SHORTS BLOCK 7 | DRAMA

Do.Solo.Pin

Do.Solo.Pin | IRAN

Written and directed by Javad Atefeh

Produced by Ehsan Pakbaznia

Nominated for Best Drama Short, Best Actor in a Drama (Atefe Pakbaznia), Best Screenwriter (Javad Atefeh). Best Sound Design (Mehrshad Malakouti)

A young single mother, Shahla, is the caregiver to an elderly who is suffering from chronic depression. The man's daughter lives overseas and Shahla video calls with her everyday to give her an update on her father's health. Shahla makes a difficult decision and will have to face the consequences.

Ripples

Ripples | AUSTRALIA

Written and directed by Julian Pitrone

Produced by Claudine Ocampo

Nominated for Best Drama Short

Asim re-lives his own horrors as he performs CPR on a drowning boy.

When I Go

When I Go | AUSTRALIA

Written and directed by Olivia O'Brien

Produced by Jack Bell

Nominated for Best Drama Short, Best Actor in a Student Short (Pheobe Barnett), Emerging Filmmaker (Olivia O'Brien)

When I Go follows fifteen-year-old Delilah as she attends an annual beach trip with a group of friends and their fathers. When an unexpected guest arrives at the getaway, unspoken grief is brought to the surface.

Incident at School

Incident at School | DENMARK

Written and directed by Jacob Thomas Pilgaard

Produced by Cecilie Jensen

Nominated for Best Drama Short, Best Actor in a Drama Short (Cecilie Elisabeth Bogø Bach), Best Cinematography (Nicolai Brix), Best Sound Design (Rune Klausen and Torsten Frøstrup)

A shooting at a university—played out for 24 terrifying minutes—in a single unbroken close-up of a young woman hiding in an auditorium.

Littlefish

Littlefish | AUSTRALIA

Written and directed by Benjamin Laut

Produced by Helen Turton

Nominated for Best Drama Short

A Grandfather spends the day with his Granddaughter while her Mother is in hospital.

14

14 | IRAN

Written, directed, and produced by Farzad Rahigh

Nominated for Best Drama Short, Best Actor in a Drama (Niaz Sanjari), Best Director (Farzad Rahigh), Best Sound Design (Amir Shahverdi) 

A teenage girl runs away in the hope of escaping the fate imposed on her.

400 Days Later

400 Days Later  |  CANADA

Written by Angela Bell

Directed by Stephen Bell

Produced by Angela Bell and Stephen Bell

Nominated for Best Drama Short

When a global pandemic hits and theaters shut down nationwide, stage actress Natalie finds herself coping with isolation, dwindling options, and redefining what really matters in the wake of a changed world.

Starving Artist

Starving Artist | AUSTRALIA

Written and directed by Marshall Weishuai Yuan

Produced by Sangeetha Gowda and Marshall Weishuai Yuan

Nominated for Wild Card (Film), Best Actor in a Drama (Marshall Weishuai Yuan), Best Cinematography (Jasmin Pilatos)

A struggling actor makes the ultimate sacrifice to live in his car. His life is a balancing act between auditions, odd jobs, and general homelessness. Will the weight of his adversities finally defeat him or will he succeed?

PAX

PAX (Teaser) | RUSSIA

Written by Sara Pennypacker

Directed by Damir Bekerov

Produced by Valentin Murzin

Nominated for Best Trailer

An adaptation of Sara Pennypacker’s best-seller.Pax and Peter have been inseparable ever since Peter rescued him as a kit. But one day, the unimaginable happens: Peter's dad enlists in the military and makes him return the fox to the wild.

Josie

Josie | NEW ZEALAND

Written by René Le Bas

Directed by Human Error

Produced by Lachlan Crane, Joel Strawbridge, and Maggie Webster-Shadbolt

Nominated for Wild Card (Film)

A grief-stricken woman starts receiving texts from her recently deceased daughter's phone number. She tries to find the culprit, all the while battling with a small paranoid voice in the back of her head that wonders if it is actually her daughter after all.

Alexis

Alexis | USA

Written and Directed by Renata Mellão

Produced by Renata Mellão and Lucio Gallo

Nominated for Best Drama Short, Best Actor in a Drama (Briana Marin), Best Original Score (Renata Mellão)

A woman finds herself uncontrollably weaving between three parallel lives, and must find out why this is happening and how to stop it before she loses her mind. ALEXIS is an exploration of identity and resilience, and what it means to fully be “oneself”.

Black Mail

Black Mail (Trailer) | CANADA

Written and directed by Obi Emenloye

Produced by Olatunbosun Amao

Nominated for Best Trailer

WHO

WHO | AUSTRALIA

Written and directed by Robbin D. Li

Nominated for Best Drama Short, Best Ensemble Cast

A virus with an unknown cause is spreading to every corner of the world at a terrifying speed. Three protagonists in the same household are forced to maintain their isolated lives under strict restrictions of lockdown. Jason, a migrant worker who cannot return home, Se-hee, an international student fired from work, and Jenny, who is anxious about the news delivered through a phone call. Their lives becoming more devastated day by day.

Who should be responsible for all this?