In Silico Experimental Short Film Competition 1

Time and place

Thursday, 26 October 2023 at 18:50

Rodina Cinema Centre – Big Hall: Karavannaya Street, 12

Description

"Empty Rooms", dir. Zhenia Kazankina. Russia, 2022, 6 min.
"Super Dorothy: A Bengal Rose Variety", dir. Dasha Likhaia. Russia, 2023, 10 min.
"Sliver Cave", dir. Cai Caibei. China, 2022, 14 min.
"Dear Viewer", dir. Samir Radwan. Egypt, 2023, 5 min.
"Shanghai in the Spring", dir. Sun Xun. China, 2022, 11 min.
“A Companion for Amateur Cinematographers: Vol. I", dir. Federico Di Corato. Italy, 2023, 20 min.

"Manuale di cinematografia per dilettanti – Vol. I / A Companion for Amateur Cinematographers: Vol. I"

Genres: Experimental, Short-length

Director: Federico Di Corato

Screenwriter: Federico Di Corato

Producer: Tommaso Perfetti

Producer company : Enece Film, Lab 80 Film

Year: 2022

Country: Italy

Duration: 20 min.

Languages: Italian

Description

Synopsis:
Set against the backdrop of Italy in the years of the fascist dictatorship, a man of means, yet unknown to history, scrutinises the world through his small cine camera. The buds of ideology are detectable beneath the seemingly impartial tone it uses to describe technique. But in his films, the ineffable signs of resistance still rise to the surface.

About the director:
Federico Di Corato. Director. Born in Andria in 1991, he lives in Milan. He graduated from the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (NABA), where he now teaches film editing. He is one of the founding partners of the Re-framing Home Movies association, which works to safeguard and promote amateur film heritage. He has directed three short films. “The Shack” (2014) and “(s)words” (2018) both explore the theme of private memory, through the aesthetic of video tape devices; both were presented in competition at Locarno.

"Shanghai Zhi Chun / Shanghai in the Spring"

Genres: Experimental, Short-length

Director: Sun Xun

Year: 2022

Country: China

Duration: 11 min.

Languages: Chinese

Description

Synopsis:
Initially, on 1st April 2022, the Shanghai government asked people to stay at home in quarantine for five days, but it reneged on its promise and the city closed for two months. Sun Xun was also quarantined in a hotel. Everyone was unprepared.

About the director:
Sun Xun. Artist. He was born in 1980 in China. He works across many mediums including but not limited to acrylic, ink, pastel, traditional animation, and many forms of printmaking like woodcut. Sun Xun is considered one of China’s most prolific young artists and has received international acclaim.

"Super Dorothy: A Bengal Rose Variety"

Genres: Experimental, Short-length

Director: Dasha Likhaia

Operator: Dasha Likhaia

Cast: Аля Поспелова, Милена Игнатьева

Year: 2023

Country: Russia

Duration: 9 min.

Languages: Russian, French

Description

Synopsis:
A journey through the labyrinth of the heroine’s past, filled with both tenderness and cruelty.

About the director:
Dasha Likhaia. Born in the town of Priozersk, she worked as chief engineer at a chemical plant, a sales assistant in a souvenir shop, and a waitress at a wine bar. In 2022 she graduated from the documentary film laboratory at the Moscow School of New Cinema. She has participated in and won prizes at a number of international festivals, including Message to Man.

"Sliver Cave"

Genres: Experimental, Short-length

Director: Cai Caibei

Year: 2022

Country: China

Duration: 14 min.

Languages: Chinese

Description

Synopsis:
Stepping into a cave, the sight fluctuates by the firelight. Left to right, top to bottom. The same goes for the screen in front of you. It is a borderless tunnel, presenting domestication and desire.

About the director:
Cai Caibei. Director. She was born in Shenzhen, China, She received her MA from Jiangnan University in 2017 and Royal College of Art in 2018. She obsesses with the illusion on the screen and believes the image has a body. She is good at capturing these hidden bodies by drawing frame by frame. Her films always invite the audience to experience the conflicts within the body and the anxious environment outside the body.

"Empty Rooms"

Genres: Experimental, Short-length

Director: Zhenia Kazankina

Producer company : Stereotactic

Year: 2022

Country: Russia

Duration: 6 min.

Languages: Russian

Description

Synopsis:
After 24 February 2022, many Russians emigrated for various reasons. Among them were people close to me. A month later, in April, when I found myself completely alone in Moscow, I decided to make a film about this. The film is my love letter to those who can no longer be beside me.

About the director:
Zhenia Kazankina. Writer, director. Born in Moscow, she is a graduate of the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (VGIK). Her work revolves around coming-of-age stories, intimacy, dreams, miscommunication and loneliness, loss and love. Her short films have been screened internationally at festivals such as Palm Springs International ShortFest, ZINEBI Film Festival and Reykjavík International Film Festival, among others. She is currently working as a freelance independent artist and filmmaker.

"Dear Viewer"

Genres: Experimental, Short-length

Director: Samir Radwan

Year: 2023

Country: Egypt

Duration: 5 min.

Languages: English

Description

Synopsis:
A life of a man who has passed away, but whose voice lives on through different letters he wrote about significant times in his life. Through the combination of different footage and personal reflections, we gain a deeper understanding of the profound impact that the war had on his life, thoughts, and relationships.

About the director:
Samir Radwan. Director and editor whose work has been featured in international and local film festivals. In 2020 his short film “Fasten your Seatbelts while Seated” was awarded best experimental film at Sharjah international film festival, and in 2022 his film “Folds of Wind” got a special mention at Amarcort Film Festival.