Kevin Keegan. When tragedy strikes, it changes their lives forever.
Directed by Stephanie Zari
Country: UK
Blood Shed
Released 2017 · 13 minutes
Jack loves a bargain. And he loves sheds. When he buys suspiciously cheap second-hand parts to build his very own dream shed, he and long-suffering wife Helen get more than they bargained for: a killer shed with an appetite for blood.
Directed by James Moran
Country: UK
Born Again
Released 2017 · 7 minutes
When five bumbling Satanists have their summoning ceremony go horribly right, they’re left to deal with the decidedly holy shit consequences.
Directed by Jason Tostevin
Country: USA
Burn Bridge
Student
Released 2018 · 16 minutes
Closeted teenager Harry has fallen for Jamie, his closest friend in his friendship group. When Lucy arrives on the scene, Harry must contend for Jamie’s attention, bringing his true feelings closer to light.
Directed by Rhys Jones
Country: U.K
Cabin Pressure
Animation
Released 2017 · 3 minutes
A safety and regulations obsessive is forced to revaluate things when a routine flight runs into difficulties.
Directed by Matthew Lee
Country: UK
Catch of the Day
Released 2017 · 15 minutes
This is a story of timeless love, with an extraordinary twist at the end.
Directed by Geraint Huw Reynolds
Country: UK
Cloaked Rider
Animation
Released 2017 · 6 minutes
A mysterious cloaked rider gallops across the west in pursuit of a bounty in the town ‘El Eduardo’.
Directed by Edward Westrop
Country: UK
Cousins of clouds
Animation1 Minute Movie
Released 2017 · 1 minutes
In Asia, in every rural village, elephants are considered to be the cousins of clouds…
Directed by Romain Claris
Country: France
Debbie Boon – Fine Artist
East Anglian
Released 2018 · 3 minutes
Debbie Boon is a contemporary artist whose work is characterized by an energy and vivacity which reflects the joie de vivre she feels when faced with a subject that captures her imagination.
Directed by Nathan Whitmarsh and Justin Hunt
Country: UK
Earthy Encounters
Released 2018 · 25 minutes
15-year-old Kyle believes he can save his dying older brother with a plant he’s found in the garden centre he works at – problem is, there’s a shadowy government agency out to destroy it first.
Directed by Sam Johnson
Country: UK
Edek
Documentary
Released 2018 · 6 minutes
An 85 year old Holocaust survivor named Janine and a young American rapper named Kapoo collaborate to deliver a Hip Hop message to the youth of the world. A poignant and uniquely challenging fusion of prose, music and rap. For the first time, one of the world’s darkest stories is told in an entirely new way.
Directed by Malcolm Green
Country: UK
Five Star Fouad
Released 2018 · 8 minutes
What if you robbed a bank and booked an uber as the getaway car?
Directed by Ollie Wolf
Country: UK
Gereza
Documentary
Released 2018 · 22 minutes
Two recyclers work tirelessly collecting and selling recyclables to provide for themselves and their families. Navigating Johannesburg’s streets, they struggle against weather, traffic, and desperate living conditions showing tremendous determination.
Directed by Shaun Nelson
Country: UK
Goodnight, Gracie
Released 2017 · 4 minutes
After mom gets hacked to pieces by her latest lover, a devout child fights to escape the same fate.
Directed by Stellan Kendrick
Country: USA
Growing Alice
Student
Released 2017 · 4 minutes
A girl’s changing relationship with her mother is observed from the point of view of her bedroom mirror.
Directed by Danilo Zambrano
Country: Ireland
Hope Dies Last
Released 2018 · 8 minutes
Based on the story of Józef Paczyński, a Polish political prisoner at Auschwitz who became the personal barber to camp commander Rudolf Höss.
Directed by Ben Price
Country: UK
House Finch
Student
Released 2018 · 18 minutes
A day in the life of a mother and her son, coping, living with and embracing disability.
Directed by Joseph Johnson
Country: UK
In Wonderland
Released 2018 · 10 minutes
It begins and ends in the same moment – on a beach where Alice has come to say goodbye to Michael. It’s both the story of that one moment and the tale of their whole relationship, seen through the shifting sands of Alice’s memory.
Directed by Christopher Haydon
Country: UK
Knock at the Door
Released 2018 · 9 minutes
On an autumn afternoon, an elderly Mrs Harris gets ready for a relaxing evening at home when she is interrupted by a stranger at her doorstep. Convinced by the stranger’s charm, Mrs Harris let’s him in to her home.
