SAFF 2021 Short Film Program

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Corinthians has spent 23 years without winning a title. Its fanbase, however, only grew and became more and more present: both in the life of the team and in the political life of the country.

The Saw Makers

Saw Making is a critically endangered craft, with Shane and Jaq Skelton the UK’s only bespoke saw makers, crafting perhaps the finest hand saws in the world. With a waiting list of up to a year, a long line of woodworkers and collectors wait impatiently for their prize. As Shane and Jaq struggle to keep the craft alive, this intimate film follows the making of their new Chippendale inspired saw, while illustrating the passion that woodwork and making can have to individuals as they battle life threatening illnesses.

Empty Space

"Empty Space" is about Matthew, who after waking up and finding that he is completely alone, attempts to find his girlfriend within an empty town. This is an exploration of depression, showing how Matthew truly feels.

Sweet Cicely

Two childhood acquaintances are reunited as they seek to escape the crossfire of a revolution. Together, they undertake a journey on foot through the mountains and forests, in the hope of reaching safety unaccosted. As they come to face hostility from both sides of the conflict, it is their own convictions and doubts which could either keep the pair together or separate them completely.

Press Pound To Connect

This film was hand processed, shot on 16mm film, and created using a masking technique and appropriated images. The nine equal parts reference the Pound Symbol on a telephone keypad. Here, it is used as a symbol for connection. We are connected to more than what is immediately around ourselves: to each other, the planet, and the farthest galaxies. What distant things are having an effect on us and what are we non-visibly affecting? The similarities between these connections are represented through overlapping images. It shows a change in perspective, going from the individual singular self, to a view where there is no divide between self and other. It brings us to a cosmic, all-encompassing view, divided in space and tied together through telephone wire.

Young Offender

A young woman with a criminal record needs a second chance.

Passing Places

Every summer, the small island of the Isle of Mull is transformed. Between July and August, tourists flock to the island to soak up its dramatic landscapes and wildlife, including the recently re-introduced White Tailed Eagle.

But what impact does this have on the island for locals? Passing places traverses the island's one and only main road to find out.

Wee Shadows

Edinburgh, Scotland 1828. Two crooks are hired by a corrupt surgeon to steal a fresh body from Greyfriar's Kirkyard. But they find this simple task more difficult than first thought, both in the physical and the spiritual sense.

Silvering

Upon discovering a grey hair, a woman becomes entangled in insecurity and fear of the future. The sanctuary of the bathroom takes a turn for the sinister as she spirals into a panic – and the hair becomes her tormentor.

It Gets In Your Blood

“It Gets in Your Blood” is a short documentary by Ed Hartman. The film is about Richard Lyford, a filmmaker who made 9 films before he was 20-years-old, worked for Disney on Fantasia, Dumbo, and Pinocchio, and went on to direct an Academy Award-winning documentary. In spite of all of this, very few know who he is, or why he is important to filmmaking, today.

Left Behind

A depiction of the stark reality of drug deaths in Scotland. This short film shows a glimpse of how drug related death affects the relationship of the family left behind. With drug deaths totaling over a thousand each year in Scotland, Left Behind is a hard-hitting short film that explores the social issues of drug abuse and how those who are directly affected cope with the aftermath. The film depicts the conflicting emotions between a mother and father as they struggle to deal with the loss of their son and how grief can either tear their relationship apart or bring them closer together. Left Behind seeks to provide an insight into a serious issue faced by many families in Scotland.

Agnes Varda

A brief overview of the life and cinema of French film director, screenwriter, photographer and installation artist Agnès Varda. Her work was pioneering for, and central to, the development of the widely influential French New Wave film movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Historically, Agnès Varda is seen as the New Wave's mother.

Autumn Never Dies

Danny is an ostrich living in Glasgow with his roommate, a monkey named Nelson. After a failed suicide attempt over the break up with his girlfriend, Danny seeks counselling to help him recover from his ordeal and get his life back on track. After meeting Lizzie during a pub quiz, friendship quickly turns into romance but when Danny’s former lover reaches out to him again, he finds his new relationship under threat. With his life at a crossroads, Danny reaches out to his psychiatrist for advice that would eventually help him decide whether to open past wounds or plan a new future with Lizzie.

To Catch A Fish

In this Traditional, Classical, Animated Film, the main character is a dog, "Faithful", who is entrusted to guard the Master's "Catch of the Day", only to be tested by 3 fowl thieves. The style is reminiscent of the old hand-drawn, cell painted shorts. The visuals tell the story and the music complements and accents the action.

