Some Shorts

We need nature - the urban society firmly declares. As a result, nature is everywhere: the dentist's waiting room is a palm beach (wallpaper), the concrete balcony is green with grass (plastic) and there is a rainforest in the conference room (wallpaper again). It's copyrighted material, of course, but who will question whether the author and first owner, i.e. Nature itself, has given permission of use? Sebastian Mulder skillfully juxtaposes visuals of luxurious nature (static or moving) over dull concrete-and-steel urban images until it becomes difficult to tell the imitations from the real thing. Although the author claims that the conclusion is left to the viewer to draw, one cannot refrain from wondering nonsequitously whether the fake plants will die when one stops pretending to water them. (Adina Marin, BIEFF 2018)

Raw footage shot from a window, hastily made photographs and a voice over narration reconstructed post-factum from diary notes paint a gruelling picture of a war in first person. Awarded the Best Short Film Prize by the European Film Academy, 9 Days – From My Window in Aleppo is a harrowing documentary that counters the romanticized view on the Syrian Civil War as presented by the Western press. Through minimalistic means, Syrian photographer Issa Touma, at the same time filming and being filmed, shows how a warfare becomes an integral part of the normalcy of everyday life. As gunshots rattle freely from the window, art becomes the only remaining survival mechanism. (Diana Mereoiu, BIEFF 2017)