16.04. ‐ 21.04.2024
International Shorts

International Shorts Freedom – Dream – Illusion – Desire

One of the strongest wishes that people have is the opportunity to reach complete freedom from all the mental and physical burdens that they are faced with in life. Power dynamics captivate even from a young age and for most of ones life. Will they ever be free? Starfuckers by Antonio Marziale deals with power abuse in Hollywood, but also the film and television industry. Olivia Martin-McGuire’s Freedom Swimmer presents the tough reality of the past migration of Chinese people to Hongkong and confronts us with the not very hopeful situation of the city. Soum by Alice Brygo navigates the historic and current generational conflicts and wishes for harmonious togetherness.

Curated by Saul Judd

Starfuckers

Director: Antonio Marziale
USA 2022, 14:41 Min.

Starfuckers is a queer revenge-thriller about the power abuse in Hollywood: An intimate evening between an established film director and a young rising film star is disrupted when a familiar face appears. Starfuckers celebrated its world premiere at Sundance and its European premiere at the 72. Berlinale.

Antonio Marziale, who played in three Netflix-Series - Alex Strangeloe, Altered Carbon and the upcoming Grendel -makes his short film Starfuckers his impressive debut as writer and director. The actor living in Los Angeles was born in London and grew up in Switzerland before studying at the renowned Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh.

Freedom Swimmer

Director: Olivia Martin-McGuire
Australia/France 2021, 15 Min.

Freedom Swimmer documents a story of mass migration in the 20th century that is relatively unknown to the western world - and gives context to the upheaval in today's city. A granddaughter pleads with her grandfather to tell the story of how he left China in the 1970’s, literally swimming to Hongkong, a free city. Freedom Swimmer looks at the past and reflects current events and the fact that the people of Hongkong are losing their freedom right now.

Olivia Martin-McGuire is a documentary filmmaker and photographer who lives in London and spent five years in China and Hongkong in the past. Freedom Swimmeris her second film. Her first film, the documentary China Love, premiered at the Sydney Film Festival and DOCNYC. Her photographic work was exhibited in various international galleries, festivals and museums as well as published in publications.

Soum

Director: Alice Brygo
France 2021, 30 Min.

At the edge of Paris, Inti, Jal and Pauline are looking for an empty place. A rip through which the “Generation of Problems” that they represent could slip, between the laws of the old world and the insecurity of the coming. A portrait of our time that oscillates between documentary, performance art and surrealism.

Alice Brygo, born in 1996 in Montpellier, France, finished her studies at the L’École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in 2019. Her artistic practice takes place at the intersection of documentary methods, fantastical cinema and art installation. She examines the terms of insecurity in fragile times and questions the ideas of survival and community building through meetings between social groups and symbolic detours.

More information Lichter FilmfestLichter Filmfest

Duration 60 min


International Shorts

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