Eye For Film >> Festivals >> London >> 2009 >> Short Cuts & Animation

Little films, big ideas. The films below form one of the following programmes. The programme a short falls into is listed in itallics:

• Animated Shorts For Younger Audiences - Little films suitable for little people.
• Animation Panorama - A mixture of the best of British plus international award-winners.
• The Gothic And The Grotesque - The disturbing and the beautiful combine.
• I Fought The Law - Are you ready for a fight? Then this showcase is for you.
• Landscape As Character - Films in which the setting plays a crucial role.
• London Calling - Capital work from the capital's filmmakers.
• People Are Strange - Odd bods populate this short cuts.
• A Thing Called Love - Films examining relationships.
• The Young - Films which look at the art of growing up.

View other London Film Festival Films by strand: Cinema Europa, Experimenta, Film On The Square, French Revolutions, Galas And Special Screenings, New British Cinema, Treasures From The Archives, World Cinema


Harvest and What Light (Through Yonder Window Breaks)
After Tomorrow (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Emma Sullivan)
A guesthouse owner doesn't want James to leave...
People Are Strange
Alfred (Country: Sweden; Year: 2009; Director: Johan Hagelbäck)
The almost true story of Alfred Nobel.
Animated Shorts For Younger Audiences
Arena (Country: Portugal; Year: 2009; Director: João Salaviza)
A man under house arrest is taunted by children. Winner of the short film Palm d'Or at Cannes 2009.
The Young
Believe (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Paul Wright)
A portrait of one man's grief and desperation following the death of his wife.
The Gothic And The Grotesque
Birth (Country: Italy, US; Year: 2009; Director: Signe Baumane; Writer: Signe Baumane; Stars: Clyde Baldo, Kim Gatewood, Kimmy Gatewood, Karen Gilliam, Rebecca Honig, Kamala Sankaram, Eileen Stevens, Anne Thibault), Official Site
Amina, 17, is pregnant. She is afraid of giving birth. She asks her friends and aunts for more information, sympathy and support. She receives quite the opposite.
Animation Panorama

Cicada and Cherry On The Cake
Brave Donkey (Country: New Zealand; Year: 2009; Director: Gaysorn Thavat; Writer: Greg King; Stars: Cameron Rhodes), Trailer
Brian didn't think he had anything left to lose...
The Gothic And The Grotesque
Cherry On The Cake (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Hyebin Lee; Writer: Hyebin Lee; Stars: Rupert Degas), Official Site
A young girl is disappointed on her birthday.
Full Review
Animation Panorama
Chick (Country: Poland; Year: 2008; Director: Michal Socha; Writer: Michal Socha), Official Site
Male-female relationships, infatuation and its consequences form the basis for this animation.
A Thing Called Love
Cicada (Country: Australia; Year: 2009; Director: Amiel Courtin-Wilson; Writer: Daniel P Jones, Amiel Courtin-Wilson; Stars: Daniel P Jones)
Story of a five-year-old child who witnesses a murder.
Full Review
People Are Strange
Committed (Country: Iceland; Year: 2009; Director: Isold Uggadottir; Writer: Isold Uggadottir), Official Site, Trailer
A couple struggle to overcome their insecurities after moving in together.
The Young
The Continuing And Lamentable Saga Of The Suicide Brothers (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Arran Brownlee, Corran Brownlee; Writer: Rupert Friend, Tom Mison; Stars: Rupert Friend, Tom Mison, Keira Knightley), Official Site
Brothers Barath (Tom Mison) and Bourbon (Rupert Friend) break up the boredom of their lives by trying to kill themselves each day, forever overlooking the presence of the long-suffering fairy (Keira Knightley) who lives with them.
People Are Strange
C Block (Country: Canada; Year: 2008; Director: Vladimir Kooperman; Writer: Vladimir Kooperman), Official Site
Animation. The director says: "It's all about space dogs, toys, rockets, nukes, and good old brainwashing. In other words it's all about society."
A Thing Called Love
Danse Macabre (Country: Canada; Year: 2009; Director: Pedro Pires), Official Site
For a period of time, while we believe it to be perfectly still, lifeless flesh responds, stirs and contorts in a final macabre ballet.
The Gothic And The Grotesque
Don't Look Back (Country: Poland, USA; Year: 2009; Director: Julius Onah)
A young man chases his dream of love.
Landscape As Character
Driver (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Stephen Fingleton; Writer: Stephen Fingleton; Stars: Ben Caplan, Jess Randell, Ben Willens, Jonathan Rhodes, Eva Tecedeiro), Official Site, Trailer
Nelson is tasked with driving his best friend's estranged wife to her new home. During the tense car journey, he finds his loyalties tested.
