The Birthplace of Greek Cinema and the Rise of New Directors
For 46 years, the Drama International Short Film Festival has often served as the launchpad for rising directors to create their first features. The festival’s lovely trailer, composed by artistic director Yannis Sakaridis, highlights films that have screened at the festival over the years – many of them by emerging directors who have become major filmmakers in Greece.
It’s a lively festival full of the creations, dreams and plans of new directors, who watch their own work alongside the audience, talk with other new artists and move on, perhaps with greater optimism, towards the uncertain world of filmmaking. The festival offers participants a range of activities, including a short film hub, networking, workshops and cinematography.
This year’s program consisted of 182 movies (64 of them from Greece) from 41 countries, in the following competition sections:
- Greek competition: 35 films
- International competition, which has been held for 29 years: 20 films from 13 countries from Canada to China to Australia to Tanzania, as well as five Greek films
- International studies: 14 films, including two Greek films
- National studies: 25 movies from educational institutions in Greece and abroad
- Short and green: 15 movies
- Kiddo, the festival’s newest section, with 14 films (including 2 Greek films), created by young people and children
- International animation: 17 animated films, including four Greek films
Our FIPRESCI jury focused on the international competition: our members had many common opinions, but also different attitudes and theories when it comes to film. The competition included a wide variety of films with differing approaches, personal aesthetics, subject matter, and in several cases, satisfactory to excellent results. Films that, according to head programmer Yorgos Zois, “do not hesitate to experience and baffle, playfully, cinematically different styles, presenting various forms of narration: mixing reality and myth, personal stories and collective memories.” Thus it was difficult to choose a winner from so many works in different genres – they didn’t really have any characteristics in common, aside from being short films of up to 40 minutes.
The films in competition were: The Open House by Julieta Lasarte, Aqueronte by Manuel Muñoz Rivas, The Way Winter Comes by Zichen Wang, The Blind by Michiel Robberecht, Super by Nikolas Kouloglou, Same Old by Lloyd Lee Choi, Hold On For Dear Life by Simone Fiorentino, Unorthodox by Konstantinos Antonopoulos, Apostles of Cinema by Darragh Amelia, Gertrude Malizana, Jesse Gerard Moango and Cece Mlay, Light of Light by Neritan Zinxhiria, Offline by Daniel Fure Schwarz and Mauritz Brekke Solberg, Teacups by Alec Green and Finbar Watson, Ready by Eirini Vianelli, Ulises by Félix Brixel, Midnight Skin by Manolis Mavris, Les Chenilles by Michelle Keserwany and Noel Keserwany, The Silence of The Banana Trees by Eneos Çarka, The River and the Labyrinth by Ian Capillé, Bed Days by Tatiana Ramos, and The Age Of Innocence by Maximilian Bungarten.
Our award went to The Silence of the Banana Trees for its sensitive approach and synthesis of the elements of a true story, showing the power of love and family ties. We also present the following short primer for some of the films in competition.
Aqueronte
Plot: original
Background: spiritual/social
Aesthetic: handmade jewel
Acting: people, looks, harmonic stops
Does it flow? Yes
Does it satisfy? like a healing balm
May particularly like: plans, people, silences and sounds
Probably won’t like: N/A
Mood after watching: uplifting, time for thoughts
What remains: it follows you
Stars: ***
The Silence of The Banana Trees
Plot: a true story
Background: social relationships
Aesthetic: sensitive approach
Acting: realistic
Does it flow? Yes
Does it satisfy? like medicine for the heart
May particularly like: the plot and the dialectic relationship between the heroes
Probably won’t like: N/A
Mood after watching: to embrace all of your family
What remains: the power of love
Stars: ***
Unorthodox
Plot: interesting/original
Background: historical
Aesthetic: sympathetic
Acting: decent, with a touch of theatrics
Does it flow? enough
Does it satisfy? pleasant
May particularly like: the humor and the comical look at the gears of history and power
Probably won’t like: reminders of the parable of the Good Samaritan and of Monty Python
Mood after watching: happy
What remains: a journey to the past and anticipation for the director’s next film
Stars: ***
Offline
Plot: plain
Background: the entertainment world
Aesthetic: perfect
Acting: enjoyable
Does it flow? like a gurgling river
Does it satisfy? without a break
May particularly like: humor, freshness, rhythm, casting, acting
Probably won’t like: that it appears simple
Mood after watching: laughter, smiles
What remains: a pleasant taste
Stars: ***
The Blind
Plot: interesting
Background: the obsessions of the community
Aesthetic: nice, a lot of work is evident
Acting: satisfying
Does it flow? enough
Does it satisfy? so-so
May particularly like: sets and scenery
Probably won’t like: you get “lost”
Mood after watching: confusion
What remains: few things
Stars: ***
Midnight Skin
Plot: interesting
Background: existential impasse, crisis
Aesthetic: satisfying
Acting: functional but without depth
Does it flow? enough
Does it satisfy? sometimes yes, sometimes no
May particularly like: photography and music
Probably won’t like: long duration for a short film, 40 minutes
Mood after watching: confusing
What remains: a very good production
Stars: **1/2
Super
Plot: monotonous
Background: a couple’s relationship
Aesthetic: indifferent, doesn’t make sense
Acting: coolly natural, as if they’re playing themselves
Does it flow? slowly, maybe it should have been shorter
May particularly like: its simplicity
Probably won’t like: its simplicity
Mood after watching: same as before
What remains: not much
Stars: **
Same Old
Plot: vital
Background: social
Aesthetic: realistic
Acting: satisfying
Does it flow? quickly
Does it satisfy? hmm
May particularly like: the theme of the movie
Probably won’t like: the theme of the movie, which you’ve seen before in Beijing Bicycle and The Bicycle Thief
Mood after watching: social and personal reflection
What remains: the agony of the immigrant
Stars: **
The Open House
Plot: interesting
Background: social/memory
Aesthetic: flawless
Does it flow? discreetly
Does it satisfy? like a personal experience
May particularly like: the hymn to life
Probably won’t like: N/A
Mood after watching: release
What remains: memory as life
Stars: ***
Apostles of Cinema
Plot: cinema paradise
Background: popular cinema in Tanzania
Aesthetic: realistic
Acting: enjoyable
Does it flow? like a film reel
Does it satisfy? like Enpinyo (a strong drink in Tanzania)
May particularly like: the joy of the performers and spectators
Probably won’t like: N/A
What remains: colorful pictures
Stars: **
Light of Light
Plot: original
Background: memory as experience
Aesthetic: dialectical and synthetic
Does it flow? poetically
Does it satisfy? like a hot beverage
May particularly like: synthesis of archival material
Probably won’t like: N/A
Mood after watching: nostalgia
What remains: a journey to the past
Stars: ***
Stefanos Ntalasis
Edited by Lesley Chow
© FIPRESCI 2023