Jakob has gone through something big. Something that changed everything. Well, actually, it was a lot of different things, and he can’t really tell them apart that well. It’s as is if everything happened at once. Some fragments stand out; a car, a gust of wind, sunshine reflecting off that building. Feet on the asphalt. And Mads, his intrusive, abusive friend, with some kind of grand plan to fix everything. And someone so perfect, you’ll always remember them.

SELECTED FOR THE 2022 LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA

It’s Nice in Here is a fragmented portrait of a sensitive black boy nicknamed Crimson who lost his life during a police shooting. Exploring the subjective memories of his best friend, Imani, and of the police officer who shot him who both have wildly different recollections of the same faithful moment in a corner store.

WORLD PREMIERE SEMAINE DE LA CRITIQUE 2022

The film takes us to an intimate moment of Dick and Mary who meet each other for the first time during the Covid pandemic. An empty restaurant, a somewhat odd waiter and his strict measures make it a tough evening. Or will love prevail?

In a snack wall of a snackbar, a young, naive croquette has to compete with an experienced, bitchy cheese soufflé to persuade a hungry customer that she’s the most tasty snack, with the ultimate goal of being eaten. 

A photographer has the assignment to shoot Skogskyrkogarden, a cemetery located in the woods of Stockholm. There she sees an old woman placing a lantern on a grave. When the photographer shoots a picture of this very private moment, she soon finds out that this haunting image is more haunted than she bargained for.

When the obsessive Instagrammer Florian takes too many selfies he becomes transparent and has to struggle to keep his beloved followers.

When a rich lady with a passion for topiary must swap her mansion with lush gardens for a tiny council flat, she finds it difficult to cope with her new neighbor and his strange hobbies.

Mister K works hard for “Pastagel”, a big company peddling a miraculous product to keep your hair fabulous all day long. Desperate to look like his colleagues, Mister. K does his best to look clean and sharp but infuriatingly his curly hair just doesn’t stay in place… But deep inside, isn’t he just like his hair, a little too rebellious?

Meknes Animation Festival – Morocco
Anibar International Animation Festival – Peja – Kosovo
Ravenheart International Film Festival – Oslo – Norway
Festival Court Métrange – Rennes – France
Insomnia International Animation Film Festival – Moscow – Special Distinction of the Jury
São Paulo Int. Short Film Festival – Brazil
Catalonia Fantastic International Film Festival – Sitges – Spain
Sardinia International Film Festival – Sassari – Italie >> Grand Prix

3000 BC. A small group of inhabitants of the ‘Low Countries’ are fighting the elements and hunger. Their endless inaptitude to organize themselves combines with their impulsiveness and this leads to the building of the mysterious standing stone buildings of The Netherlands. And the invention of ‘Hooba’.

In nature, a couple is a male and a female. Well, not always! A couple is also a female and a female. Or a male and a male. You may not know it, but LGBTQI+  isn’t just a human story. This is a celebration of diversity in the animal kingdom.

AWARDS

• Swiss Film Prize 2022 – Best Short Animation
• The Special Distinction of the Jury, Insomnia International Open-Air 2021 – Russie
• Best LGBT – Animation Film – Colors of Love International Queer Film Festival 2021 Penjab – Inde
• Best animation – Festival of Nations 2021, Lenzing – Autriche
• Honorable mention – ANIMASYROS International Animation Festival 2021 Syros island – Grèce
• Special mention – Rising of Lusitania – AnimaDoc Film Festiva 2021 Gdansk – Pologne
• Special mention – Scream Queer – Eros and Thanatos 2021 Rome – Italie
• Best Animated Short Film for Young – ANIMAPHIX 2021 Bagheria – Italie
• Grand Prix des P’tits Loups – Montreal Festival du nouveau cinema 2021 Montreal – Canada
• Meilleur Film Thématique- Crossroads International Short Film Festival 2021 Istambul – Turquie
• Bronze octopus award – TAF Thessaloniki Animation Festival 2021 – Grèce
• best short – prémio del publico – International Film Festival of Lanzarote 2021 – Espagne
• prix du public – Good Natured: A Conservation Optimism Short Film Festival 2021 Oxford – UK
• runner up (2nd place) – Good Natured: A Conservation Optimism Short Film Festival 2021 – UK
• best picture – Global Assembly on Everyday Life, Gender and Sexuality Film 2021 – Philippines
• best script – Filmambiente Film Festival 2021 Rio de Janeiro – Brésil
• people’s choice award – Filmambiente Film Festival 2021 Rio de Janeiro – Brésil
• Rosa Brille Award – QUEERSICHT queer film festival 2021 Bern – Suisse
• Sparks award (jury jeune) – Winterthur Internationale Kurzfilmtage 2021 – Suisse
• Best Foreign Short Festival Mix Brasil de Cultura da Diversidade 2021– Brésil
• Prix public (under 35) Sedicicorto International Film Festival 2021 Forlí – Italie
• best short – Global Scientific Film Festival 2021 Zurich – 2021
• JUDGE’S SPECIAL MENTIONS London International Animation Festival 2021 – UK
• Guido Manuli Award for its powerful comedy – Sardinia Film Festival 2021 Sassari – Italie
• prix du public pour un film d’anim – Festival int. du film de montagne d’Autrans 2021 – France
• Best Animation Film Award, International queer film festival Merlinka 2021 Serbie

