Escape Attempt (2023)

Is Now a Good Time?

A Marvel employee's workday is spent attempting to grant a terminally ill child's wish to see an unreleased Captain America film, leading to dark comedy and commentary on corporate control over art.

Keeper

Keeper follows a young goalkeeper going along to his first trial at a local football club, holding the pressures of his parents and trying to gain some sort of connection in this “hyper” masculine environment, he must prove to the coach he deserves a place at the club. A club where you are considered more as a number than as a human being.

Sign

'SIGN' is a short film that tells, through vignettes, music, and sign language, the story of a relationship between Ben, a hearing man, and Aaron, who is deaf.

Carne

After a dreadful incident coupled with an ungovernable paroxysm of violence, a butcher will fall into a downward spiral that will burn to the ground whatever dignity still remained in him.

Echo Torch

An inventor creates an electrical torch that reveals a hidden world layered upon our own - filled with beautiful spirits, strange creatures, and dangerous phantoms.

I, Adonis

Nicky's whole world revolves around fitness, with the goal of getting bigger and stronger. By constantly monitoring his food consumption and weight, he seems to have his body and entire life under control. But when hidden childhood memories emerge, Nicky starts losing control and his body obsession sets off to an unhealthy direction.

Lookouts

On their final trial as village Lookouts, a troop of young scouts are ambushed by the very creature they were hunting. After a violent battle the lone survivor, Pehn, escapes into the shadows of the Eyrewood, a mysterious and deadly forest that is home to all manner of wild creatures. The most horrifying of all is the Basilisk, a winged titan with the power to turn its prey into stone. This is the beast the troop of "Lookouts" were seeking, and now it hunts for Pehn. With guidance from the stories foretold by his Mother and words or warning passed down from his mentor, Pehn struggles to find the courage he'll need to confront his fate and defeat the horrifying creature that pursues him.

Tótem Loba

Estíbaliz accepts her high-school friend Raquel's invitation to attend the town festival. What seemed to be a fun and exciting weekend turns into a nightmare.

A Naked Boy

A forty-five-year-old history teacher, Jin-tae, has hallucinations about one of his students.

Herrmann

Herrmann is a leftist Thirty Something, who is still politically active, despite beginning to live the usual life of having a girlfriend and a child. On the way to his weekly political meeting he is kidnapped.

Son

August has to put up with quite a lot. Ever since his parents separated, his father no longer seems to have any time for him. To console him, his Dad gives him a sweet little dog. But his mother refuses to have the animal in her house and before long there are shouting matches on the phone again. August can hear them arguing through his bedroom door – it's something he seems to have become used to. When his mother remains adamant about not having the dog, August packs his bags to move in with his father. But there’s no place for him in his father’s new family either. And so the boy makes up his mind to create a drastic wake-up call. Told from the boy’s perspective, this coming-of-age drama describes the situation for children who are caught in the middle when their parents decide to separate.

The Dam Keeper

In a desolate future, one small town has survived because of a large windmill dam that acts as a fan to keep out pollution. The dam's operator, Pig, works tirelessly to keep the sails spinning and protect the town, despite abuse from classmates and an indifferent public. When a new student joins Pig's class, nothing will be the same again.

Good Mourning

When Ana's childhood friend dies she attempts to skip the five stages of grief with the help of her best friends, ex-boyfriends and naked Twister.

La Jetée

A man confronts his past during an experiment that attempts to find a solution to the problems of a post-apocalyptic world caused by a world war.

Jag vill inte dö innan du har älskat mig

Plot unavailable

Bogland

Why are gooseberries so much more valuable than deer trees and why did the Sami men lay naked on the marsh in the past? How do you respond to a mock execution and what is actually panic attack? Ella and Moa are two girls with more questions than answers and during a summer night they approach a little cautiously of their Sami origin. —Jonas Selberg Augustsén

Frantic Attempts

Matthias is going on a weekend course of self-discovery called “My Value on Earth,” which was an expensive gift from his girlfriend. The course is supposed to help him deal with his chronic inability to finish things that he’s started. But before Matthias leaves, his girlfriend springs a surprise on him: he’s going to be a father. And so he hopes to use the weekend, which he has no real desire to go on, to answer new and pressing questions. The “alternative” therapist, however, doesn’t inspire much trust. The tragicomedy Frantic Attempts takes aim at the field of personal development, in particular, dubious therapists who offer quick fixes. After all, what if we should answer our existential questions ourselves instead of trying to find answers from others?

Streif

Plot unavailable

Lost Angel

When a young Dutch tourist gets stranded at the start of his US vacation, he finds help from an unlikely stranger.

