Official Programme 2023
Take me to: Animation Change Comedy Documentary Drama Music Video Student Film
ANIMATION
Fantastical worlds and striking personalities come to life in Animation, engaging viewers with daring style and vision. From a tennis ball on his day off to a psychological thriller at sea, the films in this programme capture humour, happiness, anxiety and romance with the limitless creativity that only animation can offer.
TENNIS BALL ON HIS DAY OFF
Julian Glander
A tennis ball reflects on aging, self-improvement, hustle culture, and his own impending mortality. But in a cute way.
LIFE IS A PARTICLE TIME IS A WAVE
Daniel Zvereff
A widowed watchmaker spends his remaining days in solitude distracting himself with chores and pastimes. Like a prisoner, alone in his cell, he looks for meaning in the memories of the past.
CHRISTOPHER AT SEA
Tom CJ Brown
After embarking as a passenger onboard a cargo ship, Christopher begins to question his sanity and perception of time in a romantic psychological thriller through open waters.
IN BETWEEN
Effie Pappa
Three different characters, caught in a frenetic everyday loop in pursuit of time. Never finding the right moment to eat, cross the street, or go to the toilet. Until time suddenly freezes.
EX CRETA
Jon Portman
A group of bored roommates spy on a neighbour’s disturbing ritual.
SIERRA
Sander Joon
A father and his son are losing the folk race. In order to win, the boy turns himself into a car tire. Loosely inspired by the director’s childhood, Sierra pulls us into the surreal car racing world.
FLUTZ
Ryan McCown
A rivalry between two figure skaters and their coaches. And a witch.
SCALE
Joseph Pierce
Driving along the motorway, Will loses his sense of scale. As his condition deepens, he struggles to unpick the sequence of events that led to this predicament, before he’s lost forever.
TONGUE
Kaho Yoshida
Tired of being talked at by men, a woman takes a sensual trip with unusual friends.
IT’S NICE IN HERE
Robert-Jonathan Koeyers
A fragmented portrait of a moment, a person, and a place, seen through the subjective memories of a young girl and a rookie police officer, who both have wildly different recollections of the same fateful moment.
CHANGE
The Smalls Film Festival introduces Change, a programme that spotlights the stories, causes and characters that hold a mirror to society or seek justice in the world today. These seven remarkable documentaries take us across permeable borders and prison systems, into the Industrial Age, youth empowerment and human nature itself.
45th PARALLEL
Lawrence Abu Hamdan
A monologue is performed in a building that inhabits the thickness of a borderline, telling stories of permeable borders and impermeable laws, reflecting on how free movement, free knowledge and free space are under threat.
JOBS FOR ALL!
Axel Danielson & Maximilien Van Aertryck
A highly choreographed review of the Industrial Age as we know it today, demanding that the viewer questions just how “work works.” Culled entirely from archival footage, the film unfolds in the filmmakers’ trademark, and humorously critical, cinematic voices.
ENGINE TROUBLE
Nate Milton
Based on the journalistic work of Aatish Bhatia, this animated video essay is a compelling and powerful explanation of the existential threat to us and our planet, caused by the introduction of carbon dioxide in our air since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
A HISTORY OF THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GETTY IMAGES
Richard Misek
A montage of some of the last century’s most iconic images forms the basis of an investigation into the power that commercial image archives hold over our shared cultural memory, and an attempt to reclaim a few fragments of their collections from corporate control.
DESIRE LINES
Duncan Cowles
Through distant observation of people walking on desire lines, a filmmaker notices a pattern in people's tendency to cut corners, and reflects on what this might say about human nature and our attitude towards the changing climate.
YOUNG LOURDES COLLECTIVE
Jazmin Garcia
Sumaya Bouhbal is the founder and creative director of a group of young artists, activists, and friends who live and breathe collective youth empowerment. “Climate justice is racial justice”, they proclaim as they radically imagine an alternative vision of a sustainable New York.
THE SENTENCE OF MICHAEL THOMPSON
Kyle Thrash & Haley Elizabeth Anderson
Arrested in 1994 for selling three pounds of marijuana to a close friend turned police informant, Michael Thompson was sentenced to 40 to 60 years in prison and has been there ever since. After 25 years, it seems like Michael may finally have a chance at freedom.
COMEDY
Dogs, dreams, duels and diamonds. From awkward entanglements to teenagers-in-the-woods horror, the seven short films in the 2023 Comedy programme are an unmissable, masterful insight into the genre-spanning ways that filmmakers expose the absurd, poignant and ever more unexpected ways to make us laugh.
HELLSPAWN
Michael Demetriou
Hannah, Mladsun and Penny are 'young' creatives, navigating an aspirational path to deemed success within the UK film, TV and advertising industry, their dreams always feeling further and further out of reach.
SCARY CAR
Ian Faria
Four teens nearing their 30's go into the woods to summon a being from another world. Things take a turn when one of them comes back changed.
