22nd european film awards - shorts 2009
DESCRIPTION
NominationsTRANSCRIPT
22nd EuropeanFilmAwards
EFA Short Film 2009Nominations
Welcome by Yves Marmion .........................................................
ZWEMLES (Swimming Lesson) ....................................................14 .................................................................................................LÄGG M FÖR MORD (Tile M for Muder) ...................................WAS BLEIBT (What’s Left) .........................................................DIE LEIDEN DES HERRN KARPF – DER GEBURTSTAG ..................(The Suffering of Mr Karpf – The Birthday)SZKLANA PULAPKA (The Glass Trap) .......................................POSTE RESTANTE ........................................................................BETWEEN DREAMS .....................................................................PETER IN RADIOLAND .................................................................RENOVARE ...................................................................................THE HERD ....................................................................................SINNER ..........................................................................................BONNE NUIT (Good Night) ........................................................
The EFA Short Film Initiative ......................................................The SHORT MATTERS! Tour ........................................................
European Film Academy e.V. Kurfürstendamm 225 10719 Berlin GERMANY tel. + 49 30 887 167-0 fax + 49 30 887 167-77
www.europeanfilmacademy.org
Director: Marion Döring Amtsgericht Charlottenburg 14236 Nz
EFA Productions gGmbH Kurfürstendamm 22510719 BerlinGERMANYtel. + 49 30 887 167-0fax + 49 30 887 167-77
www.efa-productions.com
Managing Directors: Marion Döring, Jürgen BiesingerAmtsgericht Charlottenburg HRB 99369
Imprint: EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY e.V., Pascal Edelmann (editor) ★ graphic design: Andres Castoldi ★ Unless otherwise indicated, all pictures appear courtesy of the respective production/distribution companies.
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Yves MarmionChairman, European Film Academy
It is with great pleasure that we present this year’s thirteen nominated short films. Once again this selection serves as a fantastic showroom for the creative diversity of European cinema: there is animation, documen-tary and fiction, and a total of eleven countries represented. Whether it is in a swimming pool, a school, a sleeping car or a living room, a lot of the films take on very personal moments in life, relationships within a family, moments of change, of growing up. They do so in completely different ways, be it through changing perspectives, with a magic board game, a lost letter, or a phone that might be broken. I wish you a lot of memorable film experiences with this great selection of short films!
The EFA Short Film Initiative is by now in its ninth year and has become an established item on the annual international short film agenda. It is organised in co-operation with thirteen partner festivals: at each of them an independent international jury presents one of the European short films in competition with a nomination for the European Film Academy Short Film Award.
During the past nine years, the interest in the short film initiative and this collection of short films has constantly been increasing. There are more and more festivals interested in joining the initiative and there are two sets of the nominated films travelling from festival to festival across Europe. We are proud to draw Europe-wide attention to these short films and their creators. And I invite you to leaf through this booklet and meet the nominees – creative people from all over Europe.
This great short film initiative wouldn’t be possible without our allies in the world of short films and I wish to thank all our partner festivals for yet another fantastic year full of surprises and discoveries.
The members of the European Film Academy receive all the nominated short films on DVD and select the overall winner. And we will find out who the winner is at the 22nd European Film Awards Ceremony in Bochum/Germany on 12 December...
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EFA Short Film Nominee Ghent 2009
ZWEMLES SWIMMING LESSON
Danny de Vent was born in Bruges, Belgium, in December 1970 as the youngest of four chil-dren. He studied electronics, did his military service and worked as an electronic technician for a few years before entering higher educa-tion. He studied two years of art photography at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp.It was there that Danny got interested in pixi-lation and decided to study animation. He en-tered the school of higher education KASK in Ghent, were he graduated with a master’s de-gree in animation in 1999. He was an artist in residence at NIAF, The Netherlands Institute for Animated Film, from 2001 till 2004. ZWEMLES is his first animation short.
How long did it take to make your short? Was it difficult to get financing?It took about two years. Thanks to my pro-ducer, and because my project was thoroughly prepared in paper, ZWEMLES got financing from three countries, Belgium, the Nether-
lands, and France. So you could say it went rather smoothly.
Which thoughts come to mind concerning a “European cinema community”?It is a challenge to make films that work across national borders. What is regarded as funny in some countries may be perceived as offensive in others. What divides European countries the most is language. At the same time language (in its broadest sense), is their most important national characteristic. What could be consid-ered as an obstacle between countries, also ensures a fascinating diversity.
