Life could be a dream in this collection of shorts that dive into liminal landscapes and surreal scenarios.

PROGRAMME

THE TORTOISE
Dir. Amirreza Jalalian | 14 mins | Iran
An old man with a stone face, living in a land of rigid stones, has had enough of his situation and decides to get rid of himself by destroying himself with a piece of stone. Receiving news of his father’s death, his son is given leave from the army to his fatherland.

THE CHILDREN OF ORPHEUS
Dir. Derkan Dogan | 7 mins | UK
An experimental short film exploring the chaotic and unifying synthesis of music, sound, and dance within London’s busy and maddening cityscape.

PICA
Dir. Sepide Berenji | 15 mins | Iran
Zaaghi, an immigrant girl claiming she’s from the depths of the sea, thinks that the bottom of the sea is not a good place for children to live. She gets in a taxi and asks the driver to take her to a big party organized by children at the easternmost point of the city, at the end of its darkest alley.

DANCING IN THE RAIN
Dir. Chao-chun Yeh | 6 mins | Japan, Taiwan
A little girl falls asleep on the floor of her room to the sound of the rain.

KER ENAZ ACT 1: FALL
Dir. Yannick Warmerdam | 17 mins | Netherlands, UK
In dense fog a man is lost at sea, until sounds of cellos draw him to the island of Ker Enaz. The islanders, despite the cold, seem to have no homes. Day and night they play cello on the steep cliffs. Apparently the music wasn’t meant for the castaway, but what then are they trying to attract?

GOOD CHOICE, JOSEPH
Dir. James Farrell | 6 mins | UK
Joseph’s indecision has brought his life to a standstill, until he finds a mysterious tape player that can tell the future. It seems like the answer to all of his problems, but as the device begins to dictate his every move, Joseph is forced to confront the reality of a life without free will.

WHEN LIFE GIVES
Dir. J Yao | 3 mins | UK
Trapped in the mundane office space, with only a lemonade machine and a desk of unfinished tasks, Lemon guy grows impatient and frustrated, finally snapping and smashing his lemonade glass. This triggers an ever changing psychedelic journey where Lemon Guy transforms after discovering the potential was within him all along. Reshaped and anew, Lemon Guy is able to move on to whatever the next chapter of his life is.

LAND OF THE DEAD DEER
Dir. Anahita Qarcheh, Soroush Javadzadeh | 15 mins | Iran
A boy who hasn’t yet gone to school has a sphere that he uses to see his own dreamy world. One day, he sees a deer through it and follows it into an abandoned school. But he doesn’t know that it’s a graveyard of children’s dreams.

Venue: Studio 74, Exeter Phoenix

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