Charcoal (When My LIfe)
Carvão (Quando Minha Vida)

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Film synopsis

In Brazil, where violence and cruelty have free rein, a rural family accepts the proposal of an international organization led by an Argentine woman to “host” a foreign guest. However, none of the family members see their expectations fulfilled, and those of their guest‘s are even less. When My Life is a deadpan portrait of how the naturalization of the absurd is the new normal.​

Director’s filmography

Carolina Markowicz is a screenwriter and director based in São Paulo - Brazil. She has written and directed 6 short films selected for 400 festivals such as Cannes, Locarno, Toronto, SXSW, AFI and awarded more than 60 times. Carolina‘s short The Orphan premiered at the Directors‘ Fortnight and was the winner of the Queer Palm in Cannes, 2018. At Indiewire she was showcased among Some of the World’s Most Exciting New Filmmakers. In 2021, Carolina was invited to be a member of the Academy. ​

Producer’s filmography

Superfilmes is an independent production company from São Paulo, Brazil. Among the feature films produced (half of them Operas Primas), we highlight La Casa de Alicia by Chico Teixeira (Berlinale/Panorama). We have been working on When My Life since 2017, building valuable co-productions (Biônica Filmes and Ajimolido Films). Carolina is an original voice for all screens. The film's moral elasticity is a metaphorical extension of human relationships, a topic of great interest for us.​

Author’s statement

Carolina Markowicz: “I feel we are becoming immune to violence and absurdity here in Brazil. I grew up in the countryside. There, I experienced everything a conservative city could offer. This bucolic, but at the same time, eventful environment made me an observer of human nature at its best and at its worst. As well as an admirer of an acid sense of humour, able to portray all the biggest human idiosyncrasies in a quite weird manner. Charcoal is my attempt to understand how violence and hypocrisy have taken over our lives in a way that we no longer even notice..”

Contact / Presenters

Biônica Filmes
São Paulo, Brazil
Email: [email protected]
www http://bionicafilmes.com.br

Cinematográfica Superfilmes
São Paulo, Brazil
www www.superfilmes.com.br

Karen Castanho | Producer
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +55 11 97307 1120

Carolina Markowicz | Director
Email: [email protected]

Goldfish
Goldfish

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Film synopsis

Anamika Fields is the daughter of an Englishman and an Indian woman. Her mother, Sadhana Tripathi, left behind a promising career to marry Anamika’s father and move to the UK. Her father died when she was ten. This left Sadhana, who never wanted to be a parent, and who never even wanted to live in the UK, to bring up their only daughter alone. Twenty-five years later, Sadhana is suffering from the onset of dementia. Ana thinks that she will be able to resolve the situation in a few short days. Mother and daughter, strangers for over a decade, find themselves thrown together once again, after all of this time. This has always been a difficult, damaging relationship for them. Some of this was a by-product of their circumstance, and some of it was deliberate. Anamika begins to discover a woman she had never known before. 

Director’s filmography

Pushan Kripalani is a cinematographer and director. His first film, The Threshold (2015), was highly acclaimed in its brief festival run, garnering praise at MAMI and the NFDC Film Bazaar, as well as winning Best Actor and Best Actress at the New York Indian Film Festival. It screened on Channel 4 in the UK, and is currently streaming on Disney+. As cinematographer, he has filmed several features, as well as ads, documentaries, and shorts, working with Shyam Benegal, Ram Madhvani, and Zafar Hai, amongst others, as well as for National Geographic, Discovery, and the BBC. He is a founder member of the industrial theatre company, and has worked on over thirty productions for the stage and for radio, in capacities ranging from director to actor, designer, musician, and producer.​ Goldfish is his second feature.

Producer’s filmography

Amit Saxena is an Atlanta (Georgia), US-based technology entrepreneur who started Splendid Films in 2020. Films are his passion, and he has many interesting projects in the pipeline. His upcoming film, Marichjhapi (as a co-producer), was selected at L’ATELIER, at Cannes Film Festival 2020.​

Author’s statement

Goldfish began as a film about dementia, identity, and the Diaspora. As the script began to evolve, it became about the collision of two unreliable memories, and then the cast got involved. After that, the film became about community and the definition of family. Then, to our delight, we were able to watch the whole, the sum of the parts, come together on the editing table. It moves from an obvious, pragmatic solution, to the need to take a difficult decision, drenched in uncertainty, but with love and duty at the core. When we are ephemeral, do we still exist in other people? Are we the sum of our memories alone? Are we alone? When we are from different places and times, can we truly matter to one another? Can we know ourselves if we do not know where we are from? Who are we?​