If you owned a theatre for one night, which films would you screen?If I owned a theatre, I guess I would screen author cinema that appeals to a broader audi-ence. Films such as IL POSTINO, BREAKING THE WAVES, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, AMELIE POULIN, SNATCH, BLACK CAT – WHITE CAT, HABLE CON ELLA…I would precede each feature with a short (ani-mation) film.
What is your next project?Currently, I’m completing my teaching degree and I’m writing a new short. Hopefully it can go into production by the beginning of next year.
DirEctor, ScriptwritEr, EDitor: Danny de VentANimAtioN: Danny de Vent & Vincent Bierrewaerts3-D ArtiStS: Koen Vermaanen, Bruno HanssensmuSic: Johan DeryckeVoicES: Yael & Emma Sertons, Pierre Louis de Clercq
A four-year-old boy is having his first swimming lesson. He undertakes an adventurous trip to the other side of the very deep swimming pool and overcomes his fear.
Belgium, 10 min, animation
Contact:Lumière productie & distributieAnnemie Degryse, Arnaud DemuynckHandelsdokcenter Stapelplein 70b302, 9000 Gent, BELGIUMtel. +32 9 235 40 20fax +32 9 235 40 29 [email protected] www.lumiere.be
Danny de Vent
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EFA Short Film Nominee cork 2009
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Asitha Ameresekere is a British-Sri Lankan film-maker living in London. He was brainwashed by Greek myth at an early age and has attempted to tell stories ever since. His films have won awards internationally, including a BAFTA in 2007 for his short DO NOT ERASE. He was a Berlinale Talent Campus participant in 2008. A collection of his short stories was published in July 2008 and he is now writing two feature film scripts.
How long did it take to make your short? Was it difficult to get financing?The production of the film took two days, post-production took one month. My previous short film won an award at the Cinessonne Film Fes-tival/France which partly financed 14. The rest was self-funded.
Which thoughts come to mind concerning a “European cinema community”?I have always thought of my filmmaking pro-cess as being closer to Europe than anywhere else, because its cinema community – filmmak-ers and audiences – believes in short film as its own genre. This way of thinking filters through into feature films also. It is quite different from other world communities.
If you owned a theatre for one night, which films would you screen?If one night constitutes a triple bill, then the films would be: THE PUMPKIN EATER (1967, by Jack Clayton), UN COEUR EN HIVER (1992, by Claude Sautet), and WOMAN IN THE DUNES (1964, by Hiroshi Teshigahara).
What is your next project?I am developing a feature which is the sequel to one of my short films, set in the north of England as focussing on a military family dur-ing the Iraq war. I am also writing a screenplay about people smuggling in Mexico.
DirEctor, ScriptwritEr, proDucEr: Asitha AmeresekereEDitor: Abraham He TeweldebrhanDirEctor oF photoGrAphy: Line Nikita BlomSouND: Rob Thomas cASt: Sarah Ridgeway, Tony Wadham, Susan Cummins
14 explores the cycle of abuse within a family. It presents clues to events that happened in the past, and is shot entirely from the perspectives of the characters involved.
uK, 9 min, fiction
Contact:Punchi FilmsAsitha AmeresekereFlat 4, 17 Armadale RoadSW6 IJL LondonUNITED KINGDOMtel. +44 77 25 95 70 [email protected]
Asitha Ameresekere
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EFA Short Film Nominee Valladolid 2009
LÄGG M FÖR MORD TILE M FOR MURDER
Magnus Holmgren, born in Sundsvall/Sweden in 1980, studied film directing at the Dra-matiska Institutet in Stockholm. He acted as scriptwriter, director and editor of several short films and commercials. He is working as a freelance screenwriter, director, editor, com-positor, animator, and graphical artist. Magnus is currently working on the 3-D animated short film MELVIN. His short film TILE M FOR MURDER is based on the novel “Death by Scrabble” by Charlie Fish.
How long did it take to make your short? Was it difficult to get financing?The screenplay is based on a novel, I wrote the adaptation in a couple of days. The film was shot in 2,5 days in a suburb north of Stock-holm. Financing went surprisingly smooth as both the Swedish Film Institute and Swedish TV (SVT) supported the film from the start.
Which thoughts come to mind concerning a “European cinema community”?To be honest, I know very little of European cinema and films. I am a typical “Hollywood guy”. However, I do wish European films could become stronger internationally. And for that I think we need to co-operate across the borders.
