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Edinburgh International Film Festival · 2016

Edinburgh International Film Festival 2016

Shorts

The shorts are split into the programmes are listed below, with descriptions courtesy of the festival. The programme a short falls into is listed in italics.

  • Bridging the Gap: Women - From the Scottish Documentary Institute's talent programme.
  • Out of Bounds: Student Shorts - Emerging talent.
  • Scottish Shorts - A collection of seven shorts, commissioned through the Scottish Film Talent Network’s new talent programme.
  • Shorts 1: Sign Language - Seven films exploring the core of human experience.
  • Shorts 2: Fragments of the City - Five shorts mapping memory, place and the individual.
  • Shorts 3: Flaming Creatures - The personal is political in these six shorts.
  • Shorts 4: Other Planes - Tearing at the boundaries of the visual language of cinema.
  • Shorts 5: Radical Transmissions - Unearthing obscured narratives through film.
  • Shorts 6: Voices From The Wilderness - Exploring the intersection of landscape and the individual.
  • The Young and Wild Shorts - Showcase aimed at young adult audiences.

Programme

55 films · 6 reviews

Jump to a film

An Ecstatic Experience

Review preview for An Ecstatic Experience

Light, almost ethereal, despite the weight of its subject matter.

Andrew Robertson · 3.5 out of 5
A meditative invocation on transcendence as a means of restoration.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Ja'Tovia Gary; Writer: Ja'Tovia Gary) , Official site

Full review

Shorts 5: Radical Transmissions

Batrachian's Ballad

Blending the lives of Romani in Portugal today with the recollections of yesterday.

(Country: Portugal; Year: 2016; Director: Leonor Teles)

Shorts 2: Fragments of the City

Bernie and Rebecca

A blind date turns into the experience of a lifetime.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Melissa Kent; Writer: John Harris; Stars: Kyle Davis, Brianna Barnes, Carol Mack, Rory O'Connor, Jessica Hickam) , Official site

Shorts 1: Sign Language

Bright Waters (Y Berá)

A response to the educational nature films of Mary Field (1896 - 1968), filmed in the second biggest wetland in the world.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2016; Director: Jessica Sarah Rinland)

Shorts 6: Voices From The Wilderness

Carousel

A man doles out a torrent of wisdom to a teen with unexpected results.

(Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: Kal Weber; Writer: Kal Weber; Stars: Ewen Bremner, Harmony Rose Bremner) , Official site

Shorts 1: Sign Language

Chums From Across The Void

Little Radek, the step-dancing Bolshevik; Machera, the Andean Robin Hood, and Maria Spiridonova, the Russian socialist assassin are your guides for Past Leftist Life Regression therapy.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Jim Finn) , Official site

Shorts 2: Fragments of the City

Code Red

What's a girl to do when she gets an unwelcome visit from Aunt Flo?

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Sabrina Doyle; Writer: Sabrina Doyle; Stars: Elle Winter, Kylee Russell, Sam Evans, Emily Johnson, Carson Boatman, River Kanoff, Jimmy Hudson, Charles Murphy)

The Young and Wild Shorts

Crowman

A man and his son struggle to survive in a rural society that is on the verge of collapse.

(Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: Duncan Nicoll)

Scottish Shorts

Dave

Dave is a little boy zombie who, after a terrible disaster, is forced into an unfriendly world where he has to fight to survive.

(Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: Garry Marshall; Writer: Chris Watson; Stars: Leo Henderson)

Scottish Shorts

Faithful

Drama about a policeman with terrible instincts and a Honda Civic.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Rory Alexander Stewart) , Official site

Shorts 1: Sign Language

Fire, Water, Air (Feu, Eau, Air)

This art film portrays Ysabel de Maisonneuve, a sensitive creator and poet, for whom handicraft is primarily a spiritual art.

(Country: France; Year: 2016; Director: David Bart, Anne Murat; Stars: Ysabel de Maisonneuve)

Shorts 4: Other Planes

Fly, Fly Sadness (Vole, vole tristesse)

Following a nuclear explosion that transforms the voice of all the inhabitants of an island, a journalist goes there in order to find a hermit with mysterious powers.