Contact / Presenters

SPLENDID MOTION FILMS LIMITED
Suite F 1-3 Canfield Place, Canfield Place, NW6 3BT, London, United Kingdom
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +1 551 587 6633
www www.splendid-films.com

Amit Saxena | Producer
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +1 551 587 6633

Pushan Kripalani | Director, Scriptwriter

I Love You More
I Love You More

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Film synopsis

After a year of online pillow-talk, Ben, a shy Kosovar teen, is beyond-excited to finally meet his first (but secret) love, Leo. Consumed with passion, Ben carefully weaves the plans and cover-story for his romantic tryst with Leo who is arriving from Germany in just one month. Everything must be perfect. Great news, Ben's mother surprises the family with a life changing opportunity, but he just can't take it yet. He must meet Leo.​

Director’s filmography

Born in Peja Kosovo in 1992, Erblin started acting at ten years old. In 2010, their family won the Green Card Lottery to move to the United States. Erblin earned their B.A. from George Mason University where they studied film with a concentration in directing, and a minor in photography. Their thesis film, BINI, won multiple jury prize and audience awards, a Regional Student Emmy Award, and was nominated for a Student Academy Award. Erblin recently completed their debut feature film titled I Love You More which has been supported by the Kosovo Cinematography Center and Albanian National Cinematography Center. Now back in Kosovo, Erblin is producing feature and short films through their company Tilia Entertainment LLC.​

Producer’s filmography

Born in Peja, Kosovo in 1986, Fjolla has been acting since her freshman year of high school. She attended the only arts high school in Kosovo where she majored in acting. She continued to the nation's capital, Prishtina to earn her undergrad and master's degree in acting from the University of Prishtina. After moving to the United States, Fjolla starred in a few award-winning short films. In recent years, she has started writing and producing films through Tilia Entertainment LLC.​

Author’s statement

Being a non-binary queer person from Kosovo, which is a very isolated and predominantly Islamic country, isn't easy. I saw my first queer film when I was in high school. For the first time I saw myself portrayed on screen and finally understood the way I was secretly feeling all those years. Films helped me escape and feel less lonely behind the closed doors of my room. With I Love You More, I want the Kosovar/Albanian youth, who have very limited national queer films, to see themselves portrayed on the screen by a community member that speaks their language. I’m telling this personal story for those who are still behind their closed doors and going through adolescence, hoping when they see this film they will feel less alone just like I did years ago.

Contact / Presenters

Tilia Entertainment
Zija Basha #14, 30000, Pejë, Kosovo
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +383 488 00 922
www https://www.tiliaentertainment.com

Action Production
Tirana, Albania
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +35 569 203 95 44

Erblin Nushi | Producer, Director, Scriptwriter
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +156 131 20 950

The Maiden
The Maiden

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Film synopsis

A perfect summer day ends in a tragic death.
Colton, a suburban teenager, mourns the loss of his best friend Kyle.
Grief awakens decay and darkness in a world that swirls amidst glimpses of natural wonder and beauty.
The discovery of a missing girl's diary transports us to a mirror world. A magical ravine. A supernatural encounter. Is this Colton's psyche? A dream? The afterlife
​Are we ever really alone…

Director’s filmography

Graham Foy is a filmmaker based in Toronto, Canada. His short film, August 22, This Year, was presented at Cannes Semaine de la Critique and the New York Film Festival. The Maiden is Graham's debut feature film, it was developed at Cannes' Next Step where it was awarded the Moulin d'Andé Residency.

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Producer’s filmography

Daiva Zalnieriunas is a filmmaker based in Toronto, Canada. She produced the short film, August 22, This Year, which was presented at Cannes Semaine de la Critique and the New York Film Festival. The Maiden is Daiva's first feature film as a producer.​

Author’s statement

I grew up in the community in Calgary where The Maiden was filmed and spent much of my teenage years hanging out in the ravine, the film’s central location. The Maiden is not completely autobiographical, however, there are many personal connections to events, characters and places contained in the film. For me, The Maiden is a poetic vision of teenage friendship, loss and grief broken into two parts which share a cosmic connection, revealing layers of meaning and purpose even amidst moments of deep despair.​

Contact / Presenters

F F FILMS INC.
18 Elm Grove Ave. Unit E6, M6K2J1, Toronto, Canada
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +1 647 884 4576