If you owned a theatre for one night, which films would you screen?I’m a huge sci-fi fan so I’d definitely go with something that has “space” or “future” or “cyborg” or whatever else that has something science fictionally geeky in the title. Some of my favourite films when I was a kid was the BACK TO THE FUTURE trilogy so I’d probably start the night with one of those. Then perhaps MATRIX since it’s such a modern classic in the genre. And since I really love the Pixar 3D-ani-mated movies why not end the night with their adorable sci-fi film WALL-E.
What is your next project?I have recently finished the 3D-animated short MELVIN and I am currently writing a screenplay for a feature 3D-animated movie.
DirEctor: Magnus HolmgrenwritErS: Magnus Holmgren, Anette Brantin DirEctor oF photoGrAphy: Ragna JormingArt DirEctor: Anna PaulsonSouND: Kalle CamnertmuSic: Josef TuulseEDitor: Magnus HolmgrencASt: Gustaf Hammarsten, Rachel Mohlin
It’s a hot summer day. A married couple is playing Scrabble. Deep down they loathe each other and when the game seems to have magic powers, the man figures out a way to get rid of his wife.
Sweden, 8 min, fiction
Contact:Bob Film Sweden ABAndreas EmanuelssonHökens gata 10116 46 StockholmSWEDENtel. +46 8 556 930 [email protected]
magnus holmgren
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EFA Short Film Nominee Angers 2009
WAS BLEIBTWHAT’S LEFT
David Nawrath was born in Berlin and spent two years in Iran before studying film direction at the German Film- and Television Academy Berlin (dffb). His filmography includes several short films such as EINE MINUTE FREIHEIT (One minute of Freedom, 2008) and DER NEUE TAG (The New Day, 2009).
How long did it take to make your short? Was it difficult to get financing?From the first idea for the script it took us about
eight months until we finished the short. It is a student film, so that the financing was no prob-lem. The German Film- and Television Academy Berlin (dffb) helped us a lot.
Which thoughts come to mind concerning a “European cinema community”?“European cinema community”? Never heard of it. Sounds like a wish.
If you owned a theatre for one night, which films would you screen?Francis Ford Coppola’s THE GODFATHER Part 1 and THE GODFATHER Part 2.
What is your next project?I’m writing on the script for my first feature film.
DirEctor, ScriptwritEr, EDitor: David NawrathDirEctor oF photoGrAphy: Markus KoobSouND: Sebastian LukacASt: Maximilian Köster, Andrej Kaminsky, Nora von Waldstätten
“Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them.” (Oscar Wilde) Mathis is 19 years old. At the day of his grandmother s burial, Mathis and his father have to spend a day together after a long time. During that day they get to know each other again. It seems like father and son would come together for a short moment.
Germany, 17 min, fiction
Contact:Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie BerlinJana WolffPotsdamer Straße 210785 BerlinGERMANYtel. +49 30 257 59 [email protected]
David Nawrath
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EFA Short Film Nominee Berlin 2009
DIE LEIDEN DES HERRN KARPF - DER GEBURTSTAG THE SUFFERINGS OF MR KARPF - THE BIRTHDAY
Lola Randl was born in Munich/Germany in 1980 and studied at the Academy of Media Arts Co-logne. She was granted a scholarship in Script Writing at the Drehbuchwerkstatt München in 2006 as well as the annual grant of the Acad-emy of Arts in Berlin and the annual grant of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia for young artists in 2009. Besides the trilogy of Mr Karpf, Lola’s filmo-graphy includes several award-winning short films as well as a feature film, DIE BESUCHERIN (Days in Between, 2008), which was screened at numerous festivals across the world.
How long did it take to make your short? Was it difficult to get financing?That’s a tricky question as we are talking about a series of shorts with a common character, namely Mr Karpf. I think it took about half a year to develop Mr Karpf as a character and
a concept. Since then, each individual episode only requires about a week of development and three days of shooting. But of course you cannot tell exactly, because we do not develop an episode for an entire week, but rather carry Mr Karpf around with us all the time, develop-ing the stories bit by bit.The second part of your question is very simple to answer, as there was no financing at all. Up to now I have paid for all episodes myself.
Which thoughts come to mind concerning a “European cinema community”?European cinema is hard to define, except that most films made in Europe are independent films in one way or another. And they tend to cross borders, just as MR KARPF does, which is shot in Austria and produced in Germany.
