In Short, Europe: Awakening
March 10, 2023
European Writers’ Festival 2
June 3, 2024
In Short, Europe: Best of Best
20-21 April 2024 – Glasgow Film Theatre
26-28 April 2024 – London, Cine Lumiere, French Institute
A collection of inspiring, award-winning short films from 28 European countries
EUNIC London, in collaboration with the EU Delegation to the UK and the Glasgow Film Festival, is proud to confirm that the 6th edition of In Short, Europe, is set to take place in Scotland for the very first time at the Glasgow Film Theatre on 20th and 21st April and once again in London at the Ciné Lumière from the 26th -28th April. The Festival is a diverse and exciting celebration of European short filmmaking and is going from strength to strength with each edition. This year, Best of Best, is no exception with all films being award winning. The 28 films travel across Europe from Ukraine to Scotland taking in countries as varied as the Faroe Islands, Flanders and Belgium’s Wallonia Brussels.
In Short, Europe: Best of Best features five strands, including a special selection of children’s animation, which have been curated by Glasgow’s Balenji Mwiche – Smile You’re on Camera, Hard Decisions, People on the Precipice, Psychodrama and Why’s the Sky Blue?
PROGRAMME & TIMINGS
Strand 1: Smile You’re on Camera
Saturday 20 April, 12:30 pm, Cinema 2, Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow
Friday 26 April, 6:30 pm, Ciné Lumière, Institut français London
Smile You’re on Camera is a collection of documentary, science fiction and animation short’s. The workspace has become one of the most surveilled areas of human life, in the office with CCTV and at home with Zoom and social Media. These bold films look at the ways in which tech and labor intersect and diverge, and ask us to consider how we feel about tech in our working lives, the sacrifices it asks of us, and the possibilities it promises.
Platform, dir. Johannes Büttner & Steffen Köhn, Germany, 2022, Documentary, 16 mins, Age Rating 15
Based on real interviews with gig workers and freelancers online, utilizing Snow Crash the 1992 Cyber punk Classic that has become a Silicon Valley bible.
Somewhere, dir. Fabrizio Ellul, Malta, 2023, Animation, 7 mins, Age Rating PG
Earth has fallen, Vincent a researcher who spends his days in a space station that orbits earth observing those who have sought refuge on the ship and volunteered their memories in hopes of finding new planets to inhabit. An unexpected detour reunites Vincent with a sentimental item.
I am Not A Robot, dir. Victoria Warmerdam, Netherlands, 2023, Fiction, 23 mins, Age Rating 15
Algorithms merge with work in a queasy frenzy in I Am Not A Robot from (Netherlands), wherein a young woman is forced by CAPTCHA to reconsider everything she thought was real.
Loop, dir. Pablo Polledri, Spain, 2021, Animation, 8 mins, Age Rating P
This animation presents a mesmerizing circuit of never ending automation and activity, all kept working like clockwork by an all seeing eye, the film asks us to question the purpose of surveillance in our lives, and the ways in which we contribute to its continuing presence.
Hardly Working, dir. Total Refusal, Austria, 2022, Documentary, 20 mins, Age Rating 12A
A Sisyphean tale of NPC’s (Non Playable characters) in the video game Red Dead Redemption 2 who dare to glitch.
Strand 2: Hard Decisions
Saturday 20 April, 5:30 pm, Cinema 2, Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow
Sunday 28 April, 4:40 pm, Ciné Lumière, Institut français London. Followed by a Q&A session with visiting directors.
This selection of shorts, animation and documentary looks at all the ways in which choice and decision is thrust upon us and the almost psychedelic and euphoric experience this conflict can induce. To change, one’s life in any kind of drastic way is a nauseating prospect for most, but upheaval can allow us to grow, rebel, and reconsider what is important to us.
In The Name of The Father, dir. Vladimir Dembinski, Romania, 2021, Fiction, 28 mins, Age Rating 15
Forced to decide between her mother and father, a young woman spirals into frenzy after she sees her dead mother walking around the local market. Pushed to make a drastic decision that turns her life upside-down.