MDFF
Toronto, Canada
Email: [email protected]
www https://mdff.ca/

Graham Foy | Director
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +1 647 884 4576

Daiva Zalnieriunas | Producer
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +1 647 515 5128

Night Detour
Desvío de noche

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Film synopsis

In the midst of a snowstorm, a journalist dives back into the memories of her most recent investigation. Following the sudden departure of star figure skater Violeta Martinez, the journalist travels to Violeta’s hometown, a tropical village on the West coast of Mexico. There, she encounters an intricate labyrinth of clues and wrong paths, surreal tales and enigmatic characters. Two in particular draw her attention. But even as the story deviates from her initial quest, she shall only glimpse this world from a distance.

Director’s filmography

Ariane Falardeau St-Amour is a Montreal director, cinematographer, and producer. In 2018, she produced and shot her first feature film, Mad Dog Labine, winning the Focus prize at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, and the Gilles-Carle prize at the Rendez-vous du Cinéma Québécois. In 2020, she co-directed and shot her first feature film, Desvío de noche.

Paul Chotel graduated from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema in 2015, with the prestigious Susan Schouten Documentary Film Award. He recently co-wrote and co-produced Foam (2020), which premiered at the 70th Berlinale Shorts, and was named as one of Canada’s top ten at TIFF. Desvío de noche is his first feature film as a writer-director.

Producer’s filmography

Omar Elhamy, Simon Allard and Jeanne Dupuis met in Montreal through the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. Omar Elhamy also works as a director and editor (Foam, 70th Berlinale shorts, Canada’s Top Ten at TIFF, Grand Prix du Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, 2020). Simon Allard co-founded Outpost Mtl, a post-production company that has worked on Academy Awards nominated films (Fauve, 2019 and Brotherhood, 2020). Jeanne Dupuis, after working as a focus puller in Montreal for several years, is currently developing animation projects. Desvío de noche is their first feature film as producers.​

Author’s statement

Desvío de noche is a sensory journey through a place one can never fully grasp. The film ponders the inaccessible through its characters, inspired by the stories of those met on the coast of Oaxaca, Mexico, while developing this fantastical drama. Desvío de noche reflects on memory and grief, muses about being lost and choosing to accept the beauty that comes from it.

Contact / Presenters

9401-1863 Qc Inc.
6611 St-Denis, H2S 2S1, Montreal, Canada
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: 1-514-799-1281

Ariane Falardeau St-Amour | Director
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +1 438 402 4269

Paul Chotel | Director
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +1 438 233 2375

Jeanne Dupuis | Producer
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +1 514 799 1281

Norwegian dream
Norwegian dream

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Film synopsis

Robert (19), a Polish immigrant working at a fish factory in Norway, has come to earn money to pay off his mother‘s debts. Coming from an LGBTIQ+ free zone in Poland, he struggles with his feelings for his Norwegian colleague Ivar (19), especially when it turns out Ivar is a drag queen. When a strike begins among the Polish workers at the factory, Robert is bribed into breaking it. Will he take the much-needed money, or stand up for love and his rights?​

Director’s filmography

Leiv Igor Devold (b. 1977) is a film-directing graduate of the Polish National Film School in Łódź . He has directed, written and produced over 12 documentaries and short films, which have been screened at festivals and on television internationally. Devold debuted in Norwegian cinemas in 2015 with the documentary The Accidental Rock Star. It won the Norwegian Amanda Award for best editing, and at Kosmorama filmfestival it also won an award for best Norwegian film 2015 and best sound. Devold has directed, produced and written films that have been screened at Annecy, Warsaw International Film Festival, BIFF, Dubai, Beirut, IDFA and more than 40 other festivals.​

Producer’s filmography

Håvard Wettland Gossé (b. 1986) is a Norwegian producer and a graduate of the University of Trondheim. Since 2010 he has produced several short and documentary films. He has been nominated for the Norwegian Amanda Award for best short film, and in 2016 he was selected for the talent program ”New Roads” at the Norwegian Film Institute. His short film Train Robbers was screened at ​Clermont Ferrand Film Festival as one of 80 selected films from over 9,100 submissions.