(Country: Haiti; Year: 2015; Director: Miryam Charles; Writer: Miryam Charles; Stars: Edigh Charles)

Shorts 6: Voices From The Wilderness

The Frame

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Lars Koens, Demelza Kooij) , Official site

Shorts 4: Other Planes

Ghost Copy

Found footage film.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2016; Director: Christiana Perschon) , Official site

Shorts 4: Other Planes

Grimm Street

As a teenager's health deteriorates, reality merges with her fairy tales.

(Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: Siri Rødnes; Writer: Emma Lennox) , Official site

Scottish Shorts

Hux

Hux, longing to connect, rebels against the lonely isolation of her autism.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Mageina Tovah, Charlie Lieberman; Writer: Mageina Tovah; Stars: Mageina Tovah, Harry Dean Stanton, Dylan Kenin, Mike Rock, Ben Messmer, Elan O'Connor, Aurora Elise, Logan Morris)

The Young and Wild Shorts

The Lamps

Story of the Dada movement's Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven charting her trip to the Naples Archeological Museum in the early 1900’ where she breaks into a secret room filled with erotic objects from Pompeii.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Shelly Silver; Writer: Shelly Silver) , Trailer

Shorts 3: Flaming Creatures

Lick Us, Meow, Meow! (Léchez-nous, Miaou, Miaou!)

The sexual encounter of an institutionalised woman sparks revolt.

(Country: Switzerland; Year: 2015; Director: Marie de Maricourt; Writer: Marie de Maricourt; Stars: Nadia Sadji, Yoram Gué, Marie Colin, Stiva Paterno, Thomas Caspar, Clément Langlais, Coralie Moreau, Frédéric Payen, Stéphane Guérin, Stéphane Brunier, Aïda Grifoll, Fulvio Balmer, Xavier Bonastre, Regine Lacour, Geoffroy De La Taille)

Shorts 3: Flaming Creatures

L'Oiseau de la Nuit (O Pássaro da Noite)

Portrait of underground performer Fernando, aka Deborah Krystal.

(Country: Portugal, France; Year: 2015; Director: Marie Losier)

Shorts 3: Flaming Creatures

Man

An exploratory dramatisation of the biological – and cultural body in transformation.

(Country: Sweden, UK; Year: 2016; Director: Maja Borg) , Official site

Shorts 3: Flaming Creatures

A Man Returned

Review preview for A Man Returned

Reda's attitude is a testimony to resilience and aspiration even in the direst circumstances but also heartbreaking.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Story of a man preparing for marriage after being sent back to a refugee camp after being deported from Greece.

(Country: UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Lebanon; Year: 2016; Director: Mahdi Fleifel; Writer: Mahdi Fleifel; Stars: Reda Al-Saleh)

Full review

Shorts 5: Radical Transmissions

Masha Natasha

Intimate portrait of two Russian artists, who are identical twins.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2015; Director: Fred Burle, Janin Halisch, Marie Losier, Cécile Tollu-Polonowski; Stars: Maria Petschanikov, Natalia Petschanikov)

Shorts 2: Fragments of the City

Mast Qalandar

A young boy takes matters into his own hands in order to get what he wants.

(Country: UK, India; Year: 2015; Director: Divij Roopchand; Writer: Divij Roopchand; Stars: Rajesh Tailang, Ekavali Khanna, Mohd Samad, Manoj Kumar, Satish Gotham) , Trailer

Out of Bounds: Student Shorts

May A Hundred Bolts Of Lightning Open You

Experimental.

(Country: Portugal; Year: 2015; Director: Cem Raios T'Abram Collective)

Shorts 6: Voices From The Wilderness

Meet Me By The Water

Review preview for Meet Me By The Water

This is a sweet little film about the dangers of caring too much.

