SEPt 5 / 18:00 / peasant museum cinema
SEPt 6 / 21:00 / AMFITEATRU TEATRUL MASCA
SEPt 7 / 18:30 / CINÉMA ELVIRE POPESCO
The third competition captures in a cinematic frame the stories of eight characters embarking on introspective journeys. Land of Living Frames reflects the contrast between disconnection and connection to one’s own body, loved ones, the passage of time and the surrounding. While a filmmaker returns home to film her parents, a 90-year-old woman’s memories dance in the smoke of her kitchen. An alien arrives in New York trying to fit in, while a former Romanian ballet rock star faces the dilemma of generating his own portrait. The program outlines a realm of contrasts, of dissonance between expectations and reality, between connection and acceptance.
* Free entry, based on prior registration, for the September 6 screening at Amfiteatru Teatrul Masca.
THE BUTTERFLY
5:28, 2024, IN
D: Satya Prakash Gautam, Gili Twena
C: Gili Twena
The Butterfly depicts the contrast between feeling alone and feeling connected. It expresses the sense of disconnection, loneliness, and inner intensity compared to the external experience. Despite these feelings, the film portrays the moment as vibrant and beautiful, reminding us that our vulnerability is part of what makes life magical. It suggests that there is nothing to defeat; you don't have to win this battle. In fact, we may need to learn how to lose.
NINE EASY DANCES
19:56, 2023, CA
D: Nora Rosenthal
A filmmaker and former dancer returns to her family home to make a film with her parents, but when they fail to live up to unrealistic expectations, and when her mother's cancer metastasizes, she hires professional dancers to play them.
LOOP ME IN
3:29, 2023, AT
D: Bernd Oppl
A balled-up ribbon of magnetic tape blows into a white-tiled room, floating around with a sense of zero-Gs, before finding its way to the exit.
THE CROWN SHYNESS
19:22, 2024, CA
D: Loup-William Théberge
C: Harold Réhaume
The Crown Shyness is a dance short film about a man’s introspective gaze at his artistic identity.
96 SAMOSAS
6:32, 2023, BE
D: Marion Schrotzenberger
At almost 90 years old, Paulette lives in an apartment far from the clouds of her native island. On the phone is her granddaughter, in the kitchen the feast is under preparation and in the cooking fumes her memories are dancing.
FIG ISLAND
3:02, 2024, UK
D: Brendan Void
An alien arrives in New York and tries to fit in.
ON THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF AN HOMAGE
19:00, 2024, RO
D: Xandra Popescu
Given a portrait, who is responsible for the image you see, the painter or the subject? Ion was a rockstar of Ballet in Communist Romania. Since his retirement, Ion has been missing the spotlight. When the filmmaker approaches him, Ion is initially overjoyed. He’s been hoping that they'll someday make a film about him. But in the process, he finds it hard to accept the filmmaker's approach. He questions her ability to make a film.