World Premiere – 2021 International Animation Film Festival Annecy
2021 Guanajuato
2021 Ottawa International Animation Festival
2021 Animatou – Geneva
2021 Cinekid – Amsterdam
2021 Dok-Leipzig
etc. etc.

Ultra-short, lovingly made stop-motion animation about ten-year old Kevin, who is growing up in a family with a tyrannical father. He wants to escape from this situation and dreams of becoming a pilot, finally leaving it all behind him – literally – with his little sister Jaimy.

A young muskox migrates with a small herd through the cold barren tundra. For the hungry young ox the rules of conduct are difficult to fathom. His mother does her best to take care of him. During their journey the herd gets attacked by a pack of wolves, who are after Little Ox.

You are what you eat. In a world where people start to look like the thing they eat the most of, you can take this quite literally. When a newcomer prefers different eating habits, the visible consequences turn the world upside down.

2021 LEUVEN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
2022 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

An inspirational animation about insecurity.

In a little house filled with mirrors, Fiep focuses on her physical imperfections so intensely that her distorted self-image grows out of proportion – literally…

Cinekid 2021 – Best Dutch Animated Short
Indiejunior Porto, 2022
Seattle Children’s Film Festival, 2022
Kaboom Amsterdam, 2022
Festival International du Film d’Aubagne, 2022
Go Short, Nijmegen, 2022
Filem’on Kinderfilm Festival, Belgium 2022
 

Max goes on a date with another guy Tadas whom he met online. Max feels uncomfortable and timid so Tadas decides to act on his own initiative. He tries to get to know Max as they embark on a night ride around the city but Max is evasive to talk about himself. Max feels torn between his emotions and Tadas’ pressure. Eventually he breaks down and reveals his true identity.

Film classics like “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Doctor Zhivago” made Omar Sharif a world star. He was an actor, bridge player, nomad, womanizer and loved life. This portrait shows a man full of contradictions, who loved playing bridge more than the film business and who lived half of his life in hotels.

A recently discovered archive reveals the story of the extraordinary life of the model agent Emmeline Snively, who ran the Blue Book Model Agency in Hollywood in post-war America. Many famous models, including Marilyn Monroe and Jane Mansfield, started out at this modeling agency. Emmeline Snively was a Mother of Beauty for hundreds of models. She taught them how to walk and talk and even sent them out to get platinum blond hair or plastic surgery. The need to be pretty in post-war Hollywood was a phenomenon, and Emmeline Snively understood that.

This documentary reconstructs the way Emmeline created beauty and shows what’s left of it after all these years. The theme throughout the entire film is the meaning of beauty. Memories of youth, experience, aging and mortality create a history of time and place filled with humor, sadness and everything in-between, as these men and women navigated Hollywood and all its promises. A film about dignity, beauty and getting old.

Ida Haendel is considered a legend among professional musicians and listeners of classical music alike. This documentary utilizes footage that was shot between 2009 and 2017, showing the life and work of British-Polish violinist Ida Haendel.

After having given her final performance, her everyday life oscillates between nostalgia and joy of living, between loneliness and hopefulness. Ida Haendel is a person of wisdom and humor, whole-heartedly accepting the challenge of spending her remaining years in a self-determined way. Though at some point she has to accept she can’t play the violin anymore, she refuses to stop singing.

“The Haendel Variations” is not an ordinary music documentary, it is not just another portrait of a world-renowned classical musician. Its rather restrained, more intimate approach focuses on the inner life of an extraordinary woman and on the two things that still give her life meaning: her love for music and for her fellow human beings.

Rain or shine, storm or chill; all year long the world is queuing up to see the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. Who are all these visitors? Where are they from? And why are they here? This film watches the queue through the course of the four seasons, in search of stories from all over the globe.

Interviews with people from the line – both before and after their visit to the Secret Annex show how repression, discrimination, and dehumanization transcend the boundaries of time. We also learn that everyone in his own way feels connected to this extraordinary place. Personal stories are interspersed with passages from Anne Frank’s diary, read in many different languages by girls about the same age as Anne at the time.

Meanwhile we get an impression of everyday life as it unfolds around those waiting in line the canal boats, the street musicians, the ticket seller, the homeless man – For all its poignancy ”In Line for Anne Frank” is a document that also inspires hope.

Nominee Rockie Awards (History & Biography)