If you owned a theatre for one night, which films would you screen?LA MAMAN ET LA PUTAIN (The Mother and the Whore) by Jean Eustache, France 1973.
What is your next project?It’s called THE INVENTION OF LOVE and it will be my second feature film.
DirEctor: Lola Randl Script: Lola Randl, Rainer Egger EDitor: Sabine Smit muSic: Maciej Sledziecki SouND mix: Karl Atteln GrAphicS: Marion WörleActor: Rainer Egger
It’s Mr Karpf’s birthday, but nobody calls. Probably there’s something wrong with his phone…
Germany, 10 min, fiction
Contact:Komet FilmLola RandlZehdenicker Str. 2510119 BerlinGERMANYmob. +49 177 349 20 [email protected]
Lola randl
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EFA Short Film Nominee tampere 2009
SZKLANA PULAPKATHE GLASS TRAP
Paweł Ferdek (born in 1977) is a scriptwriter, documentary filmmaker, and globetrotter. He graduated from Warsaw University in Inter-national Relations, studied at the Academy of “Gardzienice” Theatre Company, and partici-pated in the European film programme EKRAN at the Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing. His recent films are BEAUTIFUL MIS-UNDERSTANDING (2009) and SCRAP ODYSSEY (2009/2010).
How long did it take to make your short? Was it difficult to get financing?The preparations took one month, shooting 24 hours, editing one month and 24 hours. It was financed by a programme of documentary
debuts created by the Polish Filmmakers As-sociation, Polish Film Institute and TVP Kultur-aChannel – small budget but “easy money”.
Which thoughts come to mind concerning a “European cinema community”?The tribe of fragile fighters.
If you owned a theatre for one night, which films would you screen?No films, just bring an audience together and talk wit.
What is your next project?It’s SCRAP ODYSSEY, a documentary film: Al-most all metal scrap was sold from poor Kyr-gyzstan to powerful China; the rising empire is feeding on the fallen Soviet colossus. This “road movie” shows a global phenomenon in micro scale: the hard work of a Kyrgyz truck driver and a few events from a long journey across Tien Shan Mountains.
DirEctor, ScriptwritEr: Paweł Ferdek DirEctor oF photoGrAphy: Wojciech StarońEDitor: Jan PrzyłuskimuSic: Mikołaj Trzaska SouND: Kamil Radziszewski
“Acquiring food, reproduction, defence and attack are the main reasons of fish behaviour. Fish in the shoal struggle for domination. Menacing ap-pearance may be enough for victory,” reads the narrator. It sounds like a nature documentary. But don’t be fooled. The dense atmosphere of the aquarium fish fights can trigger primordial instincts in people.
poland, 15 min, documentary
Contact:Stowarzyszenie Filmowców PolskichLiwia MadzikKrakowskie Przedmiescie 700-068 Warsaw, POLANDtel. +48 22 845 5171fax +48 22 845 [email protected]
paweł Ferdek
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EFA Short Film Nominee cracow 2009
POSTE RESTANTE
Marcel Łoziński was born in Paris in 1940 and graduated in Film Directing at the National School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź in 1971. In 1994, his documentary short 89MM FROM EUROPE was nominated for the Europe-an Film Award and for the American Academy Award. Marcel currently lectures at the Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing and at the Dragon Forum, the international documen-tary film workshops in the middle of Europe.
How long did it take to make your short? Was it difficult to get financing?The documentation took two weeks, shooting
ten days, and editing three months. For three years, the producer was searching for funds until Agora SA, the publisher of the daily Gaze-ta Wyborcza, decided to sponsor most of it and issued a DVD of the movie.
Which thoughts come to mind concerning a “European cinema community”?That we are, unfortunately, becoming more and more similar to each other.
If you owned a theatre for one night, which films would you screen?All documentaries by Krzysztof Kieślowski.
What is your next project?The history of three women who during Sta-lin’s rule, although innocent, spent five years in one prison cell. The story will be told by their children.
DirEctor, ScriptwritEr: Marcel ŁozińskiproDucEr: Dorota Roszkowska DirEctor oF photoGrAphy: Jacek PetryckiEDitor: Rafał ListopadSouND: Tomasz Wieczorek
Letters whose addressees are impossible to find end up at the depart-ment for undeliverable letters of the post office in Koluszki. There are around a million of them in Poland each year, among them those ad-dressed to God. The film tells a story of one of those letters.
poland, 14 min, documentary
Contact:Arkana StudioChelmska 2100-724 WarsawPOLANDtel./fax +48 22 840 27 [email protected]
marcel Łoziński
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EFA Short Film Nominee Grimstad 2009
BETWEEN DREAMS
Everything else came out of our own pockets, which makes us even prouder of the result of the film and the response it has received.
