15th Madurai Film Festival 2013: International Films: Short Films

15^th Madurai Film Festival 2013

International Films: Short films

1) Mecs Meus

Dir: Liam Engle; 3mins; French; 2013; France

Bob doesn’t understand why French girls never hit on guys… what if men were actually the “weaker sex”?

2) Descent into Hell

Dir: Sergi guibas Arnau; 14mins 57secs; Spanish; 2013; Spain

When an old man arrives to the Chapel he finds that all the villagers were killed. Also, he sees that they hanged and burned his brother. He decides to cross the mountains to try to finish with the bastards.

3) Vaterlandsliebe / A German Loves His Fatherland

Dir: Nico Sommer; 20 mins 10 secs; German; 2011; Germany

Jens is tolerant, tall and good-looking. His big honesty and loyalty to Germany brings him increasingly problems. Many people think he is a Nazi, although he only loves his native country.

4) Erinnerungen An Den Sommer / Remembering The Summer

Dir: Friedrich Tieditke; 10 mins 20secs; German; 2012; Germany

A woman (Isolde Barth) remembers her first love experience, realizing its true significance only in retrospective. Beautiful and light feelings suddenly turn oppressive and lead to new perspectives.

5) Moritz Und Der Waldschrat / Moritz and The Woodwose

Dir: Byn Chainey; 20mins; German; 2013; Germany

Moritz is a boy caught between the worlds of life and death. Struggling with the illness of his little brother, he is now drifting away from his family. But when he wanders alone into the forest, he encounters an ancient being who offers him a macabre bargain.

6) Nicht Den Boden Beruhren / Don’t Hit The Ground

Dir: Mia Spenglar; 30 mins; German; 2013; Germany

The 90's, a colourful decade of pop and shallowness: Fifteen year old Fila and her clique are in the middle of it. Fila is popular amongst her friends, because she is cool, sassy and loud. But so is Gülcan, her a rival. When Fila falls in love with a 27 year old, softhearted drug dealer Artur, she hides their relationship, since Artur is considered a loser by her friends. But Gülcan reveals Filas secret. To prove her wrong, Fila makes out with Gülcans secret crush, Alex. She, thereby, not only enrages her friends, but also breaks Arturs heart.

7) Die Schaukel Des Sargmachers / The Swing of The Coffin Maker

Dir: Elmar Imanov; 29 mins 58secs; German; 2012; Germany

Azerbaijan. Yagub lives with his adult son, Musa in a small house in a desolate place. They lead a solitary life. Musa, mentally disabled and limited in his motor skills, assists his father with his work. Yagub is a carpenter and earns his money especially with coffins, which he carpenters for Georgians and Russians. Whenever being confronted with the clumsiness of his son he often reacts indignantly. When Musa is diagnosed with a deadly illness, the emotional numbing of the father slowly dissolves as he tries to make the last days of his son as enjoyable as possible – until Sabir delivers a surprising message.

8) Domoj / Home

Dir: Simona Feldman; 9mins; German/Russian; 2013; Germany

Juri is growing up under deprived circumstances in a small village in the former CCCP. When his father moves to Germany to earn money for his family he hast to come to grips with a life without a father.

9) Musik Liegt In Der Luft / There is Music in The Air

Dir: Tim Bosse; 20 mins; German; 2012; Germany

Mirek is disillusioned. His dream of a life with Tina was still within reach when she went off with a stupid music bod with his show-off guitar slung around his neck. At least now Mirek thinks he knows why his life could have gone differently – better, in fact – if he hadn’t always had to play football outside as a child – he should have been preparing for life with piano and flute lessons like his classmates. So Mirek turns to his buddy Klaus and decides to get an instrument for himself.

10)  Milchbart / Milk Mustache

Dir: Katrin Woller; 03 mins 9 secs; No Dialogue; 2013; Germany

A young woman enters a café and decides to bring a touch of rebellion to the cold atmosphere. But it’s not until a clumsy mishap that she gets real attention. And suddenly her coolness is challenged.

11)  Komm Und Spiel / Come and Play

Director/s: Daria Belova; 30 mins; German/Russian; 2013; Germany

Berlin. Grisha, a Russian-German boy, fools around with a wooden stick toygun. The longer he plays, the further he is thrust into an altered reality. The boundaries between the past and the present, the real and the surreal, start to blur. Images from bygone Berlin appear; streets and buildings still carry the memories of war. Suddenly, he is caught in a nightmare of another lifetime, nightmare that is still present today.

“Come & Play” is a film about the memory of a place. Time does not disappear and the past does not go away. Everything coexists in one moment.

12)  Pro Kope / The Maid

Dir: Sascha Zimmermann; 13 mins 45 secs; German; 2012; Germany

Martin, an executive working away from home, makes a phone call home at a very bad time. Martin's call to his wife is picked up by the Maid, who is put in a difficult position due to an indiscretion by Martin's wife with another man. Once the truth is out, Martin has one thing on his mind - murder and he's willing to pay. But will the Maid do what he wants and kill the cheating wife and her lover?