Author’s statement

Poles are by far the largest minority in Norway. Many of the Polish immigrants are labour immigrants and come to Norway to create a new future for themselves. We find it important that Poles and Norwegians are treated as equals, and our aim is to create a greater awareness about labour rights. In 2019 approximately 1/3 of Poland’s territory was declared "LGBTIQ-free". Poland was declared the most homo- and transphobic country in the EU in 2020, ranking 43rd from the 49 countries in Europe, just ahead of Russia. In 2021 many of the declared “LGBTIQ-free” zones have been canceled due to the threat of sanctions from the EU, but this doesn’t mean that homophobia in those regions has disappeared. We want to put a focus on how different identity markers work together in a society that pressures individuals.​

Contact / Presenters

Spaett film
Ferjemannsveien 4, 7042, Trondheim, Norway
Email: [email protected]
www www.spaett.no

Leiv Igor Devold | Director
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +47 415 14 208

Håvard Wettland Gossé | Producer
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +47 988 78 923

Lennart Lenzing | Producer
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +49 176 316 215 91

The Territory
Bölge

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Film synopsis

Through the character Ali, this movie depicts the life of a group of young people in a suburb of Istanbul who are stuck between drugs, gangs, religion and family while living in highly inadequate socio-economic conditions.​

Director’s filmography

I was born in Istanbul, Esenyurt. I completed my undergraduate education at Akdeniz University‘s Radio, TV and Cinema department. After university, I returned to Istanbul and took part in various cinema and advertising projects.​​

Producer’s filmography

I was born in 1991 in Istanbul. I studied at the Department of Radio, Television and Cinema at Ege University. I work as a producer in the production of content such as commercials, documentaries in agencies and production companies.​

Author’s statement

I wanted to tell the story of young people left alone in a degenerating society. I think these young people living in a local area of Istanbul have a story with a universal counterpart. We wondered what effect the atmosphere we wanted to create would have on the audience.​

Contact / Presenters

Mesut Keklik | Director
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +90 535 413 0399

Burak Yavuz | Producer
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +90 537 346 7892

Ismail Sanli | Festival communication, Marketing & PR
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +90 545 236 1337

Under the Naked Sky
Onder de blote hemel

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Film synopsis

Elvie (10) grows up in a trailer home, where she lives with her intellectually disabled mother Emma (41) on a campsite that is owned by her grandfather Bucko (78) in the middle of a forest. When Elvie starts to mentally outgrow her mother as her grandpa simultaneously loses his grip on the situation, their isolated world in the forest slowly starts to fall apart.​

Director’s filmography

Lilian Sijbesma (1983) is an Amsterdam based filmmaker. She graduated in 2011 in directing and screenwriting from Utrecht School of the Arts. Her graduation film Marijn won various awards and was shown at film festivals in the Netherlands and internationally. Since then, she has written and directed several short films, children’s series and music videos. Under The Naked Sky is her debut feature film. The script was unanimously chosen as a winner by the jury of the Visser-Neerlandia Award for best screenplay of the Netherlands and Flanders in 2018.​

Producer’s filmography

Germen Boelens is producer of Brothers (Gifoni Award Italy 2018) and Fortune Seekers, both by Golden Bear winner Hanro Smitsman, Emmy nominated Dede: Mehmet with the Yellow Boots by Tamara Miranda and Vrije Vogel (Free as a Bird) by Joyce van Diepen.
Kirsi Saivosalmi is a producer primarily focusing on creative project development and international co-productions.
Her first released co-production, Eami by Paz Encina, won the Tiger Award at the IFFR 2022. Current co-productions include Utopia by Juri Rechinsky and Memory by Vladlena Sandu. Kirsi is also the producer of three short films, the latest being Five Tiger by Nomawonga Khumalo (Competition for Best Short at Sundance FF 2021).

Author’s statement

What would it be like to grow up as a kid without someone explaining to you how the world works? Without a parent you know you can rely on to explain the rules of society? How would it shape you as a person?
The influence of upbringing and circumstances in childhood is a theme that fascinates me enormously. Especially the subject of this film - children growing up with a parent with an intellectual disability. 
​Elvie has to grow up in a way I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Tragically, there is no one to blame for her situation. Her mother does whatever she can; it’s all she has to offer. I want to let people feel the love and affection between her and her mother as well as the inevitable neglect and pain. And to show what all of this does to Elvie and to her mother as well.

Contact / Presenters

Revolver Amsterdam
Schollenbrugstraat 7H, 1091 EX, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Email: [email protected]
www http://revolver.nl

Lilian Sijbesma | Director
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +316 456 42 252

Kirsi Saivosalmi | Producer
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +316 251 37 026

Germen Boelens | Producer
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +316 526 96 808