We take a look at the films presented for the 2016 Vertical Film Festival.
The 2nd Vertical Film Festival will take place from on Saturday May 21st, at the Carrington Brewery Bar in Katoomba (Blue Mountains, Australia). The Bar will open its doors at 7:30 pm and the screenings will be between 8-10 pm so don’t be late. Tickets are limited so please reserve a set in advance via the Eventbrite page (HERE). There is no entry fee but you can donate what you want at the door.
⇧ This Way Up ⇧ (Films in Competition)
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Addendum by Ferenc Kiss Hungary | 2´49´´ min. “An addendum may explain inconsistencies or expand the existing work or update the information found in the main work, especially if any such problems were detected too late to correct the main work”. In 1977 the Voyager spacecraft was launched with a golden disk onboard, containing sounds and images of Planet Earth. This is an addendum for that record. |
Alia by Matias Martinez Chile | 3 min. The story of Alia and her brother who come to the modern city from a country at war, each with opposing views on their new life. An attack on the city — by people who came from their birth country — creates fear and discrimination against them, ultimately destroying their identity so they can be free. |
Along the Lines by Antonella Lauria & Susanna Vicentini Italy | 3 min. A soliloquy about life and art, by the mime and Italian performer Romano Rocchi. |
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Basket Case by James Bedford UK | 2´20´´ min. Ever wondered how you end up with odd socks? An animated comedy. |
Eiland by Kuesti Fraun Germany | 3 min. “Live everyday as if it were your last because someday you’re going to be right.” – Muhammad Ali |
Impact by Jean-Charles Granjon France | 3 min. The mental journey of a high diver in the seconds before his jump. World champion cliff diver, Lionel Franc aims to dive from 115ft and break his own record. |
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Lost Postcards by Tamara Scherbak Canada | 3 min. A woman who is afraid of leaving her own city collects old postcards from places she’s never travelled to. |
Passages by Mila Turajic Serbia | 3 min. Travel journal evoking F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald’s tour of Europe. |
Stork Story by Francesco Mattuzzi Italy | 2´39´´ min. A lyrical story between a bell ringer and a stork. He loves to play symphonies on an old bell piano and the stork answers with the sound of bill-clattering, creating a mix between a world below and a world above. |
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Theo by Cédric Martin France | 2´59´´ min. Theo and his mother are going for a walk in the forest. Suddenly, Theo disappears… |
Thing by Luca De Salvia UK | 1´53´´ min. TEXTO |
Tried by Charles Williams Australia | 2´37´´ min. A eulogy for the victims of police violence. |
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Turuu by Joerg Locher & Jeremias Heppeler Germany | 3min. In the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, a nomad boy called Turuu trains his horses for a big race at the traditional Nadaam festival. |
Umwelt by Yoshiyuki Katayama Japan | 1´43´´ min. Exploring the diversity of time by combining two different timeframes to create new scenery and emotion. Plants are filmed with time-lapse and composited with realtime insect imagery. |
Tall Shorts (Films Out of Competition)
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Abyss of Tenderness by Valentin Henning Germany | 3´03´´ min. The film manifests itself in consistently downward movement. Vertically projected, the spectator sinks into the animation. Objects, rooms and layers form a tableau vivant, a portrait. |
Bird Murderer by Evan Moore US | 2´57´´ min. Gary is not having a good day when he feels he’s responsible for killing a bird. |
Cavallo by Joana Maria Sousa Portugal | 3´09´´ min. Vertical are the walls that we built with our own hands. They are blinders and we are like horses, letting them blind us. |
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Le poids de Mendel (Defying Mendel) by Marie-Helene Panisset Canada | 7´02´´ min. A woman receives a diagnosis for bipolar disorder. The vertical frame serves to convey the feeling of claustrophobia when one is faced with the cruelty of modern-day psychiatry which denies the human being any control over his/her destiny. |
Kabootarbaazi by Eva Weber UK | 4´14´´ min. A short film about the pigeon fanciers of Old Delhi. |
One Day by Tara O’Conal Australia | 2´32´´ min. The transition of a day, seemingly static yet marked by a thousand details. Rothko and sound-images meet the documentary impulse. Time passes as the everyday is made abstract and ineffable. |
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Purgot by Matthew Richards Australia | 3´37´´ min. A man wakes to find himself in a life preserver face-down on the shore of a desolate, disquieting beach. |
Rhapsody in Blueberry by Gaelle Denis France | 3´59´´ min. A woman searches for her identity, which she finds is like swimming upstream. |
Self Destruction by Taroslav Adamov Russia | 2´13´´ min. |
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Stand Up Tall by Andreas Bense Denmark | 3´17´´ min. A short short film about heights and perspective. |
Step by Step – My Way to the Top by Andreas Bense Denmark | 2´32´´ min. Why do people climb? Why is it so important to get to the top anyway? |
The Girl by Megan K. Fox UK | 3 min. A young homeless woman spends her days chasing “that feeling”. The vertical format makes us think about the space that these marginalised characters occupy in our society as well as on our screens. |
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The Santa Maria by Erik Schmitt Germany | 4´35´´ min. A lonely guy, dangerous gangsters, a beautiful policewoman, even more dangerous gangsters, a ship in a bottle: Our guy’s life gets turned around when he receives a mysterious letter that contains nothing but a treasure map. Suddenly, he finds himself in a dangerous adventure chasing the most precious treasure on earth. |
Tilt by Fred Cavender France | 1´37´´ min. An entertaining look at orientation. |
For more information please visit the official website of the festival here: Vertical Film Festival
AFF would like to remember the readers that the Vertical Film Festival is part of our partnership program (See all partners). We want to thank them for their support and wish you guys have a great edition.
Categories: Film Festival