International Competition 2: Welcome to the Dark Side!

When

28. April 2024    
12:30 - 14:00

Where

Gloria 1
Königstraße 20, Stuttgart, 70173

Type

We show the best current short films from all over the world, powerful films by young women, modern male perspectives, and confront life’s big questions. Socially relevant and personal topics innovatively visualised, without filters or taboos.

It is difficult to be honest, to tell the truth or to bear it. We hide, deceive, or repress while we often fail to realise our vulnerability.

Tickets

Tafel – Publikumspreis IW2Director: / / / :00 min

Zima
ZimaDirector: Kasumi Ozeki, Tomasz Popakul / Poland / 2023 / 26:26 min / Screenplay: Tomek Popakul / Production: Marcin Podolec / World Sales: KFF Sales & Promotion

Glimpses into the snowy world of a small fisherman’s village around Christmas time. The abstract, punk-inspired imagery explores the lives and secrets of young and old as grey days turn into blood-red nights hiding shadowy terrors.

Photosensitivity Warning

Spectre of the Bear
Spectre of the BearDirector: Josh Hicks / United Kingdom / 2023 / 10:57 min / Screenplay: Ioan Morris / Production: CPE Productions / World Sales: CPE Productions

One man’s obsession with crisps becomes unhealthy – and it’s not because he’s eating them. Tom’s all-consuming quest for the truth takes him on a journey into the unknown in this animated comedy short about nostalgia, corporate conspiracy and bear-shaped potato snacks.

Hamuzim
HamuzimDirector: Ania Kaspi Shema, Miri Dochikian / Israel / 2023 / 8:46 min / Production: Ania Kaspi Shema / World Sales: Yummy Films

After immigrating to Israel, a 14-year-old girl tries to befriend a local boy hoping to somehow find a way to belong. All the while, a letter from her friend, who stayed in Ukraine, reminds her, how far she is from home and her dreams.

Deutschlandpremiere;

Canard
CanardDirector: Elie Chapuis / Belgium, Switzerland / 2023 / 9:06 min / Screenplay: Elie Chapuis, Germano Zullo / Production: Lunanime / World Sales: Miyu Distribution

Vladimir and Olga raise ducks on a small isolated farm in the countryside. They hope for a child, but their anticipation soon turns into a nightmare.

Mariupol. A Hundred Nights
Mariupol. A Hundred NightsDirector: Sofiia Melnyk / Ukraine / 2023 / 7:26 min / Screenplay: Andrii Palatnyi, Sofiya Maelnyk / Production: Andrii Palatnyi / World Sales: Andrii Palatnyi

This animated short film tells the story of a little girl who is woken up by explosions and tries to survive the first days of the Russian full-scale invasion in a burning city. To escape, she has to make it through destroyed streets into the unknown. She has to trust in her destiny. Later, as an elderly woman, she will return to Ukrainian Mariupol to remember everything.

Au 8ème Jour
Au 8ème JourDirector: Agathe Sénéchal, Alicia Massez, Elise Debruyne, Flavie Carin, Théo Duhautois / France / 2023 / 8:12 min / Screenplay: Agathe Sénéchal, Alicia Massez, Elise Debruyne, Flavie Carin, Théo Duhautois / Production: Pôle 3D / World Sales: Je Regarde

It took seven days to create the world but it only takes a day to disrupt its balance.

Deutschlandpremiere

Dodo
DodoDirector: Yi Luo / Germany / 2023 / 12:36 min / Screenplay: Yi Luo / Production: Yinfinity / World Sales: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg

Dodo‘s father is a big blue bird. One day he takes off from the window sill, and doesn’t return. From then on, Dodo stops growing.

Photosensitivity Warning