Pro Kopf (English title: The Maid) is a dark comic tale of love and murder.            

13)  Welcome to Bavaria

Dir: Matthias Kobmehi; 11 mins 21 secs; German; 2012; Germany

In the Bavarian mountains the border was closed to prevent illegal immigration. One evening an unexpected encounter takes place at the border control, which drives clumsy Bernie to resort to unconventional means.

14)  Feel

Dir: Marcus Hanisch; 05 mins 02 secs; German; 2012; Germany

An old couple discover their youth and love again in a disco.

15)  Gay Goth Scene

Dir: Kai stanicke; 04 mins 57secs; No Dialogue; 2013; Germany

For a young boy, school is a living hell. He decided to put an end to it. Gay Goth Scene is a mixture of short film & music video that deals with a worldwide social disease: bullying.

16)  Ein Augenblick in Mir / In The Nick of Time

Dir: David M. Lorenz; 13 mins; German; 2011; Germany

 Arne wants to kill himself. But once he is standing on the chair with the rope around his neck, he suddenly discovers a small child staring at him from the window of the building across the street. He starts communicating with the unwanted observer, not foreseeing what this encounter has in store for him... A tragicomedy about slumbering urges, hidden yearnings and the forgotten child in all of us. A short film about passion and the arts.

17) Achttausend / Eight Thousand

Dir: Simon-Niklas Scheuring; 19 mins; German; 2013; Germany

Jens and his girlfriend, Nessi live in a run-down cellar flat. One night, when he comes home with his face beaten bloody, both of them are aware that they had no more money and they start to argue. The following day they set out to go to his father’s house. When Jens stealthily climbs through a balcony door to search for money, he is confronted with an unexpected discovery…

18) Allah is Great

Dir: Andrea Lannetta; 25 mins 04secs; English/Hindi; 2012

Frank Asmas, a Danish Engineer, is leaving a Wind Farm located in a remote Indian village. He has to reach Nairobi, where he must attend an important conference. When he is ready to leave, he learns that the official car designated to take him to the airport, has not come due to political protests in the region. In its place the local project-head of the wind farm has found Salim, a local taxi driver. Their journey together will reveal itself to be full of mishap and inconvenience Frank and Salim belongs to completely different worlds, and this leads them to mutual incomprehension before flowing into a revelation for Frank.

19) Another Fucking

Dir: Katharina Marie Schubert; 30 mins; German; 2011; Germany

Johanna meets Georg, They sit on a bench together at night drinking beer. Everything is wonderful. High time, for they are both over thirty and living alone. When Johanna rings Georg´s doorbell the next afternoon, a completely different Georg opens the door. Another fucking...“  is a film about the big City Berlin, about really growing up, the benefit of alcohol, the search for meaning and about bad jokes.

20) Bumpy Night

Dir: Julie Kreuzer; 30 mins; German; 2012; Germany

When Jonas, an actor, encounters his ex-boyfriend Anton at a party, he struggles to keep his composure. But for Jonas, a young man who can’t differentiate between the stage and real life, the performance he puts on soon spirals out of his control. Jonas has to improvise in front of his friends, who call for a speech, and in front of Anton, whose detachment appears irrevocable. As the situation escalates and his ex leaves the party, Jonas loses all restraint, “Fasten your seat-belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night!” he prophesies as once did Bette Davis, and plunges into the abyss of the night.

21)  Cold Star

Dir: Kai Stanicke; 07 mins 3 secs; No Dialogue; 2011; Germany

A boy experiences new desires while watching a man at an indoor swimming pool. Forced up the diving platform by a rowdy gang, he receives help from an unexpected source. Cold Star is an appeal for acceptance of your own and others sexual identity.

22) Crushed Willi

Dirs: Volker Heymann; 05 mins 49 secs; German; 2013; Germany

Willi Huber, 62 years old, hates computers. After being fired he finds a job as a waiter in a modern café. Though having a hard time serving the young people, he saves a guest's life by applying a laptop in an unusual way.

23) Dreieinhalb / Three and A Half

Dir: Elisa Unger; 20; German; 2012; Germany

The house Martin inherited in Transylvania turns out to be a worthless old shack. The money he borrowed for the journey is almost gone. The strange food and the ancient VW camper slowly drive him mad. His bad luck continues when the hitchhiker Klara suddenly occupies his back seat. With her chaotic, bubbly personality and her ever smiling face she puts him through a number of unwelcome adventures and some unpleasant experiences.

24) Kukla / A Dummy

Dir: Konstantin Chelidze; 13 mins 36 secs; Russian; 2013; Russia

There is a pre-election race in the small town. The veteran of Chechen war becomes the forced participant in a dirty political game.

25) Jacobo

Dir: David Del Aguila; 13 mins 37 secs; Spanish; 2012; Spain

Jacobo must take the most difficult decision of his life.