Napo

John, unable to understand the illness that drives his grandfather between past and present states, stumbles into an old album full of photographs and then let the images guide his imagination, transforming his grandpa's memories into drawing interpretations. Drawings that shapes their relationship into a history of remembrance and memory building.

The Grey Man

Based on one of Scotland's most infamous legends that tells of a eerie presence that haunts the slopes of Ben MacDui, The Grey Man follows one mans journey into the heart of Scotland's Cairngorms mountain range to find his missing brother.

What I See n The Mirror

A Damaged VHS tape fuses its fragments into a dreamlike narrative and bends reality into absurdum.

The Back-Flow Rain

Legend has it that city Sa witnesses a back-flow rain falling from the ground to the sky on every summer solstice. The girl’s parents failed to look for the rain when they were young. Later, her mother vanished with the broken marriage, leaving an anthology of Xiao Hong, a feminism writer in China, which was the only clue for the girl to search for her mother. Then the girl set out on a journey to find her mother…

Salah

Ali is a refugee in Belgium. He is shocked by the news of his father’s death at home, but cannot go to the funeral. He feels guilty and desperate. Through a ritual, he tries to connect and say goodbye to his father.

The Removal

Burdened by the memories of a life full of pain, trauma and regret, Victor undergoes a surreal medical procedure that promises to rid the patient of any negative feeling. As he lays on the operating table and the surgeons get to work, his entire life flashes before his eyes. He relives traumas old and recent alike as the doctors dig deeper and deeper inside him in search of the root cause of his unhappiness. But how far can one go - and how much can they remove - in the pursuit of a happy life?

Blue Frontier

The man from the border has spent his entire life searching for the biggest fish that the blue Danube hides. Every sunrise sees the old fisherman attempt to lure the river giant in an ancient fishing way by clapping on the river surface with a hand-carved piece of wood. Two rivals - one on the surface of the water and the other concealed within the depths of the mighty river are waiting to finally meet.

Anywhere But Here

Anywhere But Here (2021) is a metacommentary film about wanting to go places and see new faces, but being prevented from doing so by the pandemic. The narrator unravels a bittersweet resolution in the self-reflexive filmmaking process as we dive deeper into her dreamscape.

Kasadaru

It's based on manual scavenger life story

Custodian

Stricken by the Gods, an immortal prophet finds his tragic existence mirroring that of a young, grieving musical prodigy. But with his power of influence, and his very life ebbing away, can he make a final stand for humanity or fade into obscurity. 'Custodian' explores the battle to follow our heart and moral compass when faced with crippling circumstances.

He Loved This Place

Join us on this musical journey through the ancient cobbled streets of York with veteran musician David Ward Maclean as he takes us through his life philosophy, striking songs, and hidden alleyways of a city he loves.

Shot on a shoestring budget but made with love, we hope you enjoy watching this portrait of our buskin' bard as much as we enjoyed making it.

Scar

David attends a family meeting. His brother, Miguel, needs someone to take care of his daughter Miriam for a few days. During the lunch, David remembers a terrible moment that happened years ago in a swimming pool.

Red Coral

Can love outlive death? Director Ningning’s grandpa Zhao is an 85-year old man, who has faced not only extreme hardship during the second war but also the serious illness of his wife Lu that left her almost paralysed. Even though Zhao is a scientist, he believes that “love is a real kind of natural power” that can overcome any hardship, and he proves it. The film explores a unique world of the elderly who are deeply in love.

Captive

Dave is an ordinary guy who just so happens to wake up with his hands tied and a bag over his head in the company of a suspected cannibal serial killer.

Build Me Up

100 years in the future, the Earth is tipped into a hostile new ice-age. Robot siblings Vera and Sprocket have just lost their creator. As they struggle to process their grief, they are left to survive the perilous world alone. Can they learn to work together weather the oncoming storm?

May Bee

“Is this the end? Will Dr. Maybee enter a hospital ever again?”. During the coronavirus pandemic in the time of social distancing afflicted children are all alone with their illnesses. They are in need of magical visits from clown doctors like Dr. Maybee more than ever. Through the unique perspective of a hospital clown, this film explores the essence of and the desire for human connection, reminding us of its transformational power.