A Thing Called Love
Fetch (Country: Finland, US; Year: 2009; Director: Jyri Koski; Stars: Gautam Basu, Jucci Hellström, Rich Orlow, Gene Ruffini, Vinny Vella), Official Site
An Afro-American gangsta hires two has-been old-school wiseguys to recover his lost shipment of drugs.
I Fought The Law
Fox Bay (Country: France; Year: 2009; Director: Gregoire Colin)
A young boy on the cliffs watches a luxury yacht down in the bay. On board is a handsome couple. The boy waits until night.
Landscape As Character
The Girl With The Yellow Stockings (Das Mädchen mit den gelben Strümpfen) (Country: Germany; Year: 2008; Director: Grzegorz Muskala; Writer: Hannes Held, Phillip Kaminiak, Grzegorz Muskala; Stars: Thomas Fränzel, Rosalie Thomass)
A young couple is spending the day in bed. He asks her if she wants to marry him.
The Young
Hawker (Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Dustin Feneley; Writer: Dustin Feneley; Stars: Syd Brisbane)
A travelling salesman looks for meaning in his life.
Landscape As Character
Heat (Year: 2009; Director: Debbie Tucker Green; Writer: Debbie Tucker Green)
Michael wants to know... and Donna is running out of excuses.
Landscape As Character
Harvest (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Alex Winckler; Writer: Richard Bean; Stars: Andrew Tiernan, Michael Socha, Sam Kelley, June Watson, Ryan Kygill)
Two thieves break into a farm, but they're not alone.
Full Review
I Fought The Law
How People Got Fire (Year: 2009; Director: Daniel Janke), Official Site
A traditional tale from the Yukon territory of Canada.
Animated Shorts For Younger Audiences
I-Do-Air (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Martina Amati)
A little girl, afraid of water, holds her breath to escape reality.
Landscape As Character
If I Should Fall Behind (Country: Ireland; Year: 2009; Director: Morgan Bushe; Writer: Morgan Bushe; Stars: Jordan Boyle, Brendan Conroy, Amy Cox, Rhianna Cunningham, Kim Donohoe, Graham Dunphy, Denis Furlong, Jessica Kavanagh, Bill Murphy, Shane Murray-Corcoran, Fiona O'Shaughnessy, Matthew Reid, Paul Roe, Saoirse Sheridan, Maureen Whelan)
A young boy tries to help his parents who are haunted by grief.
The Young
Inside (Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Alexandre O Philippe; Stars: Allison Savoy, Jeff Pointer, Kerry Deignan Roy), Official Site
A youngster waiting in a car for her dad wants to be outside.
Landscape As Character
Jade (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Daniel Elliott; Writer: Daniel Elliott; Stars: Aisling Loftus, Jonathan Phillips, Michael Socha)
Jade is pregnant. She has to make a decision. Which path will she take?
Landscape As Character
Jelly Fishers (Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Steve Subotnick; Writer: Steve Subotnick)
A family floating at see are helped by a jelly fish.
Animation Panorama
John Wayne Hated Horses (Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Andrew T Betzer; Writer: Andrew T Betzer; Stars: Mark Derbaremdiker, Anton Saunders)
A young son and his father struggle with their very different ideas of masculinity.
Landscape As Character
Joseph's Snails (Country: France; Year: 2009; Director: Sophie Rose)
Valuable lessons can be learned from snails.
Animated Shorts For Younger Audiences
Kid (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Tom Green)
A boy becomes embroiled in the world of his dad.
A Thing Called Love
Kids Might Fly (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Alex Taylor; Writer: Alex Taylor; Stars: Georgia Christou, Christie Leigh Emby, Kyle Hill, Kevin Lee, Danielle Lucas, Samuel Markham, Azzees Minott, Kamil Minott, Carmen Straker, Seema Tolooe)
Offbeat portrait of young people in East London.
The Young
The Last Breath (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: David Jackson)
A family are on a scuba-diving trip to an idyllic countryside lake. While diving there's an unexplained catastrophic event.
The Gothic And The Grotesque
Lies (Lögner) (Country: Sweden; Year: 200; Director: Jonas Odell), Official Site
The animator uses different techniques to explore the nature of mendacity.
Animation Panorama
The Little Dragon (Country: France; Year: 2009; Director: Bruno Collet)
Thirty-five years after his death, Bruce Lee is reincarnated in the form of a toy figure.
I Fought The Law
Little Red Hoodie (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Jørn Utkilen; Writer: Jørn Utkilen; Stars: Kazmin Borrer, Noel Boyd, Giselle Hammond, Kezia Doran, Nicola Jo Cully), Official Site
Grim twist on Red Riding Hood.