FAIRPLAY
Zoel Aeschbacher
A teenager in search of recognition, a worker ready to do anything to hit the jackpot, a senior executive at the end of his career who wants to prove to himself that he is still alive. Three characters who are losing speed on the competition highway…
ERIC
David Yorke
Joshua finally gets to meet Eric, the beloved dog of a girl he’s been dating. As the evening evolves, Josh begins to get a sneaking suspicion that Eric isn’t your typical house pet.
THE DIAMOND
Vedran Rupic
Stefan is lonely with a blinding ambition to make friends. One day he stumbles upon a diamond in the woods. Unable to reach it, the solution presents itself in the form of an even smaller man.
MOMMY
Sophia Smith
A new couple workshop their first hookup when a mommy “kink” is introduced within the first few seconds of their rendezvous.
MY PARTNER LIVES IN MY PHONE
Lily Ahree Siegel & Hugh Clegg
Struggling in a long distance relationship, a couple make a last attempt to find intimacy over the internet.
DOCUMENTARY
Framing life through the lens of others, Documentary reveals authentic voices and hidden stories that immerse us in different worlds, never far from our own. From a whimsical grandma super team to the effects of capitalism and corporate accountability on the opioid crisis, these six short films capture the complex truth of a moment - and touch us to our core.
BALL PEOPLE
Scott Lazer
Each year, hundreds of people from all over America apply to join the Ball Crew at the US Open tennis tournament. Through a surprisingly rigorous tryout process, only a few dozen are ultimately selected.
OUTLETS
Duncan Cowles
Unable to move on from the death of his granny, a filmmaker desperately searches for the right film idea that will finally allow him to let go. Through a series of stylistically different film ideas, Outlets takes you on a journey into the grieving process of a creative brain.
THE FAMILY STATEMENT
Grace Harper & Kate Stonehill
Using messages from a family WhatsApp group, a conversation is constructed between the notoriously private Sackler family and those afflicted by their product, the opioid painkiller Oxycontin. A poignant commentary on capitalism, corporate accountability, denial and pain.
ABOUT MEMORY AND LOSS
Amélie Hardy
Capture, document, record, share, restart. We are making ourselves more memorable than ever by archiving every bit of our daily lives. What if we lost something along the way?
WILL YOU LOOK AT ME
Shuli Huang
As a young Chinese filmmaker returns to his hometown in search for himself, a long due conversation with his mother dives the two of them into a quest for acceptance and love.
NAI NAI & WÀI PÓ (GRANDMA & GRANDMA)
Sean Wang
Nai Nai is my grandma. Wài Pó is also my grandma. Together, they are a grandma super team that dances, stretches, and farts their sorrows away.
DRAMA
Jittery flight attendants, delicate teenage curiosity and an unearthly presence infecting the streets of New York… The enthralling films in the Drama programme showcase the astonishing ability of filmmakers and writers to find vision, meaning and purpose in original storytelling. An unmissable show of talent.
AIRHOSTESS-737
Thanasis Neofotistos
Vanina, a 39 y.o, flying attendant, works on a domestic flight on a Boeing-737. She complains about her recently attached braces, a late attempt for a perfect smile. What she really has to do is to confront her absent mother, whose body now lies in the plane’s cargo area.
SNOW IN SEPTEMBER
Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
Set amongst decaying Soviet buildings in Ulaanbaatar, Davka and his classmate Anuka talk about manga and tease each other about sex. When Davka encounters an older woman, his ideas about intimacy and his view of relationships are forced to change.
LAY ME BY THE SHORE
David Findlay
A week in the life of Noah, a high school senior in his final days of school as he comes to terms with his best friend’s passing.
FILE
Sonia K. Hadad
A 6-year-old mute boy attends a pre-school health screening with his mother. At the test, he makes a decision that changes everything.
POWER SIGNAL
Oscar Boyson
While trying to navigate a city that won’t provide him a bathroom, a delivery worker discovers an unearthly presence infecting women all over New York.
MUSIC VIDEO
Music Video continues its supreme domination of artistic filmmaking, unleashing everything freaky and experimental, heartfelt and relatable. Often simple in concept yet masterful in execution - and perfectly set to a beat, of course - this genre is designed to grab your attention, bury deep into your brain and get you dancing.
SQUID - THE BLADES
Kasper Häggström
An institutional waiting room descends into an absurd, Kafkaesque nightmare. One woman’s patience, imagination and sense of reality are tested in the face of the most mundane of circumstances.
SLOWTHAI - FEEL GOOD
Uncanny + The Rest
After a call out to his UK fans resulted in over 4000 submissions, Slowthai headed across the country to surprise some of them listening to the song for the first time. Upbeat and from the heart, this is an account of human connection that genuinely makes you feel good.
YVES TUMOR - ECHOLALIA
Jordan Hemingway
A crashing track unites themes of repetition, tenderness and religion in a surreal Gulliver's Travels hellscape when Yves Tumor finds himself as a giant in a strange world, slowly nailed into the earth by miniature versions of himself.
