VFF 2016 — The Films

With dozens of films submitted from all over the world for the 2nd Vertical Film Festival, the selection panel had a tough job narrowing it down to the films below.  This list is in alphabetical order; competition finalists then out of competition films.  For the actual order as shown at Katoomba, please refer to this PDF (186kb). We're very grateful to the filmmakers who've allowed us to showcase some of their films online, where circumstances & rights clearances permit.

UPDATE: The results of the competition are in!  DETAILS IN our blog.

⇧ THIS WAY UP ⇧ (Films in Competition)

Addendum
"An addendum may explain inconsistencies or expand the existing work or update the information found in the main work, especially if any such problems were detected too late to correct the main work."  
In 1977 the Voyager spacecraft was launched with a golden disk onboard, containing sounds and images of Planet Earth. This is an addendum for that record.
Director Ferenc Kiss (Hungary)  Created by Directing Light  Sound Design Phonography Duration 2’49" Equipment Canon/Helios  

Alia
The story of Alia and her brother who come to the modern city from a country at war, each with opposing views on their new life. An attack on the city — by people who came from their birth country — creates fear and discrimination against them, ultimately destroying their identity so they can be free.
Director Matias Martinez (Chile)  Cast Millaray Villanueva, Renato D´garcia  Duration 3’00”  Equipment Sony Fs700  Website

Along the Lines
A soliloquy about life and art, by the mime and Italian performer Romano Rocchi.
Directors Antonella Lauria & Susanna Vicentini (Italy)  Duration 3’00”  Sound technician Francesco P. Sileno
Make-up artist Emanuela Serini  Equipment Canon 750D

Basket Case
Ever wondered how you end up with odd socks? An animated comedy.
Director James Bedford (UK)  Duration 2’20”  Equipment Canon 5D  Website www.filmekanik.co.uk

Eiland
“Live everyday as if it were your last because someday you're going to be right.” - Muhammad Ali
Director Kuesti Fraun (Germany)  Duration 3’00”  Writers Andreas Uehlein & Kuesti Fraun
Camera, Sound, Editing Chris Brandl  Cast Andreas Uehlein  Equipment Samsung Note 3  
Website

Impact
The mental journey of a high diver in the seconds before his jump. World champion cliff diver, Lionel Franc aims to dive from 115ft and break his own record. 
Director Jean-Charles Granjon (France)  Duration 3’00”  Line Producer Bluearth Production  Post Production La planète rouge  Equipment Phantom Flex  Website www.bluearth-prod.com/

Lost Postcards
A woman who is afraid of leaving her own city collects old postcards from places she's never travelled to.
Director Tamara Scherbak (Canada)  Duration 3’00”  Writers Tamara Scherbak & Faisal Lutchmedial  Camera & Sound Faisal Lutchmedial  Editor Tamara Scherbak  Voice-Over Kim Nelson  Equipment Canon 5D Mark 3 Website www.miksang.ca

Passages
Travel journal evoking F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald's tour of Europe.
Director Mila Turajlic (Serbia)  Duration 3’00”  Composer Nemanja Mosurovic  Equipment iPhone  
Website www.othersideofeverything.com

Stork Story
A lyrical story between a bell ringer and a stork. He loves to play symphonies on an old bell piano and the stork answers with the sound of bill-clattering, creating a mix between a world below and a world above.
Director Francesco Mattuzzi (Italy)  Duration 2’39”  Cast Eric Procaccianti  Editor Alice Bolognani  Music Composer Rafaël Leloup  Director of Photography Davide Grimoldi  Equipment Canon 5D Mark II  Website www.planckstudio.com

Theo
Theo and his mother are going for a walk in the forest. Suddenly, Theo disappears…
Director Cédric Martin (France)  Cast Marie Bokillon, Louis Quinn  Duration 2’59”  Equipment SONY FS7 Website cedricmartin.fr

Thing
Who is Thing? Where is Thing? Thing is here and nowhere, Thing knows people who know people, Thing is watching you.
Director Luca De Salvia (UK)  Duration 1’53”  Website lucadesalvia.com

Tried
A eulogy for for the victims of police violence.
Director & Producer Charles Williams (Australia)  Duration 2’37”  Writer & Actor Abdul Hammoud Cinematographer Aaron Farrugia  Sound Designer Craig Conway  Equipment Nexus 5 & Arri Alexa
Website charleswilliams.com.au

Turuu
In the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, a nomad boy called Turuu trains his horses for a big race at the traditional Nadaam festival.
Directors Joerg Locher & Jeremias Heppeler (Germany)  Duration 3’00”  Equipment Panasonic FZ1000 Website 

Umwelt
Exploring the diversity of time by combining two different timeframes to create new scenery and emotion. Plants are filmed with time-lapse and composited with realtime insect imagery.
Director Yoshiyuki Katayama (Japan)  Duration 1’43”  Equipment Canon EOS 7D  Website ktym.jpn.org/

Tall Shorts (Films Out of Competition)

