A short film directed by a Palestinian has been nominated for an Oscar this year. Ave Maria is a humorous story about a Jewish family who crash their car outside a small convent of five Arab nuns. For a film set in the present day West Bank, this film is as light as you could imagine, yet it still has a relevant message about the unnecessary restrictions imposed by strict adherence to (…) Continue Reading »

We met up with Nina Gantz, whose film Edmond is screening at this year’s Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival, as part of the International selection. Edmond is an animated short film dealing with twinless twin Edmond and his excessive desire for love, which overtakes his social relations. — Clotilde Couturier, our correspondent at the 2016 Clermont Ferrand international short film festival, (…) Continue Reading »

This week, we’ve picked William Walsh’s Remnants as our celebrated short. The winner of the 2015 100 Hour Film Race, Remnants is a simple, yet effective short film addressing issues of mental health and male suicide, through which are subtly weaved that year’s specific requirements. The theme was "mistaken identity", the prop, a mask and the action, drinking out of a straw. Walsh and his top (…) Continue Reading »

Glenn Paton’s H Positive has recently gone live! ”If you had a prolonged terminal illness and money was no object, would you manipulate euthanasia so that you could die on your own terms? This story examines how the protagonist Mark uses his wealth to help create a euthanasia roller coaster. A roller coaster so powerful, it causes cerebral hypoxia, thus suffocating your brain ensuring a (…) Continue Reading »

"If money was no object, would you manipulate euthanasia so that you could die on your own terms?" Glenn Paton’s visually impressive H Positive is screening at Clermont-Ferrand 2016. Where did the idea come from? I went to an art exhibition and I saw a small A2 image of a roller coaster called ’the death coaster’ created by Julijonas Urbonas. I thought that it would be a great starting (…) Continue Reading »

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION Grand Prize Las Cosas Simples (Les choses simples/Simple Things) Alvaro Anguita - Chili - 2015 - Fiction - 26’ Jury Prize Die Badewanne (La baignoire/Bathtub) Tim Ellrich - Austria, Germany - 2015 - Fiction - 12’ Special mentions - International Jury Uzak M?... (Lointain...) Leyla Toprak - Turkey - 2015 - Documentary - 16’ Panorama Virginia Urreiztieta - (…) Continue Reading »

We met up with Mark Chapman, whose film Carmex is screening at this year’s Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival, as part of the Lab selection. Camrex is a cinematic and photographic project exploring the stories of residents at the notorious Camrex House hostel in Sunderland. You were working on a drama in the area, when the idea to film Camrex came about. What sparked your interest ? I was (…) Continue Reading »

Armand Lameloise, réalisateur de Je ne suis pas un cygne et Chabname Zariab, réalisatrice de Au bruit des clochettes, échangent autour des points communs et des différences entre leurs films. Lire la suite »

Another year, another Clermont Fest, wish assorted goodies, freebies, queues and lunch vouchers. Not that they’re needed to sway us. It’s a strong selection, many hits and few misses. We’ll have updates and coverage coming up, but first, we’re (…) Continue Reading »

Homme Less is a feature documentary directed by Thomas Wirthensohn, who follows the life of the charismatic and seemingly successful Mark Reay as he goes about his day-to-day activities in the Biggest of Apples. This is a man who has all the makings of your typical downtown success story, with his stylish wardrobe, clean shave and handsome haircut and face. The documentary is well (…) Continue Reading »