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CELEBRATING THE INNOVATION, INTIMACY & DIVERSITY OF SMARTPHONE FILMMAKING

Official Selection

Drama/scripted – 10 minutes or under

Nominee

21

21

Director: Tedy Nygh

An innovative series of 1-minute episodes shot entirely on an iPhone 12, vertically in 9×16.

Nominee

Dawn Heist

Director: Neil Walshe

Two toddlers get up early in order to raid the kitchen.

Nominee

Therteen

Director: Cathriona Slammon

A silent psychological horror film in which an isolated young girl has visions of a mysterious predator on the eve of her 13th birthday.

21:42

21:42

Director: Baba Oyejide , Tristram Aniyam

Inspired by Chazz Palminteri’s screenplay ‘A Bronx Tale’ and lines from Shakespeare’s ‘Richard II’, this is the story of a young black male torn between the easily fascinating gangster lifestyle and his reformed, incarcerated older brother’s advice.

Bossman

Director: Calum Macdiarmid

Inmates of Portsmouth Prison find their lives in danger when the Bossman’s bullying spirals out of control.

Crown

Crown

Director: Abigail Sewell

A Friday night in, spent braiding hair and discussing dates, leaves Fola, Tash and Sandra debating the origins of Shakespeare’s “uneasy lies the head that wears the crown”, as they discover that this verse is very present in one of their lives.

Life Edited

Life, Edited

Director: Charlie Penny

When Ella’s memory starts failing her, she and her sister Grace set out to film everything, only to disagree on what exactly ‘everything’ means.

The Lighter

Director: Frederic Van Strydonck

What would you do with a magic lighter like this?

Who's a Good Man

Who’s a Good Man?

Director: Rhonda G. Robinson

Girl meets boy. Or does she?

OREB

Director: Sigfrido Giammona

A street actor has been locked in his apartment for over a month in complete solitude. Looking out the window, he feels nostalgic for his city and for the places he has always frequented for work and affection. He realizes, day after day, how his city is no longer the same.

Submit it to festivals

Submit it to festivals

Director: Patrick Cannon

Two landscapers daydream about a different set of circumstances.

Documentary/Factual – 10 minutes or under

Nominee

A Snail's Pace

A Snail’s Pace

Director: Ian McDonald

My first wildlife doc! But no commentary. No music. No explanations. Nothing to explain. Just observe.

Nominee

In the Depths of the City

In the Depths of the City

Director: José Rocha Pinto

Nominee

Symphony of Spheres

Symphony of Spheres

Director: SJ van Breda

A short poetic documentary, shot on iPhone X with FilmicPro, that attempts to show the process and the world of abstract sculptor Brendon Edwards. It is less about the facts of Brendon’s life and more about his work, his philosophy, and what he would like his art to represent.

Kent or Can't

Kent or Can’t

Director: Zhan Xiao

The city is just a coordinate, and it will always be people who make it alive and meaningful. This is a small accident that often happens in life, but if we stop and watch, there are actually many interesting things in it.

Lockdown Living

Lockdown Living

Director: Kyle Mcleod & Matthias Klajzyngier

A short film showing what it’s like for a young adult at university but still having to live under the rules and roof of his parents due to coronavirus.

Lockdown with Dom

Lockdown with Dom

Director: Emma Franklin

A short mockumentary following the life of protagonist, Dom, during lockdown and his pursuit of spiritual enlightenment. We gain insight into his struggles and obstacles, particularly whilst living in such close quarters with people he hardly knows (his parents).

M is for Mum

M is for Mum

Director: Mizgin Mujde Arslan

A filmmaker mum struggles between her film career and motherhood during the Covid-19 pandemic. Tension increases as lockdown tightens.

One Year

One Year

Director: Kitty Camilleri

An ICU doctor gives her account of the past year.

Quiet Night Thought

Quiet Night Thought

Director: Kaiyue Guo

International students are used to being lonely – they came alone to the new environment, have no relations, they not only have to make new friends but also focus on their studies. Many relieve their stress and loneliness by staying up late to watch dramas and play online games.

Drama/scripted – over 10 minutes

Nominee

Eyewitness

#eyewitness

Director: Martijn Winkler

Karim accidentally captures a horrible accident with his smartphone and then starts to suspect there was foul play involved…

Nominee

Charon

Charon

Director: Jennifer Zhang

A notorious hacker trapped under strict house arrest has her isolated, regimented world turned upside down when her boyfriend mysteriously begins dialling in with dark and unusual requests.

Nominee

The Lost Pen

The Lost Pen

Director: Beraat Gokkus

Karam is a Syrian poet and journalist in exile in France. He searches for his missing pen in the Maison des Journalistes to be able to write again.

