Agenda

Portuguese filmmaker Jorge Jácome often mixes science fiction with documentary elements. In Flores, the entire population of the Azores is forced to evacuate to the mainland when an uncontrollable infestation of hydrangeas floods the islands.

Robert Fenz worked as a cameraman with Chantal Akerman and was one of the most committed filmmakers reviving avant-garde traditions for a long time until he passed away in 2020 at the age of 52. His films, mostly made on black-and-white 16mm, possess a rare energy and restless beauty.

Ostensibly filmed to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War, production of Kyiv Frescos was discontinued by Russia’s Goskino. It now exists only a series of screen tests that Sergei Parajanov pieced together. But even in its abbreviated form, the film is impressive.

Belgian film pioneer Henri Storck, born and raised in Ostend, made more than one documentary about his hometown. In Ostende, reine des plages, contemporaries James Ensor and Maurice Jaubert provide the music—a film about the “special happiness of being an Ostendian.”

The Seasons shows humanity trapped in a cruel but stunningly beautiful existence. Vast cloudscapes speedily glide across the Armenian highlands: to the melodious rhythm of camerawork, editing, and a lyrical score, Artavazd Peleshian elevates this into a full-blown symphony of life.

In deze bijzondere korte documentaire wordt in een kleine bakkerij alles in gereedheid gebracht voor het maken van brood. We volgen dit alledaagse proces stap voor stap, inclusief het wachten. Net zoals in tal van Alexandre Koberidzes kortfilms toont hij in Linger on Some Pale Blue Dot bijna woordeloos hoe je met verwondering naar de wereld kan kijken.

Crossing the Great Sagrada consists almost exclusively of outtakes from travelogues. The title is a pun on Crossing the Great Sahara, one of the popular travel films of the 1920s that documented “other cultures” in a way that reflected imperial, nationalistic, and often racist stereotypes.

Met zijn eerste korte film Daydreaming So Vividly About Our Spanish Holidays sleepte de Spaanse Christian Avilés meteen een nominatie voor de European Film Awards in de wacht. De kleurrijke 16mm laat het eiland Mallorca eruit zien als een kinderspeeltuin, waarbij het stralende kleurenpalet ook aandoet als een bevreemdende vernislaag. Achter al die zomerse pracht en praal schuilt iets donker en uncanny.