The Gothic And The Grotesque
Love Hate (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Blake and Dylan Ritson; Stars: Ben Wishaw, Hayley Atwell, Hattie Morahan)
A charity worker faces trouble when he falls for a mysterious woman.
People Are Strange
The Magic Stamp (Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Tomoko Oguchi; Writer: Tomoko Oguchi; Stars: Liam Mundy, Paul Savior), Official Site
Can a stamp really grant a boy a wish?
Animated Shorts For Younger Audiences
Magic Water (Country: Latvia; Year: 2009; Director: Maris Brinkmanis; Writer: Maris Brinkmanis)
Magic water brings trouble for two pals trying to grow a tree.
Animated Shorts For Younger Audiences
Malban (Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2008; Director: Elodie Bouédec)
A girl, Claude, is on holiday with her mother and her brother in their house near the sea. One night, the sudden visit of an unknown, Victor, confronts Claude to his past and the memory of his father now missing.
Animation Panorama
Mandarin Peel (Country: Australia; Year: 2009; Director: Anna McGrath; Writer: Anna McGrath; Stars: Minnie Liszukiewicz), Official Site
Two girls explore their friendship and the joy of a juicy mandarin in the dry Australian landscape.
Landscape As Character
The Man In The Blue Gordini (Country: France; Year: 2009; Director: Jean-Christophe Lie; Writer: Jean-Christophe Lie), Official Site
Animation set in a suburb, where residents wear neither underwear nor trousers, only orange tops. With the help of a masked rebel driving a blue R8 Gordini, Mister R and his wife plot a radical clothing revolution.
I Fought The Law
Memotech (Country: Faroe Islands; Year: 2009; Director: Marianna Mørkøre, Rannvá Káradóttir)
Experimental film set against the backdrop of the Faroes.
Landscape As Character
The Mill (Country: Ireland; Year: 2009; Director: David Freyne; Writer: David Freyne; Stars: Lesley Conroy, Liam McEvoy, Fionn O'Shea, Paul Roe)
A young boy, while camping with his family, wakes up one morning to find himself entirely alone.
Landscape As Character
Mirror (Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Stephen Cellar; Writer: Stephen Cellar; Stars: David Solomon, Maggie Brannon, Bijani Casalan, Danny Watters, Colin Williams, Britney Kroetz, Kiara Feliciano)
The primitive survivors of mankind have their lives torn asunder, when two brothers discover an ancient relic from the 20th century.
The Gothic And The Grotesque
Missing (Missen) (Country: Netherlands; Year: 2009; Director: Jochem de Vries; Writer: Jochem de Vries; Stars: Gitta Fleuren, Lotje Molin)
A mum and her daughter prepare for a school trip.
The Young
Modern Life Is Rubbish (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Daniel Gill; Writer: Philip Gawthorne; Stars: Rebecca Night, Rafe Spall), Official Site
The scenario of a couple splitting their record collection at the end of a relationship, is given an Ipod generation twist.
A Thing Called Love
The Nail (Country: Iceland; Year: 2009; Director: Benedikt Erlingsson; Stars: Þorsteinn Gunnarsson)
Inside every man is an animal... it takes only an accident to release it.
People Are Strange
The Odds (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Paloma Baeza; Writer: Richard Fisher; Stars: Mark Strong, Ian McDiarmid)
A suspicious casino floor manager confronts a very successful punter.
I Fought The Law
The One Last Time (Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Scott Weintrob; Writer: Scott Weintrob; Stars: Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Siobhan Flynn, Lenore Thomas, Glen Ratcliffe, Anthony Okungbowa, Michael Frierson, Patrick Prentiss, Randy Bautista, Carl Isherwood, Percy Anthony Smith, Stuart Starr, Albert Stroth, Oliver Rayon, Yvonne Frontera, Judith Shekoni), Official Site
Problems arise when two gangs attempt to hold up the same bank.
I Fought The Law
Pollphail (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Matt Lloyd)
A deserted village in limbo on the west coast of Scotland where two men share an obsession with an imagined future.
Landscape As Character
Romka-97 (Country: Finland; Year: 2007; Director: Anastasia Lobkovski; Writer: Anastasia Lobkovski; Stars: Dmitry Filimonov, Inessa Pereligina, Vitaly Pichik, Anastasia Teplykova), Official Site
Story about the son of an animal smuggler and his first love.
The Young
The Sack (Country: UK; Year: 2009), Official Site
A Very Bad Man has an identity crisis of deadly proportions.