Adira's Dream

Adira’s Dream

Director: Oliver Williams

A girl uses a typewriter to write a script about her life. In the process she makes aspects of her life ‘better’, rose tinting it in much the same way we do when we use Facebook or Instagram to make our lives appear better to other people. Trouble happens when she chooses to do this to someone else.

Debate

Debate

Director: Ryan Brog

In mid-2020, an American family sits down for an innocent conversation about food, which quickly turns political, and then violent.

Documentary/factual – over 10 minutes

Nominee

Home Stream

Home Stream

Director: Giulia Gandini & Lily Blackham

Lily has been homeless for a year and a half. She used a phone to tell us her story.

Nominee

Airline Ticket

I Wish to Have an Airline Ticket

Director: Hao Wang

The interactions of three very different characters, a young Chinese woman Chu, a British homeless man Chris and Brazilian Jaqueline, form the basis of a portrait of the director, a Chinese student stranded overseas.

Nominee

Tuesdays with James

Tuesdays with James

Director: Dieter Deswarte

While his mother battles against terminal cancer, filmmaker Dieter Deswarte tries to cope with grief through creating an unlikely AI friend.

A Very British Lockdown

A Very British Lockdown

Director: Caoimhe Sturgess

The Great British Public have been fighting the Coronavirus Pandemic with a powerful weapon – their unrivalled spirit and determination. A cross-section of UK society – everyday heroes –film their own stories on camera phones with funny, touching and emotional results.

How Essential am I

How Essential Am I?

Director: Leonardo Scripilliti

After having his scooter stolen and turned into ashes, a Brazilian delivery driver questions himself about his importance in society during the COVID lockdown in London.

Lockdown Diary

Lockdown Diary

Director: Hana Mufti

A meditation on solitude, identity, and home shot on my iPhone 8 Plus over the course of seven months.

Experimental & Other

Nominee

pharmakosis

Pharmakosis

Director: SL Pang

We live in a world where looking and being looked at has become a kind of currency, where ‘likes’ have literally become income. This film uses structural, narrative and documentary aspects to articulate the position of the ‘Pharmakos’ – the figure in ancient Greek religion who was ritually expelled from the polis in the belief that such sacrifice would bring about purification.

Nominee

Swan lake

Swan Lake Bath Ballet

Director: Corey Baker

27 elite dancers from around the world perform a new take on ‘Swan Lake’ from their own (filled) bath tubs. Filmed entirely remotely during COVID-19.

Nominee

The Anxiety Tapes

The Anxiety Tapes

Director: Francesca Salmasi

A self-authored documentary reflecting on my experiences with my anxiety disorder from childhood to today.

An Apparition

An Apparition

Director: Nagaraju

The coronavirus pandemic has made social distancing essential in battling against it. This film showcases the implications and effects of Lockdown, using cockroaches as projections of humans and their actions.

Hats On

Hats On!

Director: Ann-Marie LeQuesne

A Lockdown performance outside Warren Street station in December 2020. Plan A was to cross the road as a socially-distanced group wearing unusual hats, masks and winter coats. Then COVID intervened so the participants were asked to cross the road where they live and send in their videos.

I am not Upset

I Am Not Upset

Director: Gabriela Wondracek Linck

The Pandemic begins. A child talks with her mother about death and art in Heidelberg. The mom misses her family in Brazil. Working for a bio-supermarket in a city nearby during the Pandemic, she tells her story in an experimental way through empty landscapes, impressions of the weather, motherhood, and audio messages that describe the actual situation in Brazil, through testimonials of family, friends and doctors.


Look Down and Find it

Look Down And Find It

Director: Julian Day & Lori Felker

Memories, desires, friendships, secrets – a simultaneous psychogeographic exploration of two cities, New York and Chicago, during Summer 2020.

London falls silent

London Falls Silent

Director: Cassius Rayner

Lockdown – the streets of London fall silent. I volunteered as a front-line key worker, delivering supplies to vulnerable families. The beauty, stillness and sadness of my city took hold of me and so I began to document it using my iPhone.

Sweet Dreams

Sweet Dreams

Director: Hui Anna Fifi

It is hard to find happiness when you are lonely and living in this society. The only way to imagine is when you are asleep. Can you stay in your sweet dreams? Do you want to?

The Illusion

The Illusion

Director: Zaynah Javed

An experimental visual piece guided by an Alan Watts lecture focused on the disconnection from reality people have been feeling during lockdown.

Unspoken Goodbyes

Unspoken Goodbyes

Director: Liberty Chang-pin-tive

A short poem about grief and loss during these hard and trying times.

1 minute or under

Nominee

Artisit Encounter

Artist Encounter

Director: Kevin James Thornton