Directed by Michael Constable
Country: UK
Late Afternoon
Animation
Released 2018 · 9 minutes
Emily finds herself disconnected from the world around her. She drifts back through her memories to relive different moments from her life. Emily must look to her past so that she may fully connect with the present.
Directed by Louise Bagnall
Country: Ireland
Little Shit
Released 2017 · 15 minutes
Paul has an attitude. He’s the kid you cross the road to avoid. But there’s more to Paul than meets the eye or the ear.
Directed by Richard Gorodecky
Country: UK
London Tomorrow
Released 2017 · 13 minutes
10-year-old YUSUF has fled war in Syria and made it to the promised land of Europe, where he fends for himself in the refugee camps of Calais.
Directed by Nimer Rashed
Country: UK
Lotte that Silhouette Girl
DocumentaryAnimation
Released 2018 · 10 minutes
Before Walt Disney, there was a trailblazing woman at the vanguard of animation. Influenced by folktales and legends, Lotte Reiniger was a tour de force of creativity and innovation. Now is your chance to find out more about this amazing woman.
Directed by Elizabeth Beecherl and Carla Patullo
Country: USA
Love Hotel
Student
Released 2018 · 11 minutes
A husband and wife in a dwindling marriage spend the night together in a LOVE HOTEL.
Directed by Matty Crawford
Country: UK
Night Call
Student
Released 2018 · 18 minutes
When on a routine patrol, a Black female cop living in and patrolling Inglewood gets called to a disturbance she is forced to make an unprecedented life altering decision.
Directed by Amanda Renee Knox
Country: USA
Not the End of the World
Animation
Released 2017 · 8 minutes
An ambiguous love letter introduces Joe Connoly to a life full of possibilities, and complications.
Directed by Jack Bennett
Country: UK
One Breath: A Life Without Gravity
Documentary
Released 2018 · 6 minutes
An immersive insight into the life of Free Divers Eusebio and Christina Saenz De Santamaria as they attempt to set a new world record.
Directed by Sebastian Solberg
Country: UK
Passion Gap
Released 2017 · 20 minutes
Elani survived her brutal childhood by carefully watching people. Now she plans to use her relationship with Mikey to get out of Cape Town for good. All she has to do is manage his ego for one more night, but the seeds of violence were planted in her early on.
Directed by Matt Portman & Jason Donald
Country: UK
People You May Know
Released 2018 · 17 minutes
Eleven years after their break up, a woman tracks down her first love through Facebook. But what begins as a friendly meeting turns into something much more sinister.
Directed by Louisa Fielden
Country: UK
Robert Mims – The Texan bull rider
Documentary
Released 2017 · 16 minutes
This film is a portrait of Robert Mims, who after forty three years riding bulls is approaching retirement. Robert, one of the few competing black Texan riders, has become legendary in this tight knit community.
Directed by Doug Hancock
Country: UK
Salt & Sauce
Student
Released 2017 · 10 minutes
Stuck in a post high-school limbo, Tammy works long days in the family chip shop
Directed by Alia Ghafar
Country: UK
Schoolyard Blues
Student
Released 2017 · 17 minutes
It’s John’s first day at school. Unexpectedly his eleven-year-old big brother Mika shows up to follow him to assembly. But Mika has plans other than just taking John to school.
Directed by Maria Eriksson-Hecht
Country: Sweden
Scotch Broth
Released 2018 · 10 minutes
Stovies, pints and hallucinogenic oil. A psychedelic multimedia short set in a lovely wee pub in Aberdeen.
Directed by Chay Milne
Country: UK
Sonder
Animation
Released 2018 · 13 minutes
For years, Finn and Natalie walked the same path. But when their time together comes to an end, Finn finds himself lost in a mysterious forest. Paralyzed by the fear of moving on, Finn is at risk of losing himself. Through self-discovery, Finn must gather the strength to forge a new path.
Directed by Neth Nom
Country: USA
Spinosaurus
Released 2017 · 14 minutes
A young girl cares for her younger brother at home, while she awaits her mother’s return.
Directed by Tessa Hoffe
Country: UK
Survive This
Released 2018 · 7 minutes
A middle-aged man battling a strange and devastating disease must convince his partner to help him end his own life.
Directed by Ian Roderick Gray
Country: UK
The Firefox Guardian
Documentary
Released 2018 · 14 minutes
The Firefox Guardian takes you on a mesmerizing journey through dense bamboo jungles in Nepal while exploring a special bond between the unique ‘Firefoxes’ and Menuka, a simple village girl.
