International Competition 2 (rep.)

The International Competition (IC) is the beating heart of the festival. The best of current animated shorts from around the world are shown in this section. Films are humorous, contemplative, creative, or critical. An international jury selects the best animated short film of the year which will be honoured in the grand awards ceremony on Sunday. But you get to vote as well: Choose your favourite film for the SWR Audience Award!

Biidaaban – The Dawn Comes (Biidaaban – The Dawn Comes)

Regie Director: Amanda Strong / Kanada / 2018 / 00:19:33 min. / Verleih Distribution:

Biidaaban, a young Anishinabe maple harvester, defies the rules of time, space and gender in this compelling and beautiful stop motion short. Told through different times and dimensions, Biidaaban carries on the tradition of harvesting in present time in urban Ontario with help from her friends, including the ancient shapeshifter Sabe.

MAASIKAÕGIJAD (STRAWBERRY EATERS)

Regie Director: Mattias Mälk / Estland / 01/2018 / 00:14:39 min.

A fantasy film about two strawberry farmers whose field is destroyed by ravenous snails. The couple tries to start a new life in the city. When the woman announces they’re expecting a child, the paranoid man suspects that snails are behind that as well.

Un café noir (Black coffee)

Regie Director: Jean-Claude Götting / Frankreich / 05/2018 / 00:01:03 min.

Have a coffee on the terrace of a Parisian bistro. Be wary of birds…

Egg (Egg)

Regie Director: Martina Scarpelli / Dänemark, Frankreich / 2018 / 00:12:07 min. / Weltvertrieb World Sales: Miyu Distribution

A woman is locked in her home with an egg, which she is both attracted to and scared of. She eats the egg, she repents. She kills it. She lets the egg die of hunger.

Bloeistraat 11 (Bloeistraat 11)

Regie Director: Nienke Deutz / Belgien, Niederlande / 2018 / 00:09:41 min. / Produktion Production: Lunanime / Weltvertrieb World Sales: Miyu Distribution

Inseparable best friends spend their last summer holiday of childhood amusing themselves around the house. As summer progresses their bodies start to morph and shift and an awkwardness descends on their friendship. Puberty seems determined to interrupt their bond.

The Levers (The Levers)

Regie Director: Kim Boyoung / Südkorea, USA / 2018 / 00:09:25 min.

A guy accepts a job offer from a stranger on the street. All he has to do is pulling some leverswhile he’s listening to favorite music through the headphone.He was satisfied with the pay with the simple job until he hears some strange sound coming through the wall.

Le Sujet (The Subject)

Regie Director: Patrick Bouchard / Kanada / 2018 / 00:10:17 min. / Weltvertrieb World Sales: National Film Board of Canada

An animator dissects his own body, extracting memories, emotions and fears that will nurture his work. As he cuts into his skin with a scalpel, various symbolic objects recalling his past emerge. Reaching the heart after cracking his ribs, he succeeds in identifying the burden he’s been dying to cast off.

The Ostrich Politic (The Ostrich Politic )

Regie Director: Mohamad Houhou / Frankreich / 2018 / 00:06:15 min. / Weltvertrieb World Sales: Miyu Distribution

Ostriches carry on their daily activities burying their heads, believing it’s an instinctive behavior. However, one day a research by phylogeneticist Dr. Kays proves otherwise.