Jane Fae · 4 out of 5
In a small fishing town on the West Coast of Scotland a young Asian woman must decide whether to leave home and family for a new life in South America.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Raisah Ahmed) , Official site

Full review

Scottish Shorts

Murderous Injustice

Crime drama based on the true story of a refugee who was murdered by his neighbour.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Gavin Scott Whitfield; Writer: Gavin Scott Whitfield; Stars: Thom Heath, Kate Hodgson, Samira Saeed, Connah Turner, Samira-Saaed, Tom Hughes, Arthur Roberts)

Shorts 1: Sign Language

A Night in Tokoriki (O noapte în Tokoriki)

In an improvised night club called "Tokoriki" the whole village celebrates Gianina's 18th birthday. Her boyfriend and Alin will give her a most surprising gift, one that nobody will ever forget.

(Country: Romania; Year: 2016; Director: Roxana Stroe; Writer: Ana Maria Gheorghe, Roxana Stroe; Stars: Costi Apostol, Cristian Bota, Iulia Ciochina, Andrei Ciopec, Sorin Cocis, Adrian Loghin, Tudor Morar, Daniela Preda, Cristian Priboi, Cristian Toma) , Trailer

The Young and Wild Shorts

The Northleach Horror

A short First World War/sci-fi/horror/comedy film following the exploits of deranged scientist Whitsuntide.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: David Cairns) , Official site

Shorts 1: Sign Language

No Place Like Home

Review preview for No Place Like Home

The film... shows talent and ingenuity.

Andrew Robertson · 3 out of 5
Under threat of imminent eviction from her countryside home, a self-reliant woman struggles to preserve her way of life.

(Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: Cat Bruce; Writer: Cat Bruce; Stars: Janette Foggo, Erin Bruce )

Full review

Scottish Shorts

Oh Gallow Lay

Imagining what would happen if hippies stumbled across Muammar Gaddafi living in the Hollywood Hills.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Julian Wayser; Writer: Julian Wayser; Stars: Andoni Anastasse, Lucas Elliot Eberl, Ben Graupner, Giovanni Martinez, Joberde Metellus, Edgar Morais, Rafael Morais, Marianna Palka, Jason Ritter, John Robinson, Kelsey Sanders, Katy Townsend, Kellie Trumper, Janeva Zentz)

Shorts 5: Radical Transmissions

Piper

Review preview for Piper

The stills don't do it justice, movement is the thing.

Amber Wilkinson · 5 out of 5
A baby bird learns how to catch food on the shoreline.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Alan Barillaro)

Full review

Screening with Finding Dory

The Rat King

A Christmas horror story.

(Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: Pavel Shepan; Writer: John Gibb; Stars: Nick Cheales, Steven Cree, Julie Hale, Susanne Wuest) , Official site

Scottish Shorts

Remembering The Pentagons

Depiction of the director's earliest memories.

(Country: US, Iran; Year: 2015; Director: Azadeh Navai) , Trailer

Shorts 4: Other Planes

The Review

Documentary about the relationship between a mum and her teenage son, who plays pro youth football.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Wilma Smith) , Official site

Bridging the Gap: Women

Sea Child

On the verge of becoming a woman, Sora is woken by a nightmare and decides to follow a group of men into the city in the hope of finding her mum.

(Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: Minha Kim; Writer: Islay Bell-Webb, Minha Kim) , Trailer

Out of Bounds: Student Shorts

Silent Laughs

Documentary about deaf stand-up comedian Leah Kalaitzi.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Natalia Kouneli)

Bridging the Gap: Women

Solitary Acts #5

A young girl explores her sexuality.

(Country: US, Turkey; Year: 2016; Director: Nazli Dinçel)

Shorts 3: Flaming Creatures

So We Do Sometimes Think Because It Has Been Found To Pay. Wittgenstein's House. (Manchmal also denkt man, weil es sich bewährt hat. Wittgensteins Haus.)

Experimental short.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2016; Director: Lotte Schreiber)

Shorts 2: Fragments of the City

Spermwhore

Spermwhore is a queer experimental film about unwanted childlessness in a world where normative heterosexual relationships dictate who can become parents and in what way.

