International Competition Highlights in 2007

December 5, 2006

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION (HIGHLIGHTS)

The 2007 International festival selections promise to be an amazing program of diverse work from
all over the globe. Included in this bumper year of short films are the following highlights:
Sniffer
Norway/9.5 min/35mm/06
Wri/Dir Bobbie Peers
Prod Maria Ekerhovd, Glenn Gardner
In a society where everyone has the ability to fly, the citizens anchor themselves to the ground
via "gravitation boots". Devoid of sunlight and the open sky, the members of society go about
their routine without any hope of personal gratification. One day, however, a man decides he has had enough attempt to challenge the status quo. He quits his job, loosens his bindings, and literally takes off.
Awards include: Palme d'Or - Short Film, Cannes 06, Prix UIP Grimstad 06, Golden Pram - Best
Short Film, Zagreb 06. Screened at: Melbourne 06, Pusan 06, London 06, Sao Paulo 06, Taipei 06.

Lucky
UK/20 min/35mm/05
Wri/Dir Avie Luthra
Prod Bex Hopkins
Lucky is an Aids orphan desperate to leave his rural Zulu village for the bright lights of Durban. He is full of excitement and hope but Lucky has to learn about life the hard way, not through school
or education...but through an unlikely bond with a racist Indian neighbour.
Winner Best Short Film Bradford International FFest 06 Winner Special Mention Clermont Ferrand
06 Nominated: BAFTA Best Short Film 06. Festival screenings include: Edinburgh International
Film Festival 05, London Film Festival 05, Brief Encounters 2005, Berlin International Film Festival 2006, Aspen shorts fest 2006, San Francisco International 2006

Checkpoint
Australia/11 min/35mm/06
Wri/Dir/Prod Ben Phelps
Driving on a deserted road in rural Australia, a multi-racial family is stopped by a group of soldiers. After some preliminary formalities, the conversation turns into ambiguous intimidation when the family is accused of trespassing. As the
intentions of the soldiers become clear, the father, Nedal, realizes that the safety of his wife and daughter rests in his hands. Checkpoint is an 11-minute film that captures contemporary concerns about the abuse of power in modern Australia.Winner Jury Prize, Montreal World Film Festival 06, Melbourne Intl Film Festival 06,
Canberra Short Film Festival 06.
The Substitute
Isreal/19 min/35mm/05
Dir Talya Lavie
Wri Talya Lavie, Oded Binnun
Prod Gil Asheri
Zohara is an Israeli soldier on an isolated military base who is about to get a much-anticipated
transfer. Her hopes are shattered when her substitute appears to be suicidal.
Audience Award, Berlin Film Festival 06, Honorable Mention Norwegian Short Film Festival 06, Best Short Film Award, Melbourne Intl Film Festival 06. Festivals include: Clermont Ferrand 06, Sao Paulo 06, Tribeca 06.

Heavy Metal Drummer
UK/Morocco/6 min/35mm/05
Dir Toby MacDonald
Prod Luke Morris
A Moroccan teenage heavy metal fan feels that his talents as a drummer are under-appreciated.
London Film Festival 06, Clermont Ferrand 06, Berlin 06, Tampere 06, BAFTA Nomination.

Painted Rainbow
India/15 min/35mm/06
Dir/Prod Gitanjali Rao
A big city. A tiny apartment. There, in solitude, an old woman and her cat rummage through their
collection of match- boxes. The printed labels open into a myriad of exotic worlds. Together they explore these magical worlds where beauty, imagination and wonder triumph over the
insignificance of their existence.
MIFF Golden Conch for Best Animation Film, India 06, Rail D'Or for Best Short Film - Critic's week,
Cannes 06, Golden Spike Best Short Film - Valladolid Intl. Film Fest 06, Asifa Award of Excellence-
Asifa 06, Mumbai.

Be Quiet
France/19 min/35mm/05
Dir Sameh Zoabi
On their way home, a Palestinian boy and his father are beset by the tensions of a politically
charged and militarized reality; an atmosphere that serves as a foil to the struggles of a father
bringing up his son.
Clermont Ferrand 06

Page Lovelace, The Lantern Group

Contact Email Address: page@lanterngroup.com.au