Directed by Gunjan Menon
Country: India
The Gurney
Student
Released 2018 · 16 minutes
Tells the story of the relationship between death row warden, Albert Gilmore, and Aleisha Edwards, a young black woman on death row, convicted for the fatal shooting of an officer who killed her husband.
Directed by Glenn Whelan
Country: UK
The Life of Esteban
Student
Released 2017 · 16 minutes
Esteban, a future Olympic swimmer, has grown up with a single mother and doesn’t know who his father is. As he searches for his identity in this poetic short film, he determines swimming is a metaphor for life itself.
Directed by Inès Eshun
Country: Belgium
The Messenger
Student
Released 2018 · 8 minutes
An awkward schoolboy enlists the help of Frank to help him break up with his girlfriend.
Directed by Hansel Rodrigues
Country: UK
The Mind of an Artist
Animation1 Minute Movie
Released 2018 · 1 minutes
A short animation express Don McCullin’s nightmare of the war and want to escape from the terrible memories.
Directed by Xinning Liu
Country: UK
The Other Side With Valerie Hope
Released 2018 · 17 minutes
Washed-up celebrity psychic Valerie is kidnapped by Kim. As they spend the evening in an abandoned B&B, it becomes clear that both women have something to hide.
Directed by Lucy Barrick & Kieran Grant
Country: UK
The Overcoat
Released 2017 · 18 minutes
A lonely social outcast gets a glimpse of what life is like for someone popular, and cannot let it go, even in death. Starring the fabulous Jason Watkins.
Directed by Patrick Myles
Country: UK
The Right Choice
Released 2018 · 10 minutes
With the help of The Adviser, a husband and wife must answer three seemingly harmless questions to create their perfect designer baby.
Directed by Tomisin Adepeju
Country: UK
The Sermon
Released 2018 · 12 minutes
A young woman’s secret rocks an isolated church community in this disturbing folk horror tale.
Directed by Dean Puckett
Country: UK
The Silent Child
Released 2017 · 19 minutes
The Silent Child film centres around a profoundly deaf four year old girl named Libby who is born into a middle class family and lives in a world of silence until a caring social worker teaches her the gift of communication.
Directed by Chris Overton
Country: UK
The United States
Documentary
Released 2018 · 7 minutes
THE UNITED STATES is a mediation on the rise of an authoritarian regime, seen through the eyes of 93-year-old Auschwitz survivor Renee Firestone and her daughter Klara. The film tells a piece of a largely unknown story of Nazi sympathizers in a time and place we never expected.
Directed by Ferne Pearlstein
Country: USA
This is Bate Bola
Documentary
Released 2018 · 16 minutes
On the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro during its world famous Carnival, far from the beach and the touristic clichés, there is a contest between neighbourhoods. This old form of carnival features teams of futuristic gladiators that are a surreal mixture of play and menace.
Directed by Ben Holman and Neirin Jones
Country: UK
To Wendy Who Kicked Me When I Said I Love you
Released 2017 · 12 minutes
A strange romance about two lost souls; Wendy (one good eye) & Sidd (short for Siddartha) try to connect in a mid-range airport hotel.
Directed by Dan Castella
Country: UK
True North
Animation
Released 2018 · 8 minutes
On the long journey home, a fisherman comes upon the wreckage of a ship and rescues a small boy that he finds asleep in a barrel. As a mysterious storm descends he senses the arrival of a sinister presence.
Directed by George Bowler
Country: UK
Two Balloons
Animation
Released 2017 · 9 minutes
Two adventurous lemurs navigate their dirigibles halfway around the world to a place where happenstance and fate threaten to disrupt their reunion.
Directed by Mark C. Smith
Country: USA
Unspoken
Documentary
Released 2018 · 10 minutes
“Unspoken” is about spoken word poet Farah Chamma who, at the age of 17, became an online sensation after her poems went viral. The film shows her conflict as she struggles with self-censorship and keeping her poetry authentic and real.
Directed by Samia Badih
Country: United Arab Emirates
When The Sea Gulls
East Anglian
Released 2018 · 14 minutes
Two friends have arranged to meet. Luke, the older man, waits with an urn in his hands. James, the younger of the two, arrives injured, hobbling upon crutches. The plan is simple: spread the ashes of a mutual acquaintance
Directed by Alasdair Killin
Country: UK
You Should Know Better
Student
Released 2018 · 13 minutes
A comedy-drama about modern romance, pseudo-feminist men and an unplanned pregnancy.
Directed by Thanos Topouzis
Country: UK
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