Nun or Never!, dir. Heta Jäälinoja, Finland, 2023, Animation, 9 mins, Age Rating 12
We follow a nun as she tends to her garden…. and all the temptations that might lay there. Faith and temptation combine in this lush and exuberant animation.
Where Do We Go?, dir. Barbara Lervig, Faroe Islands, 2021, Fiction, 14 mins, Age Rating 15
A mother takes a trip she will not return from on the anniversary of her sons fatal accident. A surprise encounter with a mysterious woman she meets along her travels forces her to choose between the life and death.
Miru Falls in Love, dir. Ieva Norvele, Latvia, 2023, Fiction, 15 mins, Age rating 15
Theatre assistant Miru is on the verge of breaking through, or breaking down, as she prepares for a career defining show. Work and life overlap in uncomfortable and inappropriate ways for Miru, leaving her to decide if the career she has worked so hard for is ultimately worth it.
Garrano, dir. David Doutel & Vasco Sá, Portugal, 2021, Animation, 23 mins, Age Rating 12
For some bad choices are thrust upon them with dangerous consequences in this animation, a young boy comes across a man who is about to set the forest on fire, the line between personal choice and coercion is drawn.
Bear, dir. Morgane Frund, Switzerland, 2022, Documentary, 20 mins, Age rating 18
A keen bear watcher tasks a young student to digitize the years of video footage he has taken of his beloved bears, and the natural landscapes in which they live. What the student finds amongst the footage leaves her with a difficult ethical dilemma. The film asks us if compassion and anger can coexist? And who, ultimately, are filmmakers beholden to?
The Silent Route, dir. Merve Cirisoglu, Türkiye, 2024, Animation, 8 mins, Age Rating PG
The loving protection of a mother keeps a baby away from danger.
Strand 3: People on the precipice
Sunday 21 April, 2:00 pm, Cinema 2, Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow
Saturday 27 April, 3:30 pm, Ciné Lumière, Institut français London. Followed by a Q&A session with visiting directors.
This collection of narrative and documentary short films turns its eyes onto precipices, edges and boundaries and the outliers who live beyond them. The films in this programme explore the ways in which our political realities determine what kind of outsider we are.
Everything Ahead, dir. Mate Ugrin, Croatia, 2021, Fiction, 24 mins, Age Rating 12
After moving to an isolated island to be a caretaker for an elderly woman, Branka decides to stay on the island for the summer season to work in the islands tourism trade.
The Red Suitcase, dir. Cyrus Neshvad, Luxembourg, 2022, Fiction, 18 mins, Age Rating 12
A young girl arrives through customs, unable to speak the language, far away from her home, and only moments to decide to take her fate into her own hands.
Dead Marriage, dir. Michał Toczek, Poland, 2022, Fiction, 19 mins, Age Rating 12
Isolation and connection collide in this short which follows two unlikely outsiders. After two extras who play corpses on film sets connect during a scene, a tender relationship forms as more is revealed between them.
A Piece of Liberty, dir. Antigoni Kapaka, Greece, 2023, Fiction, 14 mins, Age Rating 12
Two icons of isolation, borders, and boundaries meet in this mischievous silent short
That’s How the Summer Ended, dir. Matjaž Ivanišin, Slovenia, 2022, Fiction, 12 mins, Age Rating 12
A man and a woman go down to the water. Motorways sit next to sparse fields, barren suburban landscapes stretch out beyond the horizon. Overhead we see preparations for an air show taking place in the sky.
Chornobyl 22, dir. Oleksiy Radynski, Ukraine, 2022, Documentary, 21 mins, Age Rating 12
During the Russian occupation of the Chornobyl Zone in early 2022, a local informant is clandestinely filming the Russian troops. Past and present catastrophic scenarios intertwine. This film has been developed as part of The Reckoning Project, a media and forensic effort aimed at investigating Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
Strand 4: Psychodrama
Sunday 21 April, 4:45 pm, Cinema 2, Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Followed by a Q&A session with visiting directors.
