Aspera Astra – dir. Gerfried Guggi

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Original Film Title: Aspera Astra

Director’s Name: Gerfried Guggi

Writer’s Name:Gerfried Guggi

Producer: Meina Loescher

Country of Origin: Austria

Country of Filming: Austria

Language: English

Runtime: 4 minutes 36 seconds

Film Description:

Searching for meaning, searching for the one thing worth suffering for – will the Seeker be able to find what he’s looking for? Conquering the white void, leaving this place behind he is ready to get lost in the big pond – the universe.

EarlyBird – The True Story – dir. Joana Bastos

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Original Film Title: EarlyBird – The True Story

Director’s Name: Joana Bastos

Writer’s Name: Joana Bastos

Producer: Exquisite Visual Productions

Country of Origin: Portugal

Country of Filming: Portugal

Language: English

Runtime: 4 minutes 44 seconds

Film Description:

“EarlyBird” is a short film about the mid-life crisis of a woman who begins to question her purpose; facing various doubts inherent to this period of life, with the fear of not having enough time to fulfil her dreams.
She deals with the fact that she hasn’t had children, with ageing, the lack of confidence to face new challenges, with the fear of society’s judgment when expressing her individuality and with the uncertainties related to her future.
These doubts consume her to the point that she realizes that she can no longer be trapped in this spiral of thoughts that limit her and decides to live in the present, focusing on the “here and now” with all her courage and determination.

Disguise in Nature – dir. Maya Marzuki Peters

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Original Film Title: Disguise in Nature

Director’s Name: Maya Marzuki Peters

Writer’s Name: Maya Marzuki Peters

Producer: Maya Marzuki Peters

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 1 minute 36 seconds

Film Description:

This is an experimental fashion campaign for Sia Fang’s newest art work collection consisting of wearable fashion sculptures with a focus on the styling, atmosphere and storytelling.
For this project, We are studying some of the most complicated individuals we have come across in my life. These individuals celebrate one thing in common, charisma that is born in danger. They celebrate duality that they are blunt in tenderness and tough in fragility.

The mysteries in these humans are so intriguing, so Sia got inspired to refer to a series of plants and animals that mimic the shapes and texture of the unharmful but hide their edge in disguise. She borrows some of their characteristics to create this new layer of “skin” covering the flesh that grows in and out of the human skeletons. The species Sia studied and the creatures she created share one thing in common—the physical appeal, the charisma. These beings would pull you close, and let you indulge in their charm, make you obsess and fall, until you are all in and all stuck that it is too late to get away.

In order to reinforce the disguise, the design is contrasted with unremarkable, plain materials. We would like the experience to start from the easiness and openness of the pastel-colored shiny textured resin, then slowly reveal the edge by the skeleton-nature-inspired shape, transitioning into the suspicious, judgmental and questioning side of these creatures and turn the audiences around them.