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Sundance Film Festival · 2009

Sundance Film Festival 2009

International Dramatic Shorts

This year's international shorts include 41 films from 18 countries. They are split into dramatic, documentary and animation.

Programme

24 films · 4 reviews

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2 Birds (Smáfuglar, Two Birds)

Review preview for 2 Birds

To make a film that is touchingly beautiful at the same time as dealing with very bad things is a remarkable achievement.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
A group of teenagers experiment with ketamine and find themselves out of their depth.

(Country: Iceland; Year: 2008; Director: Rúnar Rúnarsson; Writer: Rúnar Rúnarsson; Stars: Atli Óskar Fjalarsson , Hera Hilmarsdóttir , Sigurður Jakob Helgason , Þórunn Jakobsdóttir) , Official site

Full review

2) Secret Machine

The second from a three-part cycle exploring the unperceivable conditions that frame life, using stop motion animation to portray the futuristic deconstruction of the female protagonist's form.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2008; Director: Reynold Reynolds) , Official site

A'Mare

Andrea and Felice are two kids whose lives centre on the sea. One day during a fishing excursion their usual routine is disturbed when something unexpected appears from the water.

(Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Martina Amati; Writer: Martina Amati and Dario Cané) , Official site

The Attack Of The Robots From Nebula-5 (El Ataque De Los Robots De Nebulosa-5)

"Almost" everybody is going to die very soon.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2008; Director: Chema García Ibarra; Writer: Chema García Ibarra; Stars: Leonor Díaz, Pedro Díez, Carmina Esteve, José Manuel Ibarra)

BAIT

On a hot summer day, tomboy teenager Nitzan is on her way fishing. Will she catch the right fish?

(Country: Israel ; Year: 2008; Director: Michal Vinik)

The Blindness Of The Woods

A narrative that combines the naive simplicity of fairytales with the Nordic erotic movies from the 1970s.

(Country: Argentina ; Year: 2008; Director: Martin Jalfen, Javier Lourenco; Writer: Martin Jalfen, Javier Lourenco)

Captain Coulier (Space Explorer)

An aloof space captain becomes restless among his robotic crew. Maybe intergalactic space travel isn't his shtick.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2008; Director: Lyndon Casey; Writer: Lyndon Casey)

Crocodiles and I

The emotional conflicts and discovery typical of adolescence are expressed in Rachel's daily life and dreams.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2008; Director: Marcela Arantes; Writer: Marcela Arantes)

Instead Of Abracadabra

Review preview for Instead Of Abracadabra

At once poignant, disturbing and at times, hilarious.

Steve Harwood · 5 out of 5
A magician's big break beckons.

(Country: Sweden; Year: 2008; Director: Patrik Eklund; Writer: Patrik Eklund; Stars: Simon Berger)

Full review

James

A young Irish man grapples with the impulses and thoughts about being gay.

(Country: Northern Ireland ; Year: 2008; Director: Connor Clements)

Jerrycan

A young boy is bullied into making a life or death decision, but can Nathan prove himself to his mates?

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Julius Avery; Writer: Julius Avery)

Love You More

Review preview for Love You More

A moment perfectly captured.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Two schoolkids get amorous while listening to the new Buzzcocks single.

(Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Sam Taylor-Wood; Writer: Patrick Marber; Stars: Harry Treadaway, Andrea Riseborough, Samuel Roukin, Paul Ritter, Pete Shelley, Harriet Ashcroft, Alex Kelly)

Full review

A Mate (Kaveri)

Pera wants to try something kinky in the bathroom and he asks his straight mate to help him. However, Pera's wife comes home a bit too soon.

(Country: Finland; Year: 2007; Director: Teeu Nikki)

Miracle Fish

A young outcast finds solitude in a fantasy world only to be brought back to reality when faced with a psychotic man.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Luke Doolan)

Netherland Dwarf

Harry really wants a rabbit. Harry's dad really wants his wife back. And somehow in the middle of all this wanting, they both seem to have forgotten that they already have each other.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: David Michôd; Writer: David Michôd; Stars: Jack Egan, Ewen Leslie, Mirrah Foulkes, Justin Rosniak)

Next Floor

During an opulent and luxurious banquet, complete with hordes of servers and valets, 11 pampered guests participate in what appears to be ritualistic gastronomic carnage.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2008; Director: Denis Villeneuve; Writer: Jacques Davidts; Stars: Simone Chevalot, Luc-Martial Dagenais, Kenneth Fernandez, Mathieu Handfield, Ariel Ifergan, Neil Kroetsch, Jean Marchand, Sergei Marchenko, Deepak Massand, Gaetan Nadeau)

Omelette

While a woman makes an omelette we learn how difficult it is to make ends meet.

(Country: Bulgaria ; Year: 2008; Director: Nadejda Koseva; Writer: Georgi Gospodinov)

Pal/Secam

At the dawn of Perestroika, little Boris, ravaged by hormones, seduces the neighborhood with his mother's VCR.

(Country: Russia; Year: 2008; Director: Dmitry Povolotsky; Writer: Dmitry Povolotsky; Stars: Alya Arabchikova, Vladislav Kuznetsov, Anastasia Lapina, Grigoriy Perel)

The Stronger

Who is stronger? The wife or the mistress?

(Country: UK; Year: 2007; Director: Lia Williams; Writer: Frank McGuinness, August Strindberg; Stars: Clare Higgins, Fiona O'Shaughnessy)

Ten For Grandpa

An introspective look at the enigmatic life of an influential ancestor that pushes an individual to immerse himself in a nefarious web of danger and infamy.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2008; Director: Doug Karr; Writer: Doug Karr; Stars: David Alpay, David Huband, Catherine Black, Shannon Beckner, David Cormican, Ann de Villiers, Connor Edwards, Colette Kendall)

This Is Her

Showing as part of International Shorts: Love Bites at EIFF 2008.

(Country: New Zealand; Year: 2008; Director: Katie Wolfe)

The Watch

Two young men find a surprise connection during an impromptu sleepover.

(Country: Argentina ; Year: 2008; Director: Marco Berger)

Wet Season

Utilizing stop-motion animation, the production pays tribute to the filmmaker's real-life father who passed away six years ago.

(Country: Singapore ; Year: 2008; Director: Michael Tay; Writer: Michael Tay)