Sunday 28 April, 7:15 pm, Ciné Lumière, Institut français London. Followed by a Q&A session with visiting directors.
This collection of narrative shorts explore the intersection between drama and psychology with fresh visual language and pertinent ideas. Trauma, one of the key driving forces of cinema since its inception, continues to pervade our personal and cultural landscapes. Whether thrust upon us unwillingly or confronted with sincerity. However it’s meaning becomes more indecipherable and flattened the more it’s used. In order for us to define this important idea for our modern age we need again to turn to cinema to confront our assumptions about trauma and how it lives in our imaginations.
Liquid Bread, dir. Alica Bednáriková, Slovakia, 2021, Fiction, 26 mins, Age Rating 15
In this tragicomedy tranquility and monotony is broken when rebellious granddaughter Zoja unexpectedly returns home.
Baby Steps, dir. Hannah Mamalis, Ireland, 2023, Fiction, 11mins, Age Rating 15
Em is 7-months pregnant and feels no connection to the baby inside her. She tries to follow the instructions of an outdated tape called How to Connect with your Unborn Child – chaos ensues.
Eeva, dir. Morten Tšinakov and Lucija Mrzljak, Estonia, 2022, Animation, 16 mins, Age Rating 18
A grieving wife turns from resigned to guilty as a shameful truth is revealed in this beautifully realized silent animation.
Le Mobilier, dir. Mehdi Pierret, Belgium, 2022, Fiction, 15 mins, Age Rating 15
A group of actors prepare to perform as furniture in an art exhibition. Watched over by a cleaner who’s confusion over the scenes she is witnessing reach a an amusing fever pitch. Played with deadpan humour and a deft lightheartedness.
Techno, Mama, dir. Saulius Baradinskas, Lithuania, 2021, Fiction, 18 mins, Age Rating 18
Escapism is the only respite from a difficult home life; Nikita keeps his secret love of techno and dream of going to the famous nightclub Bergheim from his domineering mother Irena.
The Möbius Trip, dir. Simone Smith, Scotland, 2023, Fiction, 17 mins, Age Rating 15
Trauma is given a shape, as a family drive to a wedding seems to go on in a never ending loop. Familial resentment and psychedelics intertwine with exhilarating impact.
Strand 5 – Kids Animation: Why’s the Sky Blue?
Saturday 20 April, 11:30 am, Cinema 1, Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow
Saturday 27 April, 2:00 pm, Ciné Lumière, Institut français London
A playful selection of children’s animation exploring our relationship to the outside and everything it brings us; big gardens to run around in, animals to befriend, and the beautiful display of sound, colour, and texture.
Luce & the rock, dir. Britt Raes, Belgium-Flanders and Germany, 2022, Animation, 12 mins, Age Rating U
Anger turns to love between Luce and a mischievous rock.
Suzie in the Garden, dir. Lucie Sunková, Chez Republic, 2022, Animation, 13 mins, Age Rating U
Suzie loves to play in her garden, she takes care of the plants and watches them grow.
To be sisters, dir. Anne-Sophie Gousset & Clément Céard, France, 2022, Animation, 7 mins, Age Rating U
Two sisters create worlds of playful fun.
The Tornado Outside, dir. Maria Tomazou, Cyprus, 2023, Animation, 8 mins, Age Rating U
Have you ever wondered what’s inside a tornado?
Get your tickets for the London edition HERE.
Glasgow edition:
Strand 1: Smile You’re on Camera – Tickets here.
Strand 2: Hard Decisions – Tickets here.
Strand 3: People on the precipice – Tickets here.
Strand 4: Psychodrama – Tickets here.
Strand 5 – Kids Animation: Why’s the Sky Blue? – Tickets here.