OBONGJAYAR - SUGAR
Aidan Zamiri
When Obongjayar heads into the spotlight and flexes his muscles, the audience aren't ready for what they see next. With memorable body-morphing and unexpected sweetness, this is a video that ultimately rejoices in the artist's success in turning pain to sugar.
A$AP ROCKY - SHITTIN ME
Dan Streit & Cole Kush
Proof that you can take a viral moment and run with it, A$AP Rocky references his infamous mosh-pit-gone-wrong experience, only this time it kills him. In a hazy, wacky and highly visual turn, the musician’s entourage do everything to keep him looking alive and making money.
CHASE & STATUS - MIXED EMOTIONS
Femi Oladigbolu
Bound to trigger goosebumps down the arms of those longing for the youthful highs of club culture, Chase & Status harness a powerful old-school vibe on this uplifting account of a night out.
BOURNE - ERE WE GO
Truman & Cooper
Bourne escapes to Europe, on the run from his problems.
NOIZU - SUMMER 91 (LOOKING BACK)
Rupert Höller
A man sees rhythms everywhere he looks.
LA PRIEST - IT’S YOU
Eoin Glaister
A woman falls in love with a fatberg.
JEAN-MICHEL BLAIS - PASSEPIED
Adrian Villagomez
Pairing documentary and fiction, 16mm film and digital, 'passepied' follows a young hip hop dancer obsessed by an outdated sixteenth century style of dance, as he throws himself between aristocratic Baroque fantasy and urban reality.
STEPHAN MOCCIO - HALSTON
Joao Retorta
What do the objects we leave behind tell us about ourselves?
THOM DRAFT - TENSE
Albert Albert
A bullied teenage girl develops magical powers of fire on her finger, leading to short-lived fame.
KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD - BLACK HOT SOUP (DJ SHADOW 'MY OWN REALITY' RE-WRITE)
John Angus Stewart
Inhabiting what the director calls a “a bubbling, thick, sticky, confusing angry place that seems to be made for generations long past”, a man finds the freedom to move amongst the chaos.
BLACK MIDI - SUGAR/TZU
Noel Paul
A nightmarish boxing match is interrupted by a young boy.
HAK BAKER - DOOLALEY
Hugh Mulhern
A swirling visual feast of a night out with Hak Baker.
JAMES BLAKE - BIG HAMMER
Oscar Hudson
Technically complex and darkly euphoric, four young people head out on a wall-crashing, hedonistic crime spree, observed through the POV of their dashcam footage. You can't help but join in the fun.
PARIS TEXAS - BULLET MAN
Aus Taylor
A bullet chases a young white boy, transformed into a black man by his racist grandfather. Paranoid and riotous, the deadly pursuit adopts an improbable cartoonish humour to make a remarkable statement on gun violence in America.
STUDENT FILM
Featuring an electric range of genres, award-winners and fresh voices, the Student Film programme presents ten exceptional shorts, picked for their full-blooded flair and intelligent originality. From talking animals and dystopian futures to adolescent escape and student life (naturally), consider this the future of film.
THIS WILL NOT BE A FESTIVAL FILM
Julia Orlik
A tale of a girl who studied animation and spent four years without a day of vacation. An animated short about a film school student who is working on her graduation film.
THE NEWT CONGRESS
Matthias Sahli & Immanuel Esser
For years now, giant talking newts have been used both for their labour and as laboratory animals. The Newt Congress takes place at a conference building surrounded by nature where participants have come together to optimize the exploitation of the animals.
MANO
Toke Madsen
Trapped in a neglectful family situation, a protective older brother takes care of his younger sibling and confronts his absent mother, leading to a rash decision.
RITES
Damián Vondrášek
A boy with a cleft lip has one afternoon to pass the initiation ritual to a street gang.
PENTOLA
Leo Černic
It's not so easy to be a hero. But you, Pentola, you are my superhero.
MEET AGAIN
Ap-Sol Kang
In anger at her mother, Hanbyul runs away from home on her fourteenth birthday and walks into a strange alley, leading to a nighttime encounter with a girl who leads a group of monsters.
THE ARTICHOKE SEASON
Orna Rottenberg
After her father leaves home, Rosalie relives fantastical childhood memories of her 10-year-old self in a Jerusalem slum.
LONDON’S ROCKETSHIP LAUNCHERS
Julia Mervis
What starts as an innocuous quest for the true identity of the circular metal structures that sculpt London's skyline, brings forth questions of great political significance. What else do we allow to masquerade as a part of nature?
GO FISHBOY
Denise Cirone, Sebastian Doringer, Andrey Kolesov, Chiayu Liu, Zhen Tian, Lan Zhou
A respected chef from a lineage of sushi makers attempts to connect with his son through the shared knowledge of the family trade. Tensions arise as he begins to notice a strange pattern of behaviour in the young boy.
AN OSTRICH TOLD ME THE WORLD IS FAKE AND I THINK I BELIEVE IT
Lachlan Pendragon
When a young telemarketer is confronted by a mysterious talking ostrich, he learns that the universe is stop motion animation. He must put aside his dwindling toaster sales and focus on convincing his colleagues of his terrifying discovery.