(Country: Sweden; Year: 2016; Director: Anna Linder) , Official site

Shorts 3: Flaming Creatures

Spoetnik

A young man starts working at a food stand, just across the street from a brothel

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2015; Director: Noël Loozen; Writer: Noël Loozen; Stars: Marcel Zwoferink) , Official site

The Young and Wild Shorts

Spores

A 50th birthday gathering goes horribly wrong when the hostess serves her sister and their husbands deadly wild mushrooms.

(Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: Frances Poet, Richard Poet; Writer: Frances Poet; Stars: Maureen Beattie, Lewis Howden, John Kazek, Lorraine McIntosh) , Official site

Scottish Shorts

Strawberry Or Vanilla

Drama.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Tracey Fearnhough, Holger Mohaupt)

Shorts 1: Sign Language

Summer (Estate)

On a sunny Mediterranean beach, time seems to be frozen. A black man, utterly exhausted, painfully crawls to leave the beach.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2016; Director: Ronny Trocker; Writer: Ronny Trocker; Stars: Umaru Jibirin) , Trailer

The Young and Wild Shorts

Swan

An autistic teenager approaches adulthood.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Lindsay Brown)

Bridging the Gap: Women

Territory

Documentary about the tensions between the people and monkeys of Gibraltar.

(Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: Eleanor Mortimer) , Official site , Trailer

Out of Bounds: Student Shorts

There Is Land! (Há terra!)

An encounter, a hunt, a tale of looking and becoming.

(Country: France, Brazil; Year: 2016; Director: Ana Vaz)

Shorts 6: Voices From The Wilderness

A Thing Among Things

The video combines a recollection of visual memories of a blind person with close-ups of transparent minerals.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2015; Director: Giovanni Giaretta) , Official site

Shorts 4: Other Planes

Transit Zone

A film.

(Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: Frederik Subei; Writer: Frederik Subei)

Out of Bounds: Student Shorts

Transmission From The Liberated Zones

Transmission from the Liberated Zones, is an experiment bringing together statements and documents accessed and presented by a young boy through a low-fidelity feedback channel.

(Country: France, Germany; Year: 2016; Director: Filipa César)

Shorts 6: Voices From The Wilderness

Vanished (Vanescer)

A man is driving his elderly and stubborn mother to Sao Paulo City to view the newly released state documents that will finally reveal the truth behind the disappearance of his father in 1978, under Brazil’s Military dictatorship.

(Country: UK, Brazil; Year: 2015; Director: Colette McWilliams Carrilho, Glemerson Carrilho; Writer: Glemerson Carrilho, Colette McWilliams Carrilho; Stars: Maracy Mello, Guta Magnani, Henrique Taubaté Lisboa, Ariana Lang, Marcelo Coutello) , Official site

Out of Bounds: Student Shorts

War

Two rival gangs clash on a council estate, but no one could have predicted the outcome.

(Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: Nilesh Bell Gorsia) , Official site

The Young and Wild Shorts

A Well Spent Afternoon

After failing yet another job interview, the father is spending an afternoon with his seven-year-old son. They happen to find a wallet full of money, and father teaches his son the right thing to do.

(Country: Slovenia, Croatia; Year: 2016; Director: Martin Turk) , Official site

The Young and Wild Shorts

What We Know

One year after the death of his wife, Vincent invites her friends to meet his new girlfriend. Not a good idea.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2015; Director: Marion Pilowsky; Writer: Marion Pilowsky, L.A. Sellars; Stars: Luke McKenzie, Joel Jackson, Simon Maiden, Brittany Smith, Maria Humphreys, Louise Heesom Smith, Tim Lucas) , Trailer

Shorts 1: Sign Language

Where Are We Now

Review preview for Where Are We Now

The honesty and simplicity of this picture were then indicative of talent.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
Documentary about the relationship between a daughter and trans-parent as they embark on the road to transition.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Lucie Rachel; Stars: Alex Kingsley, Lucie Rachel) , Official site

Full review

Bridging the Gap: Women

Yellow Fieber

The story of the loss of a city.

(Country: Greece; Year: 2015; Director: Konstantina Kotzamani; Stars: Mamadou Diallo, Eutychia Stefanidou) , Official site

Shorts 2: Fragments of the City