26) Hibernation

Dir: Jon mikel Caballaro; 17 mins; Spanish; 2012; Spain

Joseph is an astronaut set to go where no man has arrived in the Universe through the 'Hibernation' program. But something happens between him and his instructor Claire, and decisions that seemed unbreakable begin to crack. The countdown has begun.

27)  La Casta

Dir: Victor Tejera; 16 mins 48 secs; Spanish; 2013; Spain

"The Caste" is a post-apocalyptic tragicomedy. Social criticism through humor. Spain as a world power in political corruption. A terrorist act, an awakening.

28) Caretos

Dir: Luis sanchez-Polack; 05 mins 46 secs; Spanish; 2013; Spain

Paula’s perfect man is not just a man, but three of them: Javier, Mario and Fede. Three friends that would have to work out who’ll get to keep the girl… But Paula won’t make things easy.

29) Dragon High School

Dir: Lola Parra; 08 mins 30 secs; Spanish; 2013; Spain

Edgars parents accompany him on his first day of high school. At the door, they find other parents in a peculiar hopeless situation.

30)  Espana Different

Dir: Salvdor Guerra; 04 mins; Spanish; 2013; Spain

Two guys cross their ways and their lives. One small decision can make us a hero or a villain. Based on a press article written by Arturo Pérez-Reverte.

31) The Discarded

Dir: Juan Antono Delicado & David Elicado; 11 mins 36 secs; Spanish; 2013; Spain

"The Discarded" tells the story of three people living on the edge in a country where economic crisis and unemployment are the main problems.

32) The First Night

Dir: Eduardo Moyana; 16 mins 40 secs; Spanish; 2013; Spain

A convenience store, any other night. A customer lays on the floor and Eva, the clerk, calls an ambulance. The next night Silvestre comes back to the store to thank and explain himself to Eva, and instantly he falls in love with her.

33) Eutanas S.A

Dir: Victor Nores; 09 mins 50 secs; Spanish; 2013; Spain

Would you like to die the same way your icon did? Would you like to imitate the death of some memorable scene? Euthanas Inc. For those who need or want to put a legitimately spectacular end to their lives.

34) Chaos

Dir: Miguel Moneagudo; 13 mins 44 secs; Spanish; 2013; Spain

Chaos tells the story of two brothers who, unwittingly, will be involved in a plot that will make us reflect on the guilt and destiny.

35) You are a Terrorist

Dir: Antoni Sole; 11 mins 28 secs; Spanish; 2013; Spain

Elizabeth Meyer is a captain of the U.S. Army, and a recent vet of the war in Afghanistan. She kidnaps one of the highest ranks in Middle East affairs, and tries to have him confess the involvement of the U.S. government in a series of attacks for which terroristic groups are wrongly accused of. But the confession takes an unexpected twist, and Elizabeth finds herself involved in a mediatic manipulation of the so-called War against terrorism. Inspired by future real facts, this story is there to warn us against the impact of media alteration, that will inevitably influence the world's public opinion

.

36)  Explosive

Dir: Jose Ramon Sonario & Ivan M. Valencia; 17 mins 56 secs; Spanish; 2013; Spain

Carlos Pino wants to leave the company in which he has worked for nearly 15 years. But his boss, unaware of that intention, abuses him again forcing Carlos to literally cry and beg to a client. Carlos is going to explode... he is a bomb in the office.

37)  Tabato

Dir: Joao Viana; 13mins; Mandinga; 2013; Portugal

Mutar, who fought in the war, is back in Guinea. In his luggage, he brings strange objects. Fatu, his daughter, takes the opportunity of Mutar's absence to open his bag. Shortly afterwards, Fatu's boyfriend, Idrissa finds Mutar with his hand soiled in blood and Fatu dead. It is then that Idrissa, picks up a drum.

38) Mi ojo derecho (My right eye (the apple of my eyes)

Dir: Joseco de linares; 13 mins; Spanish; Spain

Zurdo maintained a special relationship with his grandmother. Since he went away to study they have lost contact. On the last day of summer Zurdo decides to visit her with the intuition that he might not see her again.

39) Cuidadano Torralba (Citizen Torralba redux)

Dir: Suso Hernandez; 11 mins; Spanish; 2013; Spain

 No question about it. We face one of the most influential personalities of our modern history. We talk about a referential historical figure, like once were Davinci, Napoleon or Einstein…. We talk, of course, about Cebedado Torralba, the one and only rock-paper scissors world champion.

40) Rake’s commitment

Dir: Santi Veiga; 14mins; Spanish; 2012; Spain

 Rake’s commitment is a parable, with a lighthearted and humorous tone, about social commitment and love. The Rake an unusual and memorable character, needs to find something in life to commit to.

41)  Tarde de Futbol (soccer day)

Dir: Miguel Pita; 19mins; Spanish; 2012; Spain

Sara has been declared innocent, she and her lawyer, Mariola talk about the circumstances of the day Sara was accused.