Which thoughts come to mind concerning a “European cinema community”?I wish for a stronger European film community, more exchange, communication, sharing. We should cherish what comes from Europe and in each country have the possibility to see more European cinema and know about what’s the latest in each country’s movie scene.
If you owned a theatre for one night, which films would you screen?I would put up a modern Scandinavian feast. Starting with a few short films from Finnish master Eija-Liisa Ahtila, and then showing a really important film from Sweden by Lukas Moodysson, LILYA 4-EVER, and then ending it with the minimalistic, outstandingly writ-ten and played tragic love story EN SOAP by Pernille Fischer Christensen from Denmark. Hmm... that looks quite gloomy. Maybe we need some Jacques Tati at the end?
What is your next project?At the moment I’m finishing a year’s post as a documentary director for the Finnish Broad-casting Company and starting on two shorts, a documentary set in Pakistan and a fiction short about violence where women actors play men. On the grand scale I have three fiction features set in different parts of the world that I want to do in the next years, and I’m also happy to be starting to work on one of them from next year on.
DirEctor: Iris Olsson ScrEENwritEr: Iris OlssonciNEmAtoGrAphEr: Natasha PavlovskayamuSic: Florian Krebs
With a rattling Trans-Siberian night train serving as the visual and aural backdrop, the passengers in the third class sleeping car recount their dreams - and share their stories.
France/Russia/Finland, 11 min, documentary
Contact:Iris OlssonKymintie 23 b00560 HelsinkiFINLANDtel. +358 40 509 58 [email protected]
iris olsson
Iris Olsson is a young, awarded documentary filmmaker from Finland. She was born in Hel-sinki in 1981 and has studied producing and documentary film directing at the University of Art and Design Helsinki and holds a BA in Doc-umentary Directing. She has worked as a free-lancer in Finland in the field of television and film production in various fields. In spring 2005 she held an extensive film workshop to young adults in the suburbs of Dakar, Senegal. At the moment she is working as a full-time documentary director for the National Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE and finishing her Master Degree in Documentary Directing in Helsinki.
How long did it take to make your short? Was it difficult to get financing?BETWEEN DREAMS was born as a movie chal-lenge set out by the filmmakers for them-selves. To travel through Russia in a month from east to west with the Trans-Siberian train and upon arrival at the other end to have a finished movie in their hands. In short, one exhilarating and thrilling non-sleep month from an idea to a finished film. With some money gathered from a few European orga-nizations from different countries, the travel expenses of the film crew were financed.
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EFA Short Film Nominee Edinburgh 2009
PETER IN RADIOLAND
Johanna Wagner grew up in Sweden and was introduced to film at an early age by her father with his Super8 camera. Having completed a BA in English Literature and a year long course in documentary filmmaking in 2005, Johanna worked on a number of projects in Sweden. She was involved in Ladyfest, a cultural women’s festival and was an active member of RåFilm (RawFilm), a film community from Lund, Swe-den, that made films on political subjects.In 2008 Johanna moved to Scotland to com-plete a master’s degree in Film Directing at Ed-inburgh College of Art. Her graduation film was an 8-minute experimental documentary, THE INNER SHAPE. Shortly after graduating Johanna secured her first commission from the Scottish Documentary Institute’s scheme, Bridging the Gap, and has just completed her short docu-mentary PETER IN RADIOLAND; a sensitive portrayal of her father.
How long did it take to make your short? Was it difficult to get financing?Five months. It was funded through the Brid-ging the Gap scheme run by Scottish Docu-mentary Institute.
Which thoughts come to mind concerning a “European cinema community”?Exciting, rapidly expanding, distinct.
If you owned a theatre for one night, which films would you screen?I would like to screen some works of Maya Deren, an avant-garde filmmaker from New York’s 50s and 60s. I am very influenced by her style of filmmaking which was in its time, and still is, innovative. I am intrigued by her use of surreal imagery and how she plays a lot with the use of symbolic visuals to interpret psychological traumas. Being Swedish I would also show some of Lucas Moodyson’s films, a Swedish contemporary filmmaker whose films have an ability to strike a cord in me, he por-trays very well the anguish of growing up as a teenager with all that that entails.
