Category: Best Short Film WSXA Barcelona 2023

Original Film Title: Жовта зірка

Director’s Name: Skobun Skobun

Writer’s Name: Skobun Skobun

Producer: Bokaturo Nadiia, Skobun Alina, Petrashiuk Darina

Country of Origin: Ukraine

Country of Filming: Ukraine

Language: Ukrainian

Runtime: 17 minutes 31 seconds

Film Description:

1941. A small Ukrainian town occupied by German troops, where the Nazis organized the Ghetto. Nearby lives the family of janitor Peter, who works in the Ghetto and has unlimited access there. Peter’s son, Mykolka, constantly takes food out of the house, which the family lacks so much. The father beats the son, but it does not affect the boy’s actions: he humbly accepts the frequent punishments and is silent about his motivation. A Jewish family Liberblum, who are living in the Ghetto, learns about a Nazi-planned operation to send children from the Ghetto to a concentration camp. Parents are trying to save their son Jacob and daughter Raia from this. However, no one can help them. The only person, their last chance, is the janitor Peter, who can take the children to the dump at night. But the janitor flatly refuses to help the Jews, fearing for his own life and the safety of his family. Peter decides to follow his son, who again brings out the food and makes a shocking discovery: Mykolka throws food over the fence of the ghetto to Raia Liberblum, with whom he is in love from school. The father reconsiders his son’s behavior and decides to help the Jewish family, provided that he takes only one child out of the Ghetto. Little Nikolay becomes aware of this. The Liberblum couple face a difficult choice – who to save? Son or daughter? They draw lots. Arriving at night, Peter and Liberblums try to hide Raia in a dumpster, but it drags on. Mykolka follows her father through a hole in the fence on the other side of the Ghetto barriers. He is glad that Raia was chosen. The guy notices the Nazis approaching the house. He can’t shout at his father. The only thing he decides is to take the stone in his hands and attract the attention of the soldiers.

Original Film Title: REALITY CHECK

Director’s Name: Sandro Hernández Ortiz

Writer’s Name: Sandro Hernández Ortiz

Producer: Carolina Figueras Morató, Lidia López, Melanie Belmonte

Country of Origin: Spain

Country of Filming: Spain

Language: Spanish

Runtime: 24 minutes 15 seconds

Film Description:

Reality Check follows Salvador, a young patient suffering from delusional disorder, who during one of his therapy sessions starts experiencing dangerous levels of reality distortion that make him question everything in his life.

Original Film Title: The Silver Bullet

Director’s Name: Gaston Boulanger

Writer’s Name: Gaston Boulanger

Producer: Gaston Boulanger

Country of Origin: Australia

Country of Filming: Australia

Language: English, Spanish

Runtime: 8 minutes 42 seconds

Film Description:

A comédie noire set in the deep north of Australia. When the heat becomes unbearable our heroine finds a solution with a silver lining.

Original Film Title: Hating Beckett

Director’s Name: Matthew Gossin

Writer’s Name: John Yearley

Producer: Anthony Pearce, John Yearley

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 17 minutes 16 seconds

Film Description:

A couple’s post-theater dinner date turns confrontational as the pair discuss the merits of Samuel Beckett’s Rough for Theatre II. Things escalate to the point of disclosed trauma, bitter recriminations and hurled bread rolls — and it becomes clear they have a few issues to work out.

Original Film Title: Scarlett O.

Director’s Name: Alexandra Tebano, Dale Johnson

Writer’s Name: Alexandra Tebano

Producer: Alexandra Tebano

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 5 minutes 32 seconds

Film Description:

A tortured woman is stuck in the purgatory in her own mind forced to relive the same excruciating moment over and over again.

Original Film Title: Scent of A Persimmon Flower

Director’s Name: Jae Hong Park

Writer’s Name: Jae Hong Park

Producer: Min Oh Kim

Country of Origin: Korea, Republic of

Country of Filming: Korea, Republic of

Language: Korean

Runtime: 14 minutes 29 seconds

Film Description:

Synopsis

A midsummer story between a middle-aged brother who works hard at his food stall with his wife and his blinded younger sister caused by an accident at an early age.
The brother lives a difficult life financially and suffers maritally from his wife, so he cannot afford to take care of his blind sister.

One day, he comes back home earlier than usual from an exhausting day. He enters the house quietly not to disturb his sister’s sleep.
However, as he enters, he hears his sister moaning. As he opened the door, he catches her masterbating.
He had forgotten that she was also a woman and wants things just like rest of us do.

The next day, he asks and pays his friend to take care and stay with her at home. Hoping that he might grow some feelings for her, but she is middle-aged, big and a disabled woman.

After a long rainy season ended one rainy summer day, him and his sister goes on a trip, just two of them.

Original Film Title: Korla

Director’s Name: Josef Cauchi

Writer’s Name: Josef Cauchi

Producer: Josef Cauchi, Rebecca Micallef

Country of Origin: Malta

Country of Filming: Malta

Language: Maltese

Runtime: 24 minutes 38 seconds

Film Description:

Nobody will get in the way of a nameless Cowboy on his vengeance mission. On his solo journey he meets Fate, a mystifying figure that gives him a chance to experience his doomed future right there and then. This is a tale about the power of blind rage and destiny.

Original Film Title: DejaVu

Director’s Name: Alex Rios

Writer’s Name: Alex Rios

Producer: Maurice Moore

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 22 minutes

Film Description:

Eric, a Scientist, and his daughter Grey, are quarantined at home due to a highly unusual phenomenon in the Universe. This leads them to put their strength and relationship to the test.
Nothing… is what it seems.

Original Film Title: LEÐJA

Director’s Name: Inga Óskarsdóttir

Writer’s Name: Björk Guðmundsdóttir, Silja Rós Ragnarsdóttir, Júlíana Kristín Liborius Jónsdóttir

Producer: Björk Guðmundsdóttir, Silja Rós Ragnarsdóttir, Júlíana Kristín Liborius Jónsdóttir

Country of Origin: Iceland

Country of Filming: Iceland

Language: Icelandic

Runtime: 17 minutes 20 seconds

Film Description:

Because of the fear of ending up homeless three sisters have to go on an absurd and fateful journey in the countryside of Iceland. The trip is far from easy and a lot of unresolved issues from the past burst to the surface during a hike that Tobba describes as the best day of her life.

A story about three strong sisters and their loving relationship. MUD is a dark comedy filled with unexpected events.

Original Film Title: Out Of The Abyss

Director’s Name: Guang Wei Yan

Writer’s Name: Guang Wei Yan

Producer: Yi Zi Shao

Country of Origin: China

Country of Filming: China

Language: Chinese

Runtime: 17 minutes

Film Description:

The protagonists of the film are the “Beijing drifters” who are over 30 years old. They are not successful, nor are they competitive, but they are contented, down-to-earth and struggle on their own. Experiencing so many difficulties in life, he finally became violent and took the wrong road. The ending of the story is tragic or rather helpless, but it seems to be their only destination. The protagonist fights back after being hit by life and tries to change his fate. The film is grounded in the plight of contemporary people, whose lives are affected or changed by the epidemic, education reform and other factors.