Rougarou

In rural Louisiana, 11-year-old Sabine's widower father misses Ash Wednesday Mass, so she pushes him to give up drinking for Lent. He breaks his vow, evoking the wrath of the ROUGAROU, a mythical bayou beast who punishes bad Catholics. Now Sabine has to step up to save him from the monster or risk losing her only living parent.

Photographs

Robbie, a college-aged boy, is rekindling an old friendship with Greyson. He needs a model for his portfolio and Greyson needs new photos for his dating apps to get over his ex-girlfriend. Together they explore each other's perceptions of love, friendship, and personal growth.

Olla

After answering an ad on a dating website for Eastern European women, Olla leaves Ukraine and heads to French suburbia to move in with Pierre, who lives with his elderly mother. However, the suburbia cannot temper her desires, and nothing goes as expected.

Stay Awake, Be Ready

On a street corner a mysterious conversation among three young men at street stalls. Meanwhile a traffic accident on a motorbike. The night brings together a sketch, a multicolor frame of reality.

A Trip to the Moon

Professor Barbenfouillis and five of his colleagues from the Academy of Astronomy travel to the Moon aboard a rocket propelled by a giant cannon. Once on the lunar surface, the bold explorers face the many perils hidden in the caves of the mysterious planet.

Glue

Procida, a little Island in the gulf of Naples. Last days of summer. The adolescence of Domenico is coming to an end, just like his tormented relationship with Marcello. Domenico looks for hospitality at Antonio's house, his best friend, but soon he finds himself alone with the thirteen-years-old Antonio's brother, Lallo. A journey of discovery starts, between adolescence and maturity. The meeting with Sara, a transsexual woman, will bring to light the desires of the two young boys.

Spring

Fernando is attracted to his best friend. They skip class together and go camping in the woods.

The Emissary

A mysterious interplanetary diplomat arrives at a post-apocalyptic planet earth in order to facilitate the adoption of a member of an ancient royal family.

Knocking on the Door of a Fortress

In 1999 A.D., a legend of a zombie dug out of an ancient tomb spreads through a small town in Sichuan. A boy who accidentally becomes incontinent during swimming lessons is labeled a “little zombie” and subjected to collective humiliation. Instead of doing him justice, his teachers attributed it to his “unlikability”. Years later, he entered the entertainment industry as an actor, and his teacher died of blood cancer. In a dream, he meets his teacher, who wants to reconcile with him, but he is obsessed with how to become as “likeable” as his teacher asked him to be. With this in mind, he approaches some entertainment stars. It turns out that all of them live with their own scars, and not all of their hatred can be found in themselves. One of the stars teaches the man a spell that allows him to travel through time and space, to fight against the past, to be brave when courage is needed.

The Summer House

A young girl flees to France to forget her boyfriend; first his letters pursue her, then he himself follows her there. During a party to celebrate the moon landing she takes her own small step...

We’re In Your Head

Malik discovers he is trapped in his mind and has to find a way out .

Robert

Plot unavailable

Aerolin

Sandy is a drama school graduate and has asthma. Tonight she will be performing at the theatre. Before that, she has to teach a yoga class, work as a clown and go to an audition. In this equation, she somehow has to try and fit in Spiros, her boyfriend.

Sam and Doug

In a near-future where a virus has turned the population into rabid monsters, a desperate mother forms an unlikely friendship in order to return home and save her family.

Eugène

During Napoleonic wars, a young idealistic drummer, in search of glory, arrives on the battlefield and discovers the horrors of war.

Foreign Uncle

Sining brings his American boyfriend, Patrick, back to China when he goes to visit his family. Everyone's attitude towards Patrick changes once Sining inadvertently comes out, except for his 7-year-old nephew’s, Naonao.

Hawaii

Plot unavailable

Krav Enayim

Alma, a young director, seeks an actor and actress for a violent key scene which she has written.

Augmented

A short film set in the near future, where augmented reality has become so ubiquitous that the line between the real and virtual worlds have become blurred. When a new, dangerous technology is created that can manipulate the perception of this brave new world, who will exploit it? Who will monetise it? Who will become twisted by it?

Dance: BBC Introducing Arts

Brenda Emmanus presents an innovative collection of dramatic short films from emerging artists. Compelling stories of identity and isolation, trauma and power combine with the visceral impact of dance to explore our place in today’s world in a thought-provoking and heartfelt way. Daughters of the Sea; Breadline; The Dupe; Happy Okay Mate; Mad Smooth; Rat King; Reesheh; Spectrum; Testimony; Turbine; Wounds; Beneath the Movement; Divis Tower, Both Sides Now