The Gothic And The Grotesque
Sam's Hot Dogs (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: David López Retamero; Writer: David López Retamero), Official Site
Sam lives a relaxed life selling hot dogs in the middle of a road that crosses a forest. His hot dog van, his huge bear and a bit of company once in a while are all he needs.
Animation Panorama
The Search (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Mark Buchanan; Writer: Gregor Barclay; Stars: Matt Berry, Tim Plester, Flora Montgomery), Official Site
A lonely man finds his life changing after he comes into contact with a bereaved family.
A Thing Called Love
Seeds Of The Fall (Country: Sweden, USA; Year: 2009; Director: Patrick Eklund)
Middle-aged couple Rolf and Eva live in a passionless relationship. But when Eva decides to seduce Rolf one night it will change their relationship forever
A Thing Called Love
Six Dollar Fifty Man (Country: New Zealand; Year: 2009; Director: Mark Albiston, Louis Sutherland; Writer: Mark Albiston, Louis Sutherland; Stars: Oscar Vandy-Connor), Official Site
A youngster who lives in an imaginative world of superheroes must face reality if he is to combat a bullying threat facing he and his pal.
The Young
Speechless (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Daniel Greaves)
Modern life and mobile phones.
Animation Panorama
Spot And Splodge In Snowstorm (Prick och Fläck snöar in) (Country: Sweden; Year: 2008; Director: Lotta Geffenblad, Uzi Geffenblad)
Spot is spotty and splodge is splodgy. They enjoy snowball fights together and making angels with arms, legs and ears. And when they cuddle up on the couch inside their warm house everything is just as it should be.
Animated Shorts For Younger Audiences
Spunkbubble (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Tom Browne; Writer: Tom Browne; Stars: Daniel Cerqueira, Pandora Colin, Martin Compston, Karl Davies, Simon Day, Tom Fisher, Aidan Gillen, Alice Temple)
A surveillance team witness an unspeakable series of sordid and bizarre events.
People Are Strange
A Story Of A Missing Car (Country: Poland; Year: 2009; Director: Grzegorz Jaroszuk)
A glimpse into the life of a directionless young man.
People Are Strange
Team Taliban (Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Benjamin Kegan)
Who will you root for?
The Gothic And The Grotesque
Thompson (Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Jason Tippet; Stars: Ryan Andres, Alyssa Ernstmeyer, Matt Thompson), Official Site
The director says: "Since second grade Matt and Ryan have shared the bond of speech impediments, weapons, and things that go fast. But as their last days of high school speed by, the two friends find that their go-carts, dirt bikes, and RC cars can’t outrun adulthood."
The Young
Three Mothers (Country: Canada; Year: 2008; Director: Daniel Schachter; Writer: Daniel Schachter)
Animation exploring three generations of a matriarchy.
A Thing Called Love
Touch Of Red (Director: Neil Ilderton)
As Edgar Poe writes his seminal work ‘the fall of the house of usher’, we journey with him... through the beautiful, the macabre, and the unknown.
The Gothic And The Grotesque
Trunk (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Christopher D'Elia; Writer: Christopher D'Elia, Michael Klein; Stars: Kyle Gallner, Zachery Ty Bryan, Brandon Molale, Steve Larkin, Suzanne Quast), Official Site, Trailer
A series of deadly accidents recklessly spin the moral compass of two college students in this thriller/dark comedy set in the California desert.
I Fought The Law
When Apples Roll (Kad aboli ripo) (Country: Latvia; Year: 2009; Director: Reinis Kalnaellis)
A cat lives with a devoted mouse. It’s autumn and, as usual, the cat would like to pick apples in an orchard on the outskirts of the old town. But the plan is interrupted when a strange egg suddenly rolls into the field of fruit.
Animated Shorts For Younger Audiences
A Whore And A Chick (Country: France; Year: 2009; Director: Clément Michel)
At a bus stop in the middle of nowhere, a young woman sees a man cycle past dressed as a chicken…
Landscape As Character
Wolves (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Rafael Sommerhalder)
A howling wolf, an embarrassing accident and a missed opportunity.
Animation Panorama
Wunderkammer (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Andrea Pallaoro), Official Site
Andrea Pallaoro and Orlando Tirado
The Gothic And The Grotesque
What Light (Through Yonder Window Breaks) (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Sarah Wickens; Writer: Sarah Wickens), Official Site
Sunlight cast through a window breaks free and takes on a life of its own.
Full Review
Animation Panorama
X Returns (Country: US, UK; Year: 2009; Director: Ammo), Official Site, Trailer
Animation. After nearly 40 years of false imprisonment, cruel scientific testing and denial by the US government, Agent X is finally a free man again.
I Fought The Law