Abyss of Tenderness
The film manifests itself in consistently downward movement. Vertically projected, the spectator sinks into the animation. Objects, rooms and layers form a tableau vivant, a portrait.
Director Valentin Hennig (Germany)  Duration 3’29”  Website valentinhennig.de/

Bird Murderer
Gary is not having a good day when he feels he’s responsible for killing a bird.
Director Evan Moore (U.S.A.)  Duration 3’10”  Website 

Cavallo 
Vertical are the walls that we built with our own hands. They are blinders and we are like horses, letting them blind us.
Director, Writer, Editor Joana Maria Sousa (Portugal)  Duration 3’09”  DOP, Actress Rita Laranjeira
Voice-Over Giulia Siciliano  Website

Girl
A young homeless woman spends her days chasing "that feeling". The vertical format makes us think about the space that these marginalised characters occupy in our society as well as on our screens.
Director & Writer Megan K. Fox (UK) Duration 3’01” Cinematographer Ben Calloway Cast Natalia Kostrzewa

Le poids de Mendel (Defying Mendel)
A woman receives a diagnosis for bipolar disorder. The vertical frame serves to convey the feeling of claustrophobia when one is faced with the cruelty of modern-day psychiatry which denies the human being any control over his/her destiny.
Director, Writer, Producer Marie-Hélène Panisset (Canada)  Duration 7’02”  DOP Marc Simpson Threlford Editor Mathieu Demers  Score Julien Knafo  Exec. Producer Barbara Shrier  Website lesfilmsdelhydre.com/

Kabootarbaazi
A look into the pigeon fanciers of Old Delhi.
Director Eva Weber  (UK)  Duration 4’14"  Producer Harriet Harper-Jones  DOP Chloe Thomson  Editor Tracy Granger  Website oddgirlout.co.uk  
Commissioned by Nespresso for its Talents 2016 competition.

One Day
The transition of a day, seemingly static yet marked by a thousand details. Rothko and sound-images meet the documentary impulse. Time passes as the everyday is made abstract and ineffable.
Director Tara O’conal (South Australia) Duration 2’32” Sound Designer Robert Del Col  Screenings Adelaide Film Festival /   Prizes 2016 CACSA Emerging Artist Award (Helpmann Academy)

Purgot
A man wakes to find himself in a life preserver face-down on the shore of a desolate, disquieting beach.
Director, Writer, Editor Matthew Richards (NSW, Australia)  Duration 3’37”  Cast Daniel Bowden Cinematography Ryan Alexander-Lloyd  Sound Design Ned Beckley  Equipment Arricam Lite (35mm Kodak) Website fouranchorisland.com/

Rhapsody in Blueberry
A woman searches for her identity, which she finds is like swimming upstream.
Director Gaëlle Denis (France) Duration 3’59"  Writers Gaëlle Denis & Amber Trentham  Producers Nathalie Algazi, François Drouot & Marie Sonne-Jensen  DOP Baptiste Chesnais  Editor Dominic Leung  
Website gaelledenis.com  Commissioned by Nespresso for its Talents 2016 competition.

Self Destruction
Above a sea bound by ice, whales rise out of the blue infinity in the misty sky. Free and majestic they float over the water; the soul of the oceans. But man, in his baseness, weighs down upon these great spirits; he forgets the part of the blue eternity that is in himself — in his eyes.
Director Yaroslav Adamov (Russia)  Duration 2’13”  Cast Daria Kuligina  Music Talking Bush

Stand Up Tall
A short short film about heights and perspective.
Director Andreas Bense (Denmark)   Duration 3’17”  Cameraman Mads Castillo Assistant Amalie Tagmose  Editor Janus Bjaaland Dahl  Featuring Morten & Simon

Step by Step - My Way to the Top
Why do people climb? Why is it so important to get to the top anyway?
Director Andreas Bense (Denmark)  Duration 2’32”  Cameraman Mads Castillo  Assistant Amalie Tagmose  Editor Janus Bjaaland Dahl  Featuring Primula, Anne and Mitchell

The Santa Maria
A lonely guy, dangerous gangsters, a beautiful policewoman, even more dangerous gangsters, a ship in a bottle: Our guy’s life gets turned around when he receives a mysterious letter that contains nothing but a treasure map. Suddenly, he finds himself in a dangerous adventure chasing the most precious treasure on earth. A vertical film noir. Shot in Berlin, Germany, 2016.
Director Erik Schmitt (Germany)  Written by Folke Renken and Erik Schmitt  DoP Johannes Louis  Duration 4’35”  Cast  (IOOA) Guy: Fabian Busch Dangerous Gangster: Maxim Mehmet Corrupt Police Officer: Folke Renken Police Officer: Marleen Lohse Dame: Beate Maes Even more dangerous Gangsters: Bertan Canbeldek, Vasili Trigoudis, Florian Zumkehr  Narrator Erik Vogel (ENG), Folke Renken (GER)  Equipment Sony Alpha 7s, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s plus Website erikschmitt.de  Distributor www.detailfilm.de  Commissioned by Nespresso for its Talents 2016 competition.

Tilt
An entertaining look at orientation.
Director Fred Cavender (France)  Duration 1’37”  Website tuperhero.com/