Category: Films in Competition

A little boy aged 10, was born in a family of a French father and a Taiwanese mother. He is passionate for trumpet. His mother died when he was little, he then grows up in a French universe. One day, his best friend asks him about his Chinese name, this triggers him for his identity research.
Directed by Ching-lo Hsu (France)

“Pretty Odd” is the story of an eighth-grade boy with a quirky personality facing the process of applying to high school as he struggles with how to communicate with his classmates, teachers, and parents. While deciding his future, he discovers what is most important to him and works hard to achieve it. In his continuous effort to act like a “normal” kid, he realizes that his past behavior was only hurting himself. In this short film, we see the comedic yet realistic difficulty of making big life decisions at such a young age while simultaneously trying to be the best version of one’s self.
Directed by Lorelei Essman-Freeman (USA)

“Meer bei Nacht” (Sea at Night) tells the story about a man, whose disease took away his self-determination, reputation and social support. His tendency to get lost in memories of his past leads him to a momentous decision.
Directed by Kim Fabienne Hertinger (Germany)

This film deals with the restrictive nature of women’s clothing throughout the ages and also with sexism in general.
Directed by Ingrid Nachstern (Ireland)

The animal residents of an oak tree learn their tree is dying. Their first reaction is to blame each other for the deteriorating tree. Soon they realize the only way to save their home is to work together and change their ways.
Directed by Doug Whitehead (USA)

An atypical awakening inside a white room in which an anonymous character finds himself without knowing where he is and why he is there. A bed, a window, a door and a monitor on a wall are the only décor of the claustrophobic room. The silent Monitor is the only “window” of companionship, whose visions will anticipate drastic decisions.
Directed by Leonardo Lenzini (Italy)

A guilt-ridden father tormented by nightmares 12 years on from the murder of an 8-year old girl, searches for answers to the hardest questions of all.
Directed by Matthew R. Ford (UK)

A man comes to grips with his life and realizes it’s never too late to ask for help.
Directed by Frank J. Dion (USA)

This drone film will take you through the beautiful Norwegian landscape with people who live their dreams.
Directed by André Hope (Norway)

“Scraping Coconut” documents the health impacts and cultural and culinary traditions surrounding coconut, as remembered and experienced by Afro-Ecuadorians in the northern coastal region of Esmeraldas, Ecuador. The documentary is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted and shot between 2012 and 2017 in various locations in the province of Esmeraldas, and in Quito, Ecuador. Through the voices of medical and culinary specialists, as well as Afro-Ecuadorian cultural and culinary experts, the film offers a unique window into ancestral cooking methods and medicinal traditions in coastal Ecuador. It also offers insights into the socio-economic and health impacts and value of the consumption and use of traditional foods and medicinal practices, as lived and told by Afro-Ecuadorians themselves.
Directed by Pilar Egüez Guevara (Ecuador)