Moment of Impact

The story of Alan McFadyen's famous Kingfisher photograph, which took 6 years and 720,000 attempts to capture, and was in dedication to his late grandfather. Alan recounts where his inspiration came from, the difficulties in capturing the bird, mid-dive, and how he's still recognised today for his efforts.

This film is a directorial debut for filmmaker Blair Stewart, who has a 10+ year background in Television Production.

Valentine’s Night

Two undercover DEA agents meet with their kingpin target and a surprise dinner guest.

The Ginger Arrows

This film is about a species of Bee (The Tree Bumble Bee - Bombus Hypnorum) that has recently migrated to Scotland from continental Europe. The Film's goal is to charm and educate viewers, and to encourage people to cherish rather than fear these beautiful little critters.

Better Plans

A loner engrossed in his own fantasies finds new meaning through human connection.

Piece By Piece

After surviving a near-fatal car crash, Lena awakens in the hospital where she strikes up an unlikely friendship with her nurse, giving her something she didn’t know she needed..

I Can See Everything But My Eyes

Inspired by the mythological creature Ouroubouros, this visual experiment attempts to use temporality to recreate the form of a circle through the use of moving lines.

The Light

A young man turns towards the Sun, but his shadow falls in front of him. He tries to correct this mistake, confronting his inner darkness.

The Many Deaths of Aristides

Arístides died of a gunshot when he was 19 years old, while he was doing his Military Service in the Cuban Navy. He was shot in the chest at close range by the soldier who was supposed to relieve him in duty, with a Makarov PM handgun made in USSR. There are no images of him; just a letter he wrote to his sister a few hours before dying, whose reply never came to be.

Muse

The story follows the downwards spiral of a violinist with his days of fame long behind him. The incident which happens to be the last drop that spills the cup is when he one day grabs his violin in order to play his favorite melody and for the life of him is unable to remember how the tune finishes. This pushes him to his mental and physical limit. Right in that moment his neighbor appears to confront him about the unbearable non-stop violin playing which echoes through the entire apartment block. They both manage to overcome their ill feelings towards each other and together they try and find the violinist’s lost inspiration. They both quickly learn that the mysterious muse can crash into you with the force of a thousand bricks at the most unexpected times and in the most unexpected ways.

Witness

A mother helps an elderly woman in a shopping mall in Tehran. A tragedy occurs, brutally confronting her with the impact of her actions.

Oxymoron Of Eternity

The main character of the film is a prototype of Jorge Luis Borges called Aleph, he is 120 years old and was born in a Library, which he has never left. He is looking for the perpetuation of the Library, which according to the legend can only happen after the Labyrinth is unlocked by a blind person. The Library, inhabited by the prototypes of Light, Time, Order, and Meaning, is a metaphor of the universe and the human intelligence. This world is opposed to the one outside the Library, remote from the values and depth of the books. A call from Pontius Illiteratus invites Aleph to appear at the Babylon Congress for "adjusting his values." Thus, Aleph encounters a tame society, an allegory of today’s, eaten by the destructive virus of the spectacle, erasing the critical perspective of its existence, floating in a superficial void. The encounter of two equally powerful characters and worlds represents a clash of values. As a result, Aleph, who is physically weaker, is blinded, but paradoxically, this gives him the right to unlock the Labyrinth.

Trumpets In The Sky

Boushra, one of the Syrian potato-picking girls in Lebanon, returns from a long day of work in the field only to learn that today her childhood will come to an end.

The Right Words

Kenza, 15, and her little brother Madhi, 13, regularly humiliate one another on social media. On the bus, Kenza puts her naive and romantic little brother to the test: to profess his love for Jada; a girl that Madhi loves but who does not know him.

Life On The Horn

For decades, toxic waste has been illegally deposited on the coast of Somalia. The tsunami earthquake in 2004 damaged the poisoned containers, which led to the spread of diseases. Many local people had to leave their villages, but some stayed and lived with the aftermath.

Neighbour

Beso is a father of three – Luka (21), Ana (17) and Ika (4). Ever since the passing of their mother, Ana is left to take care of the family and is doing her best to serve as a mother figure to her brothers. One day, the family is disrupted by an intrusion of two construction workers from the neighboring flat, who accidentally smash down a part of the common wall. Ana and Beso trust the workers to restore the wall immediately, however, the situation aggravates when Ana’s little brother, Ika disappears.

Night Snorkeling

At the nocturnal sea of the Miura Peninsula, two filmmakers encounter diverse creatures via camera. They question the relationship between nature and camera, both born with light.