With part of the programme announced, IndieLisboa now unveils the short-film programme for the International Competition and Silvestre sections. The festival\u2019s 18th edition will be held from August 21 to September 6 in the usual venues.<\/p>\n
In 2021, the International Competition short films programme will be composed of 31 titles never shown in Portugal, revealing a body of emerging directors<\/p>\n
After a year marked by distance, phone calls punctuate Ella i Jo<\/i><\/b>, the first selected film of the edition, setting the tone for this year\u2019s competition. Mother and daughter, both artists, paint in their own spaces – one in Barcelona, one in Athens. The mother\u2019s attempts to get in touch with her daughter are the film\u2019s conducting line, pacing the moments of creation seenthrough Jaume Claret Muxart\u2019s lense.<\/p>\n
Over the last 18 years, animation has been strong in IndieLisboa\u2019s short film International Competition. In this edition, special highlight to Nicholas Keppens\u2019 Easter Eggs<\/i><\/b>, which competed in the last Berlin Festival, and where a disagreement between friends triggers a conflict mixing tenderness and violence. Mofo Relay, <\/i><\/b>by Taewan and Shunny Kim, takes us into a two-minute outer trip where aliens have fun together. And also Damien Tran\u2019s Poum Poum!<\/i><\/b>, <\/i>a musical film celebrating the harmony of colours, textures and sounds.<\/p>\n
As for documentaries, the russian Blue Rose<\/i><\/b>, <\/i>by Olya Korsun, is a visual essay which explores the concept of flower, reflecting upon its beauty, history and commodification. And My Nightingtale with Tears<\/i><\/b>, by C\u00e9clie Lapergue, about the french soprano Denise Duval who was known mostly for her interpretations of Fran\u00e7ois Poulenc\u2019s operas.<\/p>\n
In fiction, there is Laura Carreira\u2019s The Shift<\/i><\/b>, awarded in the last Venice Festival, which reflects upon work and precarity through a trip to the supermarket. Heliconia<\/i><\/b>, <\/i>Paula Rodriguez Polaco\u2019s first film which premiered in FID Marseille, is a synesthetic sinphony marked by colours, textures, warmth and bodies where Maria, a fourteen year-old girl, goes on a quest for paradise on Earth.<\/p>\n
Spotlight as well on The Pleasants Effect, <\/i><\/b>the film of Pete Levine\u2019s life. Started in 1973 and finished in 2020, this first film of a 70 year-old director tells the story of C.R. Pleasants, an amateur inventor who believed he could clear the fog that troubled airplane pilots in the 1930\u2019s and 40\u2019s. On world premiere, Transportation Procedures for Lovers<\/i><\/b>, by young director Helena Estrela, is an experience which reflects upon the best way to reach the people you love.<\/p>\n
The Silvestre section, on its short-film component, consists mostly of works by experienced filmmakers, where a selection of 18 distinct films bursts with the genius of contemporary production.<\/p>\n
Natural highlight for Which is Witch<\/i><\/b> de Marie Losier, a regular appearance in the festival since her victory in 2011 with The Ballad of Lady Jaye<\/i>. Once again, the exuberance of Losier gives voice to the craziness of parallel universes, with Bertrand Mandico in the air.<\/p>\n
In animation, the acclaimed animator Joanna Quinn, nominated several times for the Oscar,\u00a0 brings Affairs of the Art<\/i><\/b>. Entertaining and polemic, the film premiered in 2021 is once again the confirmation of her status.<\/p>\n
Three curious and surprising north-american films are also in competition: Peter Burr\u2019s Black\u00a0 Square <\/i><\/b>is a black spot in the center of the screen where human figures contort – a succession of images in a permanent visual and audible assault. In The Canyon<\/i><\/b>, Zachary Epcar films house exteriors, objects and people in a hypnotizing manner, inviting us on a voyage guided by music which can be both unsettling and sublime. A comeback for both directors who had shown films at IndieLisboa in 2017 and 2019. Finally, In the Air Tonight<\/i><\/b> by Andrew Norman Wilson transforms the experience of the homonymous Phil Collins song, reimagining it through a dreamlike narration.<\/p>\n
The Short Film International Competition jury will be embodied by Bianca Lucas, filmmaker and programmer in the Sarajevo Film Festival, R\u00e9ka Bucsi, winner of the Short Film Grand Prize at IndieLisboa 2018 with Solar Walk<\/i>, and Mariana Giv\u00e3o, director of the award-winning Ruby<\/i>.<\/p>\n
The Silvestre Shorts jury will be composed of Daniel Ebner, co-founder and artistic director of Vienna Shorts, Rita Cruchinho Neves, founder of Atelier MODO, and Ma\u00edra Zenun, coordinator and curator of film programmes such as the Mostra Internacional de Cinema na Cova – Africa and its Diasporas.<\/p>\n
The exclusive 100 Early Bird voucher booklets will be on sale from July 6, priced at 25\u20ac. Available from ticketline desks or at ticketline.pt<\/a>.<\/p>\n