What is your next project?I would like to make an experimental fiction film for my next project. For this film I would like to include a lot of my inspiration I have drawn from the work of Maya Deren as men-tioned above. I would like to make a surreal and dream-like interpretation of the mind of a schizophrenic, for example visualising hal-lucinations. With every film I make, I try to push the boundaries of what I know as a filmmaker are the conventions of storytelling. Trying to get inside the characters’ minds would also be a challenge. A further challenge would be to make the audience aware of the fact that there are different approaches to storytelling.
DirEctor, DirEctor oF photoGrAphy: Johanna WagnerEDitor: Mark JenkinsSouND rEcorDiSt: Ayla IrebringSouND DESiGN: Matt HulseANimAtorS: Owen Rixon, David RossproDucEr: Rebecca Day
Peter is on sick leave and spends most of his time alone in his house, con-templating his past. Little makes sense to him anymore in a world made up of zeros and ones. Comforted by his analogue radios, his memories and his loving wife, Peter is left yearning for the old days. This film shares with us a common fear of change portrayed through Peter’s struggle to find his place in the modern world.
uK, 10 min, documentary
Contact:Scottish Documentary InstituteRebecca Day74 Lauriston Place, EdinburghEH3 9DF, Scotland, UKtel. +44 131 221 [email protected]
Johanna wagner
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EFA Short Film Nominee Vila do conde 2009
RENOVARE
Paul Negoescu was born in 1984 in Bucharest. He graduated in Film Directing at the National Film School in Bucharest. Currently he works on his MA in Film Directing and prepares his feature debut. His filmography includes sev-eral award-winning short films such as EXAM (2006) and ACASA (2007).
How long did it take to make your short? Was it difficult to get financing?Starting from the idea, it took more than two years to make it. But the shooting lasted only six days.Only the first step was difficult. We won a co-production prize that granted us most of the money needed, then we applied to an EU
programme, then the Romanian Film Centre fi-nanced the project with the rest of the needed money.
Which thoughts come to mind concerning a “European cinema community”?I think it might be a good strategy to make European films more visible in all European countries. Moreover, that way financing could become easier.
If you owned a theatre for one night, which films would you screen?UZAK by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, LE FILS by Jean Pierre and Luc Dardenne, THE DEATH OF MR LAZARESCU by Cristi Puiu, MODERN LIFE by Raymond Depardon, WOLKE 9 by Andreas Dresen, POLICE, ADJECTIVE by Corneliu Po-rumboiu.
What is your next project?I prepare a shooting for another short film and I’m currently working on the script of my first feature film.
DirEctor, ScriptwritEr: Paul Negoescu co-writEr: Simona GhitaDirEctor oF photoGrAphy: Andrei Butica EDitor: Elisabeth Raßbach, Dragos Apetri SouND DESiGN: Friedrich WohlfarthcASt: Simona Bondoc, Clara Voda, Andrei Runcanu
The events of RENOVARE revolve around three personal stories: Besides her daily work, mother Doina tries to manage the renovation of the family’s apartment. Her son Alex can hardly find any time for both the renovation and his girlfriend as the deadline for his Master’s thesis comes close. His grandmother Flori insists to help the family although her support is not always welcome.
Germany/romania, 24 min, fiction
Contact:Filmallee- David LinderFilmproduktionRegerplatz 681541 München, GERMANYtel./fax +49 89 4476 [email protected]
paul Negoescu
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EFA Short Film Nominee Sarajevo 2009
THE HERD
Ken Wardrop graduated from the National Film School Ireland in 2004. His short films have been screened at festivals throughout the world, including Cannes and Sundance. He has just completed his first feature creative docu-mentary HIS & HERS, which won the Best Irish Feature Film award at this year’s Galway Film Festival.
How long did it take to make your short? Was it difficult to get financing?I shot this little film over a weekend. I think I could have shot it all on the Saturday but I had a very Irish problem to contend with. It rained and rained all day. Thankfully financing wasn’t an issue for my camera and I.
Which thoughts come to mind concerning a “European cinema community”?As European filmmakers it is important that we work together to foster creativity and to also remain competitive on the world stage. I have recently been involved in my first European co-production. It’s early days in the process but I’ve been finding it both an exciting and stimu-lating experience. I’d like to think that it’s the first of many, so I’d better improve on my for-eign language skills.
If you owned a theatre for one night, which films would you screen?A difficult question for me as I’d feel very guilty subjecting people to my poor taste. I guess I would choose three films; the first to make the audience think, the second to make them laugh, and the third to make them cry before they leave the theatre.
What is your next project?I’m hoping to make a feature drama in summer 2010 with my producing partner Andrew Freed-man at Venom Film in Dublin.
DirEctor, ScriptwritEr, EDitor: Ken Wardrop muSic: Denis Clohessy
A chronicle of a new addition to the cow herd on a family farm.
ireland, 4 min, documentary
Contact:Venom FilmAndrew Freedman2 Chelmsford LaneDublin 6IRELANDtel./fax +353 1 491 [email protected]
Ken wardrop
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EFA Short Film Nominee Venice 2009
SINNER
Meni Philip was born in Israel in 1968 to an ul-tra-Orthodox Jewish family. In 1995 he became a Hassidic musician, and has had a success-ful musical career, winning several awards. In 2001 he left the ultra-Orthodox community and became secular, with no option but to give up his musical career. In 2004 he started film studies at the Minshar School of Art in Tel Aviv. In 2007 he directed a 60-minute autobio-graphical documentary, LET THERE BE LIGHT, describing the difficult path that he and four of his siblings chose in leaving the religious way of life. The film was acclaimed by the critics. In February 2009, Meni completed his graduation short film SINNER, describing the oppressive life of young boys in a Yeshiva (Jewish religious boarding school).
How long did it take to make your short? Was it difficult to get financing?The film took over a year to make, from the ini-tial writing of the script to the final prints.SINNER was my graduation film, on which I col-
laborated with my school. Because the high ex-penses fell mainly on me, I applied for grants. At the post-production stage, I received fi-nancial help from three different Israeli film foundations. It is important to emphasise that even with the kind help of the foundations, this film would probably not have been possible if it weren’t for the solidarity and help of all the talent and crew that worked on it.
Which thoughts come to mind concerning a “European cinema community”?I look forward now, in my first feature film, to collaborate with European producers and craftsmen and become an active part of the European cinema community.
If you owned a theatre for one night, which films would you screen?DOGVILLE by Lars Von Trier, 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS by Cristian Mungiu, ROSETTA by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, MULLHOL-LAND DRIVE by David Lynch, and THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND HER LOVER by Peter Greenaway.
What is your next project?I am currently co-writing the script for my debut feature film. I have received funding from two very prestigious film foundations, and I hope to start the pre-production process next year.
DirEctor, ScriptwritEr, EDitor: Meni PhilipciNEmAtoGrAphEr: Addie ReissSouND DESiGNEr: Gadi RazcASt: Lior Shabtai, Yuval Berger, Omri Aisha, Ami Weinberg
Yotam, a 13-year-old boy studying at an ultra-Orthodox Jewish board-ing school, tries to battle the awakening of his sexual desires. Confused and guilt-ridden, he consults with his rabbi who abuses his position and Yotam’s innocence. With no one to trust and nowhere to go, Yotam finds himself trapped by the enforced silence in his community.
israel, 28 min, fiction
Contact:Meni PhilipJabotinsky 101-22 Ramat GanISRAELtel. +972 3600 [email protected]
meni philip
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EFA Short Film Nominee Drama 2009
BONNE NUITGOOD NIGHT
The Belgian Valéry Rosier is 31 years old and has worked as assistant on many features. He shot his first short in 2004, DEUX MINUTES TROP TARD, and his IAD (Institut des Arts de Diffusion) graduate short film YETI was select-ed on festivals and won the first price of the Novara Film Festival in 2006.
How long did it take to make your short? Was it difficult to get financing?It took us around one year to find the right amount of money to create the film. We could have tried to get less money and make the film earlier, but we really wanted to get enough
money to pay our team. Once we had the mon-ey, it took around five months between the first casting and the final mix.
Which thoughts come to mind concerning a “European cinema community”?I admire and encourage European countries that support their filmmakers and that are not afraid to help to finance intelligent films. As we say in Belgium, “unity creates strength”.
If you owned a theatre for one night, which films would you screen?THE BICYCLE THIEF by Vittorio de Sica, STILL WALKING by Kore-Eda Hirokazu, and a wonder-ful film I saw in Locarno: NOTHING PERSONAL by Urszula Antoniak.
What is your next project?I am writing a feature film, questioning in an-other way the father-son relation.
DirEctor, ScrEENwritEr: Valéry RosierciNEmAtoGrAphEr: Hichame AlaouiéEDitor: Damien KeyeuxSouND: Arnaud CalvarmuSic: Cyrille de HaescASt: Alain Eloy, Martin Combes, Clémentine Lefeuvre
40-year-old Philippe, who works in a demolition company, visits his two children. He picks them up from his ex-wife’s house. But Philippe is hiding something from his children, he is not reacting as usual – tonight, his children will not go to sleep at home.
Belgium, France, 18 min, fiction
Contact:Petrouchka FilmIsabelle Mathy3 rue de l’Eperon77000 MalumFRANCEtel. +33 [email protected]
Valéry rosier
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The EFA Short Film InitiativeEver since the European Film Academy (EFA) was founded it has been its intention not only to honour the outstanding achievements of established filmmakers, but also to support and promote talented newcomers. To draw the attention to a new generation of European directors means to build up the future of European cinema.
This is why, in 1998, EFA established the presentation of the European Short Film Award as a part of the annual European Film Awards, in co-operation with several partner festivals across Europe. Each of these festivals presents a short film award which includes an automatic nomination in the European Film Awards’ short film category. The initiative currently includes the following festivals:
★ Flanders International Film Festival Ghent, Belgium (October 2008)★ Corona Cork Film Festival, Ireland (October 2008)★ Valladolid International Film Festival, Spain (October 2008)★ Premiers Plans – Festival d’Angers, France (January 2009)★ Berlin International Film Festival, Germany (February 2009)★ Tampere Film Festival, Finland (March 2009)★ Krakow Film Festival, Poland (May/ June 2009)★ Norwegian Short Film Festival Grimstad, Norway (June 2009)★ Edinburgh International Film Festival, UK (June 2009)★ Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival, Portugal (July 2009)★ Sarajevo Film Festival, Bosnia & Herzegovina (August 2009)★ Venice International Film Festival, Italy (September 2009)★ International Short Film Festival in Drama, Greece (September 2009)
Eligible are directors born in Europe or with a European passport*, whose films match the genre regulations and time limits of the respective festival.
When the annual cycle is complete in September, the nominees will be presented to the EFA members. The 2,000 members of the European Film Academy (including Europe’s finest directors, producers, distributors, writers, actors, etc.) form the high-profile jury to screen the nominees and elect the overall winner: the European Film Academy Short Film, which will be presented at the annual Awards Ceremony in one of Europe’s film capitals on the first weekend of December.
* European, in the sense of the European Film Academy, shall include Israeli and Palestinian.
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SHORT MATTERS! Short Film Nominees on TourSHORT MATTERS! is the European Film Academy’s short film tour which brings the short films nominated for the European Film Awards to a series of film festivals across Europe and beyond.
In the past this programme has brought the nominated short films to au-diences in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Brazil, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, and this year’s cycle will travel all the way to Perth, Australia.
The 2009 cycle has included the following:
Aarhus Filmfestival, DenmarkAlcine Festival de Cine, SpainARTos Foundation Nicosia, CyprusBelgrade Documentary and Short Film Festival, Serbiafilmfest Braunschweig, GermanyBrussels Short Film Festival, BelgiumDrama International Short Film Festival, Greeceexground filmfest, GermanyFestroia International Film Festival, PortugalJerusalem Film Festival, IsraelKinemastik Short Film Fest, Malta Krakow Film Festival, PolandFestival del Cinema Europeo Lecce, ItalyLimassol, CyprusETIC Cinema School Lisbon, PortugalFilmfestival Münster, GermanyNordic Film Forum Scanorama, LithuaniaNordisk Panorama, IcelandPanorama of European Cinema, GreeceSeminário Internacional de Cinema e Audiovisual, BrazilSofia International Film Festival, BulgariaTabor Film Festival, CroatiaTampere Film Festival, FinlandUppsala Kortfilmfestival, SwedenVienna Independent Shorts, AustriaInternational Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, Switzerland
Founded in 1988, the European Film Academy (EFA) now unites more than 2,000 European film professionals with the common aim of promoting European film culture. Throughout the year, the EFA initiates and participates in a series of activities dealing with film politics as well as economic, artistic, and training aspects. The programme includes conferences, seminars and workshops, and a common goal is to build a bridge between creativity and the industry. These activities culminate in the annual presentation of the European Film Awards.
The 22nd European Film Awards are presented by the European Film Academy and EFA Productions with the support of the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010 “Essen for the Ruhr”, the Minister President and the Minister for Federal and European Affairs and the Media of North Rhine-Westphalia, and the Filmstiftung NRW.