OFFICIAL SELECTION 2023
Documentary Short Films
Streaming from January 27 to February 10, 2023 on Whush.com.
Gare aux Coquins (France) by Jean Costa
Synopsis: Tonio arrives in Corsica for the first time. He strolls in different places on the island and on dating applications where he meets the Oracle, a user who talks to him about gay life in Corsica. The conversation is replayed with an actor who seems to recognize himself in the history of the Oracle. Running time: 00:19:30.
The Storyless Land (Iran) by Mitra Roohimanesh
Synopsis: 'The Storyless Land' is about a faraway, ancient deprived village with no facilities, not even electricity, clinics, schools, bathrooms. Where most of the people are blind, mentally retarded or disabled and Golmah, their omniscient, who is an old 98 years woman, is involved with their birth, marriage and death… But despite all suffering, they love their land and soil and fight to stay and live in their ancestors' village. Running time: 00:35:00.
Living on the Threshold (France) by Vincent Bruno, Marine Chesnais
Synopsis:
Marine Chesnais, choreographer and contemporary dancer, goes to Reunion Island to meet humpback whales. Danced improvisations were born from these interactions in sea, which will be the fertile ground for her next creation. This movie, shot on breath-hold, is a choreographic and hypnotic journey taking us underwater, holding our breath, following the footsteps of this original project.
By showing us the process of encountering a wild animal in its natural habitat, 'Living on the Threshold' asks what is happening within us in this space of relationship where we cannot control anything – except our openness to what might happen – and questions our way of inhabiting Life. Running time: 00:29:03.
My Mother, Mary (USA) by Kayko Donald
Synopsis: A story about Black people’s liberation around the world and a young director’s journey towards self discovery made possible through the touching chronicles of her mother beginning with Grenada's Revolution of 1979. Running time: 00:23:00.
Nine Letters (USA) by Cristina Müller
Synopsis: The sensation of living in New York, away from home, is shared by those who come to live in this great metropolis from elsewhere. In Nine Letters, this experience of ‘here and there’ is conveyed by letters, and by images of everyday urban life, evoking the dream state of the present imbued by the past. Running time: 00:22:00.
To The Blue (Iran) by Moslem Agha Kochakzadeh
Synopsis: An experimental / archived film about children and the sea in cinema, movies and art. Running time: 00:21:05.
I Won’t Remain Alone (Iran) by Yaser Talebi
Synopsis: An old disabled couple living in a small village in the northern part of Iran, face an unfathomable tragedy when their youngest son falls into a coma after an accident. Defying the Islamic traditions of burial, overcoming problems of red tape, and turning devastation into hope, the parents agree to donate their son’s organs. Five years after their brave decision, a film crew visits them and records their slow path of reconciliation with death – or rather, their acquaintance with eternal life. Running time: 00:15:00.
Apnoia (Canada) by Vanessa Payri
Synopsis: Our mother, a colleague, a sister, an uncle, a friend, a friend of a friend, a stranger, who they are doesn’t really matter. They are sharing an aggression, a hidden history of which they carry the silence, but must importantly, they have decided to live and no longer survive in the shame of their sexual assault. Running time: 00:15:00.
Eyes Open (Ukraine) by Vyacheslav Bihun
Synopsis: A film requiem about a bittersweet and human-dependent fate of a